Maria hebt den Schleier vom Kind, links zwei zusehende Engelsköpchen 

Carlo Maratti created this ink drawing entitled, “Maria lifts the Veil from the Child, with two Angel Heads on the Left,” sometime during his lifetime from 1625 to 1713. The image evokes the Italian Baroque’s theatrical sensibility in its dramatic chiaroscuro. Maratti’s Roman Catholicism certainly influenced the choice of subject, but so too did the demands of the art market in seventeenth century Italy. Religious images like this were produced for wealthy patrons who wanted to demonstrate their piety as well as their refined taste in art. This drawing may have been a study for a larger painting commissioned by a church or private collector. Note how the artist positions the Virgin Mary as a nurturing mother while also emphasizing her divine status. The role of art historians is to situate works like this within their specific social and institutional contexts. By researching patronage networks, religious practices, and artistic training, we can better understand the complex meanings embedded in this seemingly simple devotional image.