Bolognese-Roman school, second half of the 17th century. "Virgin and Child". Oil on canvas. Relined. Repainting and restorations. Measurements: 74 x 61 cm; 84 x 71,5 cm (frame). In this Maternity, the golden veil of the Virgin wraps her head and the body of the Child Jesus, in such a way that the couple is sheltered under the canvas, protecting their eternal love. The small naked body, skilfully foreshortened, is held in both arms by the mother, who lovingly bows her head. The child s eyes are two intense beacons that seem to caress the Virgin with their clear gaze. This painting belongs to the Bolognese school of the Baroque, which draws its references from Greco-Latin classicism and the Renaissance. Various trends developed within the Bolognese school, and the present painting is most closely related to the line initiated by Annibale Carraci (closer to the Roman tradition than to the Venetian), who reinterpreted the classicism of Raphael and Michelangelo. Michelangelo s Michelangeloesque drawing was combined with Raphael s sweetness, Titian s colour and Correggio s plasticity. The masters of the Bolognese Baroque did not copy but created a new style inspired by what they considered to be the best of the classical past. The school of Baroque classicism was dominated by the Carracci: Annibale, his brother Agostino and his cousin Ludovico, creators of the Accademia degli Incamminati (1582), with which they tried to renew the predominantly mannerist art of the time, which they considered already decadent. Annibale was the principal creator of the new style, while Agostino was important for the dissemination of models as an engraver and Ludovico was the principal master of the academy. The Carracci s painting was the same as Caravaggio s naturalism at the outset: a counterpoint to the dominant trends. They reacted against Mannerism, already very repetitive, which they saw as extremely artificial. The Carracci, on the other hand, wanted to represent reality, the natural, which was precisely what had been lost in Mannerism. The protagonists of the Classicist Baroque, and therefore of the Bolognese school, did so in two ways: on the one hand, by looking at nature and painting things as they were, and on the other, by admiring the great masters, especially Correggio and the Venetians of the 16th century. From Titian they took the loose brushstroke and themes, from Veronese the luxury, brilliance and theatricality of gesture (especially evident in compositions such as the one we present here), and from Tintoretto the chiaroscuro.