Madonna and Child with Child St John

The panel carries a single Latin word, ECCE, which means behold. It is the first word of what John the Baptist says by the river Jordan in the Gospel of John, when he sees Jesus coming towards him. Behold the Lamb of God, which takes away the sin of the world. Here the Baptist is still a small boy, and the man he will one day point out is the baby on Mary's lap. The Alte Pinakothek reads the rest of the picture in the same key. Mary's thoughtful look already seems to turn towards the Passion, and the ancient capital stands for original sin overcome. The setting, a projecting wall with a column and a view out into open country, is one van Dyck knew from Titian's pictures in Italy. It was still with him when he painted this oak panel back in Antwerp, around 1631 or 1632.