The Immaculate Conception1627
The Virgin stands on a crescent moon in a golden sky, her hands joined and her gaze lifted, while angels gather around her. More about this work
About this work
The Virgin stands on a crescent moon in a golden sky, her hands joined and her gaze lifted, while angels gather around her. The Immaculate Conception, the belief that Mary was conceived free of original sin, was especially cherished in Spain and widely celebrated in the art of the Counter-Reformation. Reni painted this canvas in 1627, and his serene, idealised type of the Virgin, with its cool blues and luminous flesh, was widely imitated by later painters.
Written by Ochre Editions.
How it was made
- Oil paint
- Pigment ground in a drying oil, usually linseed. It dries slowly, so painters could blend on the canvas, build up thin translucent glazes, and rework a picture over weeks. Canvas replaced wooden panels in the 1500s because it is lighter and can be rolled.
Guido Reni
Italian, 1575–1642 · Born and died in Bologna.
Reni trained in Bologna, first with Denys Calvaert and then at the Carracci academy, and spent the early 1600s in Rome, where his fresco Aurora won wide fame. Returning to Bologna, he ran a large studio and became the most admired painter of his generation, prized for idealised figures, cool, clear colour and graceful movement. His late works, such as Salome with the Head of Saint John the Baptist, are freer in handling and paler in tone.
Written by Ochre Editions.
Rights and the museum’s record
Public domain. The Met has dedicated this image to the public domain under CC0, so anyone may copy, adapt and use it, for any purpose, without asking. Our prints and files are reproductions made from the museum’s image; the museum doesn’t endorse them.
- Object number
- 59.32
- Credit
- Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
- Type
- Paintings
- Department
- European Paintings
- Licence
- CC0 1.0 Universal
- Museum record
- See it on the museum’s site
