The Madonna and Child accompanied by an angel holding a basket of flowers

This intimate devotional work derives from Raphael's celebrated Garvagh Madonna (also known as the Aldobrandini Madonna; London, National Gallery), executed circa 1509–10. Agostino Masucci, a principal heir to the Marattesque tradition in eighteenth-century Rome, studied Raphael's Vatican frescoes directly under the patronage of Princess Violante Pamphili. Here he adapts the prototype, replacing the infant Baptist with an attendant angel bearing flowers, while retaining the tender intimacy of the original. Such refined cabinet pictures on copper were characteristic of Masucci's output for discerning private patrons.