Artwork
The Virgin Mary with the Infant Christ, St Elizabeth and St John the Baptist
The Virgin Mary with the Infant Christ, St Elizabeth and St John the Baptist is an oil painting by the Dutch Golden Age artist Jacob Adriaensz Backer. It dates from 1650 and is held in the collection of the Hermitage Museum.
About this work
Overview
Around 1650, Dutch painter Jacob Adriaensz Backer produced an oil composition that brings together the Virgin Mary with the infant Christ, Saint Elizabeth, and the youthful Saint John the Baptist. The work is part of the State Hermitage Museum’s holdings and exemplifies the artist’s engagement with religious narratives during the mid‑17th‑century Dutch Golden Age.
Subject & Meaning
The central figure is a serene woman in a dark garment, cradling a naked infant, identified as the Virgin Mary holding the Christ Child. To her right, a barefoot boy—John the Baptist—leans toward a small animal, while a secondary figure, likely Saint Elizabeth, appears faintly in the left background. The grouping underscores familial and prophetic connections among the holy persons.
Technique & Style
Backer employs a pronounced chiaroscuro, contrasting deep shadows with illuminated forms to give the figures a three‑dimensional presence. The folds of the woman’s dress are rendered with thick, tactile brushwork that catches the light, while the overall palette remains restrained, focusing attention on the interplay of light and dark rather than on decorative detail.
History & Provenance
Created in the mid‑17th century, the painting entered the collection of the State Hermitage Museum, where it remains on display. Its acquisition reflects the museum’s broader effort to assemble representative works of Dutch Golden Age art, highlighting Backer’s contributions alongside those of his contemporaries.
Context
Backer’s oeuvre includes religious, mythological, and portrait subjects, and his style shows the influence of artists such as Wybrand de Geest, Peter Paul Rubens, and Abraham Bloemaert. This work illustrates his synthesis of Flemish dynamism and Dutch restraint, situating it within the period’s evolving approaches to devotional imagery.
Artist & collection
Artist
Jacob Adriaensz Backer (1608 – 27 August 1651) was a Dutch Golden Age painter. He produced about 140 paintings in twenty years, including portraits, religious subjects, and mythological paintings. In his style, he was…
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