“Stop to appreciate the tender intimacy of this Madonna and Child, an etching that captures a quiet moment of maternal affection with delicate lines and soft shading.”
This intimate etching brings us close to the Madonna and Child, a tender moment rendered with a delicate touch. The Virgin Mary gazes down at her infant son, who reaches a tiny hand toward her face, creating a circle of affection at the heart of the composition. The soft lines and subtle shading, characteristic of the etching technique, emphasize the gentle contours of their forms and the folds of Mary's drapery. The artist, Stefano Mulinari, created this work around 1750, a period when religious subjects were often depicted with a heightened sense of human emotion and accessibility. This print, likely intended for private devotion, invites a quiet contemplation of maternal love and divine innocence.
- Artist
- Stefano Mulinari
- Date
- 1750
- Medium
- Etching
- Location
- The Metropolitan Museum of Art
- Dimensions
- sheet: 6 13/16 x 5 1/4 in. (17.3 x 13.4 cm)
What to Notice
Four details hide in plain sight. Here’s where to look.

The delicate crosshatching that gives texture to Mary's veil and robe.
The way the infant Jesus's fingers gently touch his mother's cheek.
Mary's serene expression as she looks down at her child.
The subtle halo around the heads of both figures, indicating their divinity.
Stefano Mulinari
1741–1790Italian engraver who transformed devotional scenes into intimate etchings with aquatint and colored washes.
Further Works by Mulinari
Madonna and Child with Saints Peter and Paul
1750 · The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Saint Jerome in Penitence
1750 · The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Winged Figure
1750 · The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Christ standing before an entrance to a city surrounded by apostles addressing a group of men at right
1756 · The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Descent of the Holy Ghost
1760 · The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Flagellation of Christ
1760 · The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Saint John the Baptist with a lamb
1766 · The Metropolitan Museum of Art
More works to explore
Beyond Mulinari: works from the same years.
Same era · 1730s–1760s
Portrait of Madame Anne-Jeanne Cassanéa de Mondonville, née Boucon (1708-1780)
Maurice Quentin de Latour · 1752 · Art Institute of Chicago
Same era · 1730s–1760s
Richard Walker (1679–1764), Vice-Master and Horticulturist
John Theodore Heins · 1751 · Trinity College
Same era · 1730s–1760s
Design for a Lampas Silk with a Triumphal Chariot on a Cloud
Philippe de la Salle · 1765 · The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Same era · 1730s–1760s
Flying Figure Holding a Crown, Reclining River God
Jacques-Louis David · 1760 · The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Same era · 1730s–1760s
Side Chair
Artist Unknown - The Mercat Cross, Aberdeen · 1750 · Art Institute of Chicago
Same era · 1730s–1760s
Medal cabinet
William Vile · 1760 · The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Same era · 1730s–1760s
Hunter with Hounds
Höchster Porzellan-Manufaktur · 1755 · The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Same era · 1730s–1760s
Image of an Empire in Peace and Prosperity
Zhou Kun · 1745 · National Palace Museum
Same era · 1730s–1760s
Landscape
William Wooller · 1763 · Cleveland Museum of Art
Same era · 1730s–1760s
View of Ponte Lugano on the Anio, from Views of Rome
Giovanni Battista Piranesi · 1763 · Art Institute of Chicago
