Rosenkranz Madonna, also known as the Rosary Madonna or the Rosary Rosary Madonna, is a large Catholic themed oil painting created by Italian Baroque painter Michelangelo Merici da Caravaggio in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. It symbolizes the sanctity and importance of Dominican monks and believers worshiping the Virgin Mary with the Rosary (i.e. the Feast of the Rosary) on a daily basis. The original work is currently housed in the Vienna Museum of Art History in Austria.

Creative technique: Oil painting on canvas
Work size: 364.5 x 249.5 centimeters
Frame size: 410 x 294 x 17 centimeters
Collection Institution: Vienna Museum of Art History · Oil Painting Gallery
Collection ID: Inv. - Nr. GG_147
History of Collection: The client and initial source of the artwork are unknown. In 1607, Frans Pourbus purchased it from Louis Finson and Abraham Vinck in Naples; In 1617, it was transported to Amsterdam, and in 1620, a group of painters purchased it for the Antwerp Dominican Church; In 1781, it was presented to Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II, who came from Austria; Arrived in Vienna in 1786.

The Virgin Mary helped Saint Dominic to spread the hymn of the Virgin Mary (also known as the Rosary) to everyone. St. Peter, the martyr, introduced the Holy Son Christ to the congregation. The composition implies that Dominic will receive dual blessings from the Virgin Mary and Dominic. It is believed that the painter may have completed this altar painting in Rome.

Michelangelo Merisi detto il Caravaggio (September 29, 1571- July 18, 1610) was an Italian painter who was active in Rome, Naples, Malta, and Sicily from 1593 to 1610. He is usually considered to belong to the Baroque school of painting and had a significant influence on its formation. [2]

Caravaggio leads a wild life. Even in an era and place where disputes were commonplace, he was notorious for his repeated struggles, with several pages of copied security and interrogation records. On May 29, 1606, possibly unintentionally, he killed a young man named Ranuccio Tomasoni. Previously, sponsors from the upper class had dealt with his series of extramarital affairs, but this time they were powerless. Caravaggio fled to Naples because Naples was outside the jurisdiction of the Roman authorities. Under the protection of the Colonna family, this most famous painter in Rome also became the most renowned painter in Naples. His relationship with the Colonna family led to a series of important church commissions, including the "Ode to the Virgin Mary" and the "Seven Acts of Mercy". Despite his success in Naples, Caravaggio left for Malta, the headquarters of the Order of Malta, only a few months later. It is estimated that he hoped to receive protection from the Order's leader, Alof de Wignacot, so that his crime of killing Tomasoni could be forgiven. De Vigna Cort was very fond of this famous artist, making him the official painter of the Knights and even accepting him as a knight. Early biographer Belori recorded that Caravaggio was pleased with his success. During his time in Malta, his main works included the massive "St. John the Baptist Beheaded" (his only signed work) and "Portraits of Arof de Wignacot and his Attendants", as well as portraits of other knightly leaders. Despite this, he was still arrested and imprisoned at the end of August 1608. For a long time, there have been various speculations about this sudden change, but recent research shows that it is the result of another struggle, in which the door of a house was destroyed and a knight was seriously injured. By December, he was expelled from the Knights as a 'detestable fallen member'。