Artwork
The Infant Christ Asleep, Adored by Two Angels
The Infant Christ Asleep, Adored by Two Angels is an unspecified painting by the Rococo painting artist Agostino Cornacchini. It dates from 1727 and is held in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum.
About this work
Overview
Agostino Cornacchini’s 1727 oil painting depicts the newborn Christ in a state of peaceful slumber, attended by two reverent angels. The infant is swaddled in a verdant cloth, while the celestial figures gaze upon him with tender admiration. A darkened backdrop is pierced by a focused beam of light, highlighting the central group and lending a solemn atmosphere to the composition.
Subject & Meaning
The work presents a devotional scene in which the sleeping Christ symbolizes innocence and divine mystery, surrounded by angels who embody heavenly worship. Their adoring expressions suggest a contemplation of the infant’s future role as savior, while the tranquil pose invites contemplation of the humanity and divinity coexisting in the newborn.
Technique & Style
Cornacchini employs a strong chiaroscuro effect, using stark contrasts between illuminated forms and deep shadows to model volume and create spatial depth.
Cornacchini employs a strong chiaroscuro effect, using stark contrasts between illuminated forms and deep shadows to model volume and create spatial depth. The angels are rendered with meticulous attention to facial detail and richly textured garments, enhancing their realism. The luminous light source, seemingly descending from above, unifies the figures and accentuates the tactile quality of the fabrics.
History & Provenance
Completed in 1727, the painting entered the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum, where it remains on display. Its attribution to Cornacchini, an Italian painter active in the early eighteenth century, aligns with his known output of religious subjects rendered in a Baroque sensibility, reflecting the period’s devotional artistic trends.
Artist & collection
Artist
Agostino Cornacchini was an Italian sculptor and painter of the Rococo period, active mainly in Rome. His masterpiece is the equestrian statue of Charlemagne.
The Virgin and Child with the Infant Saint John and Attendant Angels
A Child Angel
The Adoration of the Shepherds
The Assumption of St Lucy
The Nativity
The Assumption of the Virgin
The Apotheosis of St Zeno
Natività
Nativity of St. John
The Nativity
The Triumph of the Virgin
The Infant Christ Asleep on the Cross (after Bartolomé Esteban Murillo)