The Madonna of the Swallow

Annibale Carracci was an influential Italian painter active in Bologna and Rome. In 1582, together with his brother Agostino and his cousin Ludovico, he founded the “Accademia degli Incamminati,” a group that promoted a new, more naturalistic style of painting. In Rome, where Annibale moved in 1595, he was especially famous for his frescoes, although he worked in other media. One of Carracci’s rare prints, this image The Madonna of the Swallow shows the extended Holy Family, including John the Baptist. Mary sits with Jesus in her lap. He holds a swallow, while his cousin, the young John the Baptist, holds one of the bird’s feathers. In Carracci’s day, the swallow was a common symbol of the Resurrection, and John’s feather perhaps alludes to his role as a prophet. The swallow also had a second meaning: Mary’s maternal love.

Caitlin Blomo '21

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