Madonna met Kind, Johannes, Franciscus van Assisi en H. Sebastiaan 1753 - 1757

Noël Le Mire created this print of the Madonna and Child with Saints in the 18th century. It’s a copy of a painting by Parmigianino, and it allows the wider distribution of Parmigianino’s work to a large audience. Le Mire's image makes meaning through its cultural references and historical associations. The depiction of religious figures like the Madonna, Child, Saint John, Saint Francis, and Saint Sebastian, all draw on well-established visual codes from the Italian Renaissance. This was a time when the Catholic Church was a major patron of the arts. The print was made during a time when the Royal Academy shaped the production of art. Le Mire's print reflects the conservative and academic approach to art of the time. Art historians use archival research, and institutional records, to better understand the context in which art is made and to assess the ways in which the institutions shaped it. Art's meaning always depends on its social and institutional context.