Studies van een moeder die haar kind draagt 1575 - 1579

Federico Barocci made this red chalk drawing, Studies van een moeder die haar kind draagt, sometime between 1535 and 1612. These sketches offer a glimpse into the artistic process of the Italian Renaissance. Barocci was working in a world that still saw the role of the artist as a craftsman who gradually refines their concept through careful study. The artist, in his role as 'designer', moves from general idea to fully realised form in a sequence of steps. It was a world where art academies were becoming increasingly important as arbiters of taste. The drawing offers us insight into a cultural context where family and motherhood were highly valued ideals, linked to religious ideas. The way the mother carries her child is a clear visual code, reminiscent of the Virgin Mary and the Christ Child. To understand Barocci’s studies more fully, one might turn to letters, treatises, and biographies of the period, along with the records of institutions like the Accademia di San Luca. These sources help us understand the social conditions that shaped artistic production.