The Virgin with the Innocents - Technique and Styles
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The Virgin with the Innocents
ca. 1620
Peter Paul Rubens
The composition is defined by an oval spiral in which the children's bodies are grouped in clusters. The shapes in the mass gradually strengthen from left to right, creating an illusion of unbalanced and frenetic movement. The several sources of light make a chiaroscuro effect, by which the foreground and background are dynamically connected. The boys' faces as well as Mary's are similar to those in the painting The Virgin and Child with Garlands and Putti, which Rubens painted with Jan Brueghel between 1618 and 1620, so this painting can be dated to the same period.