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| Caravaggio Madonna & Child with St. Anne ca. 1606 Galleria Borghese, Rome |
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| Caravaggio Madonna & Child with St. Anne (detail) ca. 1606 |
Under her left foot the Madonna crushes the serpent of original sin while the foot of the Christ Child presses down on top of her own. The child's commanding left-handed gesture of dismissal directed toward the snake is safely supervised by a parent who makes sure to remain in discreet control.
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| Caravaggio Madonna & Child with St. Anne (detail) ca. 1606 |
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| Caravaggio Nativity with St. Francis & St. Lawrence ca. 1609 Oratory of San Lorenzo, Palermo (former location, missing since the 1960s) |
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| Caravaggio Adoration of the Shepherds ca. 1609 Museo Regionale, Messina |
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| Caravaggio Madonna of the Rosary ca. 1607 Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna |
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| Caravaggio Madonna of the Rosary (deatil) ca. 1607 |
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| Caravaggio Madonna of the Rosary (detail) ca. 1607 |
Caravaggi's Madonnas emerge from darkness (as above) and the Madonnas of Caravaggio's followers also emerge from darkness (as below).
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| Orazio Gentileschi Madonna & Child ca. 1604 Barberini Gallery, Rome |
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| Luca Giordano Holy Family with St. John the Baptist ca. 1665 Prado |
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| Bartolomeo Cavarozzi Holy Family with St. Catherine ca. 1617-19 Prado |
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| Simone Cantarini Holy Family ca. 1645 Prado |
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| Guido Reni Madonna of the Chair ca. 1624-25 Prado |
Especially for the Spanish market, Pietro da Cortona (below) produced a nativity without the traditional night sky. Instead he used a glittering metallic surface-treatment that must have surprised and delighted many people and disgusted many others.
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| Pietro da Cortona Adoration of the Shepherds ca. 1656 Prado |