Holy Family with an Angel
mid–late 1590s
- Medium
- Pen and brown ink
- Dimensions
- 14.1 × 20 cm
- Status
- In Museum Collection
- Collect24 Art ID
- C24-209502
This intimate drawing captures the close relationship between a mother and child. Guido Reni emphasized the Holy Family's humanity and the infant's love and neediness, not his divinity as the Christ. Although a lightly drawn Joseph and an angel look on, they do not inhabit the same space as the more substantial mother and child, and neither Mary nor Jesus acknowledges their presence. Scholars are uncertain about the purpose of this drawing. The hatched lines indicating shading hint that Reni may have made it with an etching in mind, though none survives. He at least considered an oval format, for his curved lines round off all four corners of the design, echoing Mary's embracing arms and bowed head.
Provenance
The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles
Registry history
- mid–late 1590s — Recorded in the collection of J. Paul Getty Museum — drawings
Registered on Collect24
The identity of the collector is never published. Purchase information, documents and the exact location of the artwork remain private.
Ownership not yet verified on Collect24
This artwork is documented in the Global Art Registry, but no Collect24 account is linked to it as the owner. Claiming keeps this record and its Collect24 Art ID — nothing is created a second time.
Do you own or represent this artwork? Claim this artwork →Auction history
Public sale records matched to this work. Ownership is never disclosed.
Loading sale records…