Madonna en het kind reiken scapulieren uit 1573 - 1610

Francesco Vanni created this red chalk drawing, “Madonna en het kind reiken scapulieren uit”, in Italy during the late 16th or early 17th century. Here, the Virgin Mary and Christ Child are poised above a group of kneeling figures, offering them scapulars, devotional objects signifying commitment to the Carmelite order. Vanni was active in Siena, a city-state with strong ties to the Catholic Church and its institutions. The drawing reflects the religious fervor of the Counter-Reformation, a period when the Church sought to reaffirm its authority in response to the Protestant Reformation. Artists like Vanni played a vital role in visually promoting Catholic doctrine and devotion. To fully understand this drawing, we might consult historical texts on the Carmelite order, studies of Sienese art and society, and theological treatises on the role of the Virgin Mary. Such research allows us to appreciate the social conditions that shaped Vanni's artistic production and the ways in which his art served the ideological purposes of the Church.