The FMA at the School of Mary (Art. 79)
The Virgin with Baby Jesus and St. John the Baptist
is an iconographic theme which is typical of Christian art. Between the end of the XV century and the
beginning of the XVI, it received the attention of the Italian masters: Sandro
Botticelli, Leonardo da Vinci, Raffaello Sanzio, and Michelangelo Buonarroti. In this depiction by Raffaello, we can see
how Mary cares for the two children: tender and sweet, she expresses her
motherliness to each of them. At the
same time, we can see John the Baptist expressing total trust in Mary and pious
admiration for Baby Jesus. We recall
that John the Baptist was the first to perceive in Mary Jesus’ Divine Presence through
the work of the Holy Spirit: his mother Elizabeth realized it when he leapt in
her womb! Elizabeth “caught” it and was
filled with the Holy Spirit, as Luke recounts (1:41-44).