Virgin and Child with Saints Dominic and Hyacinth

Discussion

FROM THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO’S CATALOG

In this altarpiece, Giovanni Battista Tiepolo conceived the traditional subject of the Virgin and Child with interceding saints as if the two figures have miraculously appeared on an altar in a light-filled vision, surrounded by the golden clouds of heaven. The infant gives Saint Dominic a rosary; the saint had founded a preaching order that was closely associated with the use of the rosary as a spiritual exercise. The embroidered decorative scenes on the altar cloth depict the mysteries of the rosary, key events in the lives of Mary and Jesus. The devout believer would have meditated on these images while repeating the cycle of prayers marked by rosary beads.

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