Madonna che allata il bambino 1780

Pompeo Batoni, an Italian painter, created this Madonna nursing the Child in oils, though the date is unknown. The image creates meaning through visual codes associated with the Catholic church, in the soft presentation of Mary, and the intimate moment between mother and child. Batoni lived in a period of immense changes in art, such as the development of museums and art history. His patrons were wealthy elites who saw the aesthetic experience as a signifier of social status. Batoni was part of the Roman establishment and his religious paintings served their conservative purposes. We can explore the meaning of this artwork, through period sources such as letters between artists and patrons, books on aesthetics, and the records of art academies. These resources allow us to understand art as something that is historically contingent and shaped by the institutions that support its creation and reception.