How you can use this image
This image can be used for non-commercial research or private study purposes, and other UK exceptions to copyright permitted to users based in the United Kingdom under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, as amended and revised. Any other type of use will need to be cleared with the rights holder(s).
Review the copyright credit lines that are located underneath the image, as these indicate who manages the copyright (©) within the artwork, and the photographic rights within the image.
The collection that owns the artwork may have more information on their own website about permitted uses and image licensing options.
Review our guidance pages which explain how you can reuse images, how to credit an image and how to find images in the public domain or with a Creative Commons licence available.
Buy a print or image licence
You can purchase this reproduction
If you have any products in your basket we recommend that you complete your purchase from Art UK before you leave our site to avoid losing your purchases.
Notes
Add or edit a note on this artwork that only you can see. You can find notes again by going to the ‘Notes’ section of your account.
Barocci represents the holy family in the charming domestic setting of a bedchamber in a Renaissance palace. The infant Christ turns from feeding at his mother’s breast to observe his cousin, John the Baptist, who is teasing the household cat with a goldfinch. The bird is a traditional symbol of the Passion (Christ’s torture and crucifixion) because of the legend that it acquired its red head from a drop of blood that fell as it drew a thorn from Christ’s brow on his way to the Crucifixion. Saint Joseph leans forward to observe the game, smiling benevolently. The Virgin Mary looks down at Christ and points to the cat, which is ready to pounce. The warmth of the gathering disguises the picture’s more serious devotional message – the anticipation of Christ’s future sacrifice.
Title
The Madonna and Child with Saint Joseph and the Infant Baptist ('La Madonna del Gatto')
Date
probably about 1575
Medium
Oil on canvas
Measurements
H 112.7 x W 92.7 cm
Accession number
NG29
Acquisition method
Bequeathed by Revd Holwell Carr, 1831
Work type
Painting
The National Gallery, London
Trafalgar Square, London, Greater London WC2N 5DN England
-
St Dominic de Guzmán receiving the Rosary Ashmolean Museum, Oxford -
Virgin and Child with Saint Francis The Fitzwilliam Museum -
Studies for the Head, Left Arm and Body of Christ – Study for a Figure in the Perugia 'Deposition' The Fitzwilliam Museum -
A Study for the Figure of the Virgin in a Nativity The Fitzwilliam Museum -
Study for Christ on the Cross with Two Angels The Fitzwilliam Museum -
Study for the Figure of the Virgin in a Nativity The Fitzwilliam Museum -
The Madonna and Child with Saint Joseph and the Infant Baptist ('La Madonna del Gatto') The National Gallery, London - 7 more