The Madonna of the Rosary - Caravaggio

The Madonna of the Rosary (1604) Caravaggio

Happy New Year from the Baroque Art Accessibility Consortium!

Today the Catholic Church celebrates the Solemnity of Mary, The Holy Mother of God.

Have a look at The Madonna of the Rosary (1604) by Caravaggio. We see the Virgin pointing at the rosaries she gave to St. Dominic, while others kneel and request the rosaries from him. The man on the far left of the painting with the white collar looking back at us may be the donor that commissioned this work. The message of the painting is to remind us of the importance of venerating the rosary and the central role that the Virgin and saints play as intercessors for us.

The painting never made it to the altar that it was intended, for unknown reasons and instead went on the market in Naples and ended up eventually in the hands of the Viennese Habsburgs and is today on display in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna.