Vittore Carpaccio
Virgin and Child with the Young St. John the Baptist

This portrait format was initially painted on wood using mixed media and later transferred to silk. It measures almost 70 centimetres in height and 55 centimetres in width. The painting was borrowed from the Städel Museum in Frankfurt am Main for this exhibition. 

The small panel shows Mary praying, Jesus, who is about six years old, and John, who is a little older, in a room with a window-like opening. A parapet runs along the lower edge of the picture. 

Mary is standing in front of a blue curtain on the right of the picture. She is depicted from head to hip. Her gaze is directed downwards. She has placed her palms together in prayer in front of her chest. Mary is wearing a dark brown dress with bronze-coloured wide sleeves. It is tied with a cord under the chest. Her hair is covered with a transparent veil, which also covers part of her forehead. She has wrapped a long white scarf around her head and neck. A dark blue cloak is draped over the parapet to her left. 

To her right, almost in the centre of the picture, is John. He has reddish-brown hair and is wearing an olive-coloured robe. He is holding a small cross in his left hand and pointing to a book in the hands of the Christ Child with his right.

Little Jesus is sitting with his legs stretched out on a green cushion on the left of the parapet in front of the window-like opening. He is wearing a long-sleeved white shirt, a brown tunic, a red silver-embroidered cap and red laced shoes. There is a necklace around his neck and a bracelet around his right wrist. Both are made of brown beads. He is holding the small, open book on his knees. 

Through the opening behind the boy Jesus, we see a green landscape with sheep in a pasture. A hill with trees is overlooked by the spires of a town behind it. The milky white-pink sky on the horizon fades into a pale blue towards the top. 

Carpaccio's signature is written in white letters on the front of the dark brown balustrade.

The Christ child, a slightly older John the Baptist and Mary have withdrawn to pray. Jesus is sitting on a window breast that separates the exterior space from the interior, making him into the mediator between the world outside and the private devotional space. 

He's wearing a shirt, a tunic, a red cap, a string of beads and dainty little red shoes – a typical outfit for Venetian infants in the early 16th century. But while his mother has already bowed her head and clasped her hands in prayer, the two boys aren't yet ready for the tranquillity of devotion. The Christ child is rather awkwardly turning the pages of a psalter. John raises his right hand to point at the book, which draws a look from the Christ Child. Neither is yet copying the Virgin's pious gesture, and silent prayer will have to wait.

We don't know who commissioned this lifelike scene from Carpaccio. But it probably adorned a woman's room and was intended for private devotions. The thinking prevalent in Venice during the time around 1500 held that women ought to stay in their rooms, where they were to instruct their children in matters of religion. So this scene may have served as an example to be imitated... with the two inattentive boys adding a degree of realism.

A similar scene by Carpaccio's hand has survived as a sketch. It's the second picture at this stop. There, both the Virgin and the Christ child are sitting on a window breast or in a window opening. Mary has opened a book and is looking across the pages at her son. He's perched on a cushion and appears to be listening attentively to his mother – finally!

The baby Jesus, John and Mary want to pray. Jesus is sitting on a small wall. He is wearing clothes that are typical for small children in 16th century Venice: a shirt, a tunic, a red cap, a pearl necklace and red shoes. While his mother Mary has already folded her hands in prayer and bowed her head, the two little boys are not yet ready to be quiet. The baby Jesus is clumsily leafing through a book. John points to the book with his hand, distracting Jesus. Mary is already ready to pray, but the children are not yet.

We no longer know for whom Carpaccio painted this picture. The picture probably depicts prayer in a woman's room. At that time, people in Venice believed that women should stay at home and raise their children religiously. The situation depicted could therefore show how mothers should pray with their children – but here you can also see that small children are often distracted when praying.

A similar picture by Carpaccio is available as a drawing. You can see the drawing as the second depiction at this stop. Mary and the baby Jesus are both sitting on a wall or in a window. Mary has a book open in front of her and is looking over at her son, who is sitting on a cushion and listening attentively to his mother – finally!