圣母、圣子与圣安娜

The Madonna and Child with St. Anne (Dei Palafrenieri) or Madonna and the Serpent, is one of the mature religious works of the Italian Baroque master Caravaggio, painted in 1605–1606, for the altar of the Archconfraternity of the Papal Grooms (Italian: Arciconfraternita di Sant'Anna de Parafrenieri) in the Basilica of Saint Peter and taking its theme from Genesis 3:15. The painting was briefly exhibited in the parish church for the Vatican, Sant'Anna dei Palafrenieri, before its removal, due to its unorthodox portrayal of the Virgin Mary. There are a lot of reasons why the piece may have been removed, such as the nudity of the child Jesus and the Virgin Mary revealing too much of her breast. The reputation of the model that Caravaggio used to portray the Virgin Mary could be another reason as to why this altarpiece was withdrawn. The altarpiece was sold to Cardinal Scipione Borghese and now hangs in his palazzo (Galleria Borghese).

History

Caravaggio received this commission from the Confraternity for Palafrenieri on December 1, 1605. He worked on the piece and completed it in under four months. It is unknown as to why the Confraternity picked Caravaggio to do the altarpiece; it is known that he was paid 25 scudi for the painting, according to a document found by scholar Luigi Spezzaferro, dated October 31. The altarpiece was placed in the new basilica on April 8 and was removed again on April 16, to the Palafrenieri's Church of St. Anne, a church in honor of Saint Anne.

Model

The model that Caravaggio used to depict as the Virgin Mary was named Maddalena Antonietti, also known as Lena. Lena modeled for Caravaggio before, in his piece called Madonna of the Pilgrims., also known as the Madonna of Loreto (1603). Caravaggio developed a deep relationship with the model Lena, which explains why she was used in other works. Maurizio Marini has noted that while many have stated that Lena was a prostitute; there is no evidence to confirm this. However, this relationship was more serious compared to the other mistresses Caravaggio had. She came from a lower class and modeled for artists to support herself.

Removal and rejection

Spezzaferro believed that the painting was removed due to the way Caravaggio depicted St. Anne. Traditionally in Christianity, Saint Anne was praised as a symbol of Grace. Caravaggio depicted her as if she were just an ordinary older woman standing next to Mary and Christ. Another reason as to why the painting may have been removed was that Caravaggio did not put enough effort into depicting the Holy Family grouping. It was not the first time one of Caravaggio's paintings was removed from a church; another example is the Death of the Virgin, which was removed from Santa Maria della Scala.

Art historian John Spike is not sure as to what the main reason this piece was removed and he cannot pinpoint it to one specific reason. Scholar Maurizio Marini believed one of the biggest reasons Caravaggio's altarpiece was removed was due to his being a murderer that committed many crimes. Caravaggio killed Ranuccio Tomassoni of Terni in a duel. The Church had the altarpiece up for two months and later it was removed.

Another reason for the rejection could be that Caravaggio used the model Lena to depict her as the Virgin Mary. The Church may have rejected the piece knowing Lena was not an appropriate person to represent a holy figure since she was a prostitute. Lena developed a relationship with Mariano Pasqualone that led Caravaggio to attack Pasqualone with a sword at a restaurant called Via Della Scrofa.

The infant Jesus being fully naked may have also caused controversy and could be another reason as to why the altarpiece was removed from St. Peter's. During the Counter-Reformation, the Church did not want to display art that displayed nudity, especially depicting such a holy entity.

Iconography

Depiction

While not his most successful arrangement, it is an atypical representation of the Virgin Mary for its time and must have been shocking to some contemporary viewers. It depicts the Virgin Mary who, with the aid of her son, whom she holds, tramples and crushes a serpent, the emblem of evil or original sin.……

节选，摘自英文维基百科「Madonna and Child with Saint Anne (Dei Palafrenieri)」，按 CC BY-SA 4.0 使用。