Madonna and Child with St. Anne (Dei Palafrenieri)

The Madonna and Child with St. Anne (Dei Palafrenieri) or Madonna and the Serpent, is one of the mature religious works of the Italian Baroque master Caravaggio, painted in 1605-1606, for the altar of the Archconfraternity of the Papal Grooms (Italian: Arciconfraternita di Sant'Anna de Parafrenieri) in the Basilica of Saint Peter and taking its theme from Genesis 3:15. The painting was briefly exhibited in the parish church for the Vatican, Sant'Anna dei Palafrenieri, before its removal, due to its unorthodox portrayal of the Virgin Mary. There are a lot of reasons why the piece may have been removed, such as the nudity of the child Jesus and the Virgin Mary revealing too much of her breast. The reputation of the model that Caravaggio used to portray the Virgin Mary could be another reason as to why this altarpiece was withdrawn. The altarpiece was sold to Cardinal Scipione Borghese and now hangs in his palazzo (Galleria Borghese).

History Caravaggio received this commission from the Confraternity for Palafrenieri on December 1, 1605. He worked on the piece and completed it in under four months. It is unknown as to why the Confraternity picked Caravaggio to do the altarpiece; it is known that he was paid 25 scudi for the painting, according to a document found by scholar Luigi Spezzaferro, dated October 31st. The altarpiece was placed in the new basilica on April 8 and was removed again on April 16, to the Palafrenieri's Church of St. Anne, a church in honor of St. Anne.