十八世紀活躍於羅馬與倫敦的畫家安德烈‧卡薩利（Andrea Casali, 1705-1784），師承巴洛克畫家賽巴斯蒂亞諾‧孔卡（Sebastiano Conca, 1679-1764）和法蘭契斯可‧特雷維薩尼（Francesco Trevisani, 1656-1746）。1735年遷居至倫敦後，卡薩利的作品經常受到英國宮廷及貴族所讚揚並因此成為當時英國畫壇的重要人物。

此幅【聖母子與施洗者約翰】傳為卡薩利所作，身穿藍袍、頭罩黃色頭巾的聖母瑪利亞，頭部略往右傾，面帶微笑地俯視懷中的耶穌；她的雙手交疊在耶穌的腰間，並將之安放在木桌上的白色枕墊上，一展母親看顧孩子時的悉心樣貌。而身披白布且頭部後方閃耀著淡淡光圈的耶穌雖安穩地靠坐在枕墊上，但仍轉身傾靠在瑪利亞的懷中，同時將雙手輕放在瑪利亞的頸項兩側狀似擁抱，傳達出孩子對母親的依賴心情。畫面右下角穿著駱駝皮毛的小施洗約翰，正以右手輕輕拿起垂掛在瑪利左前臂的十字架並作勢親吻之。

卡薩利去除畫作的背景空間，僅以灰黑色平塗，並透過一抹來自前方的光線點亮畫中的三位主角，不僅將三人白裡透紅的肌膚襯托得更為嬌嫩，同時也讓聖母身上的藍色衣袍顯得更為光華亮麗。在整體的構圖安排上，卡薩利運用許多三角形構圖來維持畫面的重心和穩定之感。以聖母的頭部為起點，除與其雙肩剛好構成畫面中心的三角構圖外，同時又可連結耶穌嬰孩和小施洗約翰的頭顱形成平穩的小三角構圖。畫中人物的面容、頭髮和衣袍等的刻畫多採圓潤婉轉的弧線，同時搭配人物柔嫩的肌膚和清亮的衣裝，充分表現出平靜溫和之感。此外，更與人物間彼此依偎、貼近的親密動作呼應，營造出溫馨喜悅的氣氛。(徐鈺涵)

The Virgin and Child with Saint John the Baptist is said to be the work of Andrea Casali (1705-1784) who was active in Rome and London in the 18th century. Casali's works were popular amongst the English royal family and nobles, and he was a major artist in Britain at the time.

In the painting, the Virgin is dressed in a blue robe with a yellow scarf drapping over her head. She tilts her head slightly to the right, and smiles down at the Baby Jesus in her arms. Her hands are folded at Jesus' waist, as she sets him down on a white cushion placed on a wooden table, showing the care and love of a mother to her child. Jesus is swaddled in a white cloth and has a faint halo behind his head.

Although he is sitting firmly on the cushion, he turns towards Mary and leans against her. At the same time, he is holding up his arms and embracing Mary around the neck, representing the reliance of a child on his mother. In the bottom right corner is a young John the Baptist dressed in camel skin. In his right hand, he is gently holding the crucifix hanging over Mary's left arm and appearing to kiss it.

Casali has removed the background and simply rendered it in gray and black. A beam of light from the front highlights the three subjects. Not only does this bring out the pinkish pale skin, but it also augments the simple splendor of the Virgin Mary's blue robe. In the overall image, Casali makes use of many triangular structures to maintain a sense of balance and stability. The top of the Virgin's head to her shoulders forms the main triangular structure in the center of the painting. From her head to the heads of the Infant Jesus and the young John the Baptist is another smaller triangular form. The countenance, hair, and attire of the characters are depicted using delicate arcs. When paired with the exquisite skin and bright outfits, the atmosphere is one of calm. (Yu Han HSU)