Saint John the Baptist and the Infant Jesus Embracing Each Other
1799. Black chalk, Red chalk on wove paper.Not on display
This is a gridded drawing in pencil. It depicts, in a large landscape, the Christ Child embracing Saint John, who is half-kneeling in front of him. Three child angels are in the sky, and the lamb is behind Saint John. In the foreground, there is a cloth and an upturned basket of fruit.
It is preparatory drawing for the print dated in 1799 and dedicated according to the inscription to Don Luis María de Borbón, Count of Chinchón, Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Distinguished Spanish Order of Charles III, Archbishop of Seville, First Class Grandee of Spain.
Currently lost, Murillo’s painting was located in the Royal Palace in Madrid at the time. It must have disappeared during the Napoleonic invasion.
Angulo Iñiguez noted the existence of several copies of very different quality, some of them probably copying the print.
Pérez Sánchez, Alfonso Emilio, Museo del Prado Catálogo de Dibujos T. III. Dibujos Españoles, Siglo XVIII C-Z, Madrid, Museo del Prado, 1977, p.102-103
