Virgin and Angels Watching Over the Sleeping Infant Jesus

Cozza employed the etching process, incising lines into a metal plate and using varying densities of hatching to suggest volume. The stark contrast between the infant’s serene visage and the angels’ alert expressions is achieved through careful manipulation of line weight and cross‑hatching, creating a sense of three‑dimensionality despite the monochrome medium.

Created in 1644, the print reflects Cozza’s activity during the mid‑seventeenth century, a period when religious prints circulated widely for private devotion. While specific ownership records are scarce, the etching aligns with the era’s prolific production of devotional imagery for both ecclesiastical and domestic audiences.

The piece belongs to a broader tradition of Italian Baroque religious prints that emphasized emotional engagement and dramatic chiaroscuro. By situating the holy family within a cavernous interior, Cozza echoes contemporary visual tropes that juxtapose the earthly realm’s ruggedness with the spiritual serenity of the divine infant.