Description
Madonna and Child with Saint Anne is a large altarpiece Caravaggio painted in 1605–1606. Mary, in a red dress, bends over the infant Jesus, holds him under the arms and together with him treads on the head of a serpent, while the elderly Saint Anne watches in silence with her hands clasped. The original, oil on canvas, stands 292 cm high and 211 cm wide in the Galleria Borghese in Rome. Our painter makes it by hand in oils on canvas, in 8 portrait sizes from 40 x 55 to 151 x 200 cm or made to measure, and we photograph it for you before dispatch.
| Title: | Madonna and Child with Saint Anne |
| Other titles: | Madonna dei Palafrenieri · Madonna and the Serpent |
| Painter: | Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (1571–1610) |
| Year painted: | 1605–1606 |
| Original size: | 292 cm x 211 cm (height x width) |
| Original technique: | Oil on canvas |
| Painting style: | Baroque, tenebrism |
| Located at: | Galleria Borghese, Rome, Italy |
| Our reproduction: | Hand-painted oil on canvas, 8 sizes or made to measure |
Madonna and Child with Saint Anne – Caravaggio
What does Madonna and Child with Saint Anne show?
The tall canvas is almost entirely dark. Three figures stand in a bare room, lit from the upper left, where a patch of wall glows faintly in the corner. Everything that matters happens in the lower half, just above the pale floor.
On the left, Mary, in a red dress over a dark green skirt, leans forward. Her hair is braided and pinned up, and a thin gold ring of a halo floats above her head. With both hands she holds the little Jesus under the arms, as if teaching him to walk. The child is completely nude and looks down gravely.
Mary has set her bare foot on the serpent’s head, and the child places his foot on top of hers. The snake writhes across the floor in wide loops. Jesus stretches his left hand out over it, thumb and middle finger joined in a small circle.
On the right stands Saint Anne, Mary’s mother, old and lined, her lips slightly parted. An ochre cloth is wound round her head, a white one crosses her chest, and a grey-blue mantle falls to the floor. Her hands are folded, and she calmly watches what happens at her feet.
What does the scene with the serpent mean?
The theme comes from Genesis 3:15, where God tells the serpent that the offspring of the woman will crush its head. Here the snake stands for evil and original sin, and in Caravaggio’s day it was also read as a sign of heresy.
Caravaggio shows that promise as something mother and son do together. The mother overcomes evil because the child she holds is helping her.
Saint Anne, in whose honour the altarpiece was ordered, is above all a witness here. Wikipedia notes that she is painted more loosely, almost sketchily, and thinner than the other two figures. Mary and Anne wear halos and Jesus does not; only the light singles him out.
Why is this altarpiece so famous?
First, because of its fate. Installed in Saint Peter’s on 8 April 1606, it was taken down by 16 April and carried to the confraternity’s own church of Saint Anne.
Historians still disagree about why it was removed. The reasons put forward include the fully nude child, Mary’s low neckline, and an Anne shown as an ordinary old woman rather than a lofty saint. Death of the Virgin was likewise taken out of the church of Santa Maria della Scala.
The second reason is the painting itself. Only the child’s body, the red dress and three faces come out of the darkness; everything else stays in deep shadow. This hard contrast of light and dark is called tenebrism.
More detail is in the Wikipedia article in English.
Where is the original today, and how did it get there?
The original hangs in the Galleria Borghese in Rome, where it is listed under inventory number 110.
It was commissioned by the Archconfraternity of the Papal Grooms, the Palafrenieri, who had their own altar in Saint Peter’s. Caravaggio received the commission on 1 December 1605 and finished the work in under four months.
After a few days in the basilica the painting went to the church of Sant’Anna dei Palafrenieri, which belonged to the confraternity. The brotherhood then sold it to Cardinal Scipione Borghese.
This Madonna or another Caravaggio?
This canvas painting suits anyone looking for a sacred scene with family warmth: grandmother, mother and child together. At home it settles well in a dining room, a prayer corner or beside a staircase.
If the Mary bending towards her child speaks to you, look at Madonna di Loreto as well. The same model posed for Mary there.
Grander still is The Madonna of the Rosary, where Mary sits with the child high above a crowd of the faithful. Gentler and more private is Rest on the Flight into Egypt, in which an angel plays the violin while Mary dozes with the child in her lap. All the famous Caravaggio paintings we paint for you are gathered on the Caravaggio page.
How does our painter make this work?
We start only once you have ordered. The painter first covers the canvas with a dark, warm ground, because most of the composition lies in shadow. Then, with a fine brush, he draws in the three figures and the serpent.
He builds the colour from dark to light, in several layers of oil paint. The child’s body gets the most care: it has to glow in the darkness yet stay soft and warm. The red dress needs several coats; Anne’s grey mantle is painted with more restraint.
As an oil painting reproduction it has a real surface, where raking light picks out the brushstrokes. This Caravaggio reproduction keeps the strong play of light and shadow that makes the original special.
Which size suits your wall?
In short: 40 x 55 or 47 x 62 cm for a prayer corner or beside a bed, 60 x 81 or 68 x 90 cm above a chest of drawers or in a bedroom, 84 x 115 or 105 x 145 cm above a sofa or dining table, and 120 x 160 or 151 x 200 cm for a tall wall, a stairwell or a chapel.
We offer the painting in 8 portrait sizes (width x height): 40 x 55, 47 x 62, 60 x 81, 68 x 90, 84 x 115, 105 x 145, 120 x 160 and 151 x 200 cm. The original is larger than any of them at 211 x 292 cm; even our biggest size, 151 x 200 cm, is 60 cm narrower and 92 cm shorter.
With so much dark space above the figures, the composition needs some size. As a painting for the living room it works best at 84 x 115 or 105 x 145 cm. Hang it with the child’s head at about eye level.
Can I choose another size or a frame?
Yes. If you need a different proportion, we adapt the composition so that all three figures and the snake stay whole. Let us know the size you want, and we will send you a price and a completion date.
Your Madonna can travel rolled, stretched on a stretcher bar or already in its frame. Both jobs, stretching and framing, are handled by our own workshop in Slovenia. You pick the moulding in our 3D app, which is only for choosing a frame; seeing the painting on your own wall is a separate service.
A classic gold frame suits the red dress and dark background; a dark brown wooden moulding looks quieter.
When will it arrive, and how is it delivered?
The painter starts as soon as you confirm the order, and the painting is ready to travel in 15 to 45 working days. Before shipping you receive a photograph of the finished work; if you would like a change, we make it before packing. Within the EU there is no customs duty, and our returns policy covers every order.
It makes a lovely gift for a christening, for grandparents or for someone called Anne or Anna. If you are unsure which size to choose, give a wall art voucher and let the recipient decide.
Frequently asked questions
Where does the original hang?
In the Galleria Borghese in Rome, which lists it as inventory number 110.
Who is the older woman on the right?
Saint Anne, Mary’s mother and the grandmother of Jesus.
Is it a print?
No, it is a hand-painted copy, brushed in oil paint on canvas by our painter.
How big is the original?
It is 292 cm high and 211 cm wide, larger than any of our sizes.
What does the serpent under their feet stand for?
Evil and original sin, which Mary overcomes with the help of her Son.
Will it suit a bedroom?
Yes: the smaller sizes look good above a bed or a chest of drawers.
Can I have it in a size you do not list?
Of course. Send us the width and height for a price and a finishing date.
How long does it take to make?
Between 15 and 45 working days; you get a photograph of the painting before we ship it.
- Subject: Mary in a red dress holds the nude infant Jesus as they tread on a serpent’s head; the elderly Saint Anne looks on.
- Original: 1605–1606, oil on canvas, 292 x 211 cm, Galleria Borghese, Rome.
- Ours: painted by hand in oils on canvas, 8 portrait sizes from 40 x 55 to 151 x 200 cm or made to measure.
- Worth knowing: it hung in Saint Peter’s only from 8 to 16 April 1606 before it was removed.
