Cornelius Schutt (1597-1655),, Cornelius Schutt (1597-1655), Mary Crowned by Baby Jesus

Oil on canvas , 85 x 71 cm

The seated Baby Jesus crowns his mother, who tenderly embraces him with her left hand and bows her head to her little son. The Madonna is wearing a blue dress with a red cloak, the baby Jesus is naked except for his diaper. The crowning of the mother by Jesus Christ is iconographically very unusual. Cornelis Schut first used this motif on his high altar for the Jesuit church of St. Carolus-Borromeus in Antwerp from 1639-1640. This altarpiece was an important commission, Schut's painting served as a replacement for Peter Paul Rubens's paintings of St. Ignatius and St. Francis Xavier. The figure of the Baby Jesus in this painting is similar to the figure in the altarpiece, except for the position of the feet. Baby Jesus stands in the altar picture and sits in this picture. The original idea of the Madonna being crowned by baby Jesus was taken into a smaller image and reinterpreted in terms of genre.
Oil on canvas , 85 x 71 cm