Madonna in Glory

Baglione's Madonna in Glory, dated c.1630 and thus among his late works, represents the devotional side of his Roman practice — altarpieces and devotional images for churches and private patrons that formed the backbone of any Counter-Reformation Roman painter's career. The 'in glory' format — showing the Virgin enthroned in clouds surrounded by angels — was a standard Counter-Reformation image of Mary's heavenly status. Baglione's version would have been painted for a specific Roman church or private chapel, contributing to the vast programme of post-Tridentine image-making that transformed Roman ecclesiastical interiors in the seventeenth century.

The Virgin appears elevated on clouds in the upper portion of the composition, surrounded by cherubim or larger angels, with a lower zone of saints or worshippers below. Baglione's handling is more conservative than his Caravaggist contemporaries — warmer, with softer transitions and a more overtly decorative colour sense.