Madonna with Child, John the Baptist and an Angel. Early 17th century. Oil

The Madonna is often depicted with not one, but two children. The other infant is John the Baptist, who was the son of Elisabeth, who was the Virgin Mary’s relative and the wife of the high priest. Since the Gospel of St. Luke speaks about a meeting between Mary and Elisabeth, who were both pregnant at the time, Jesus and John are considered to be contemporaries and playmates. In this picture, John is depicted, even as a small child, paying homage to the future Saviour.
The woman standing on the left is probably an angel, because she is lacking the attributes typical of saints. Her youth also precludes the possibility that it could be St. Anne, Jesus’s grandmother, or Elisabeth, who became a mother when she was older.

Jacopo Zucchi (1541 – ca 1590) was an Italian mannerist painter who worked in Rome.