# Madonna and Child on Clouds

- By: Federico Barocci (Italian, 1526/28-1612)
- Date: n.d.
- Medium: Etching in black on cream laid paper
- Classification: Print
- Dimensions: Plate/sheet: 15.5 × 10.8 cm (6 1/8 × 4 5/16 in.)
- Culture: Italy
- Credit line: John H. Wrenn Memorial Fund
- Museum: [Art Institute of Chicago](https://www.artic.edu/artworks/44750)
- Rights: [Public domain (CC0)](https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)
- Picture: https://invisiblenetwork.ai/thumbs/web/98e83e52b44ea1bb2e889008fe9261bd.jpg
- Who can see it: Tweens profiles and older (museums give no ratings; placed by Invisible Network from the museum's own words)

Federico Barocci’s tender etching is one of the first the artist completed. The intimate scale makes the work ideal for personal devotion. The infant Christ’s direct, beatific gaze at the viewer gently contrasts with the rapt adoration lavished on him by his sweet, youthful mother. The flying putto heads in the cloudburst on either side exude a sense of calm and protection, while the detail of the Virgin’s sandaled foot anchors the pyramidal group on what would otherwise be an insubstantial wisp of cloud. This print may reproduce a painting by the artist that has long since been lost.

Description © Art Institute of Chicago, CC BY 4.0