late 16th and 17th centuries Technique: oil on canvas Dimensions: 160x119 cm Oil on canvas by Valeriano Magni. The Madonna is depicted seated in a long red robe covered by a black cape with gold weaves, taken up on the shoulder by a heart-shaped ruby and gold clasp. She tenderly holds the naked Baby Jesus in her arms, standing in the act of resting her face on his cheek. At the bottom of the canvas is written in capital letters the donor's dedication with the reasons . "VALERIANO DI MILANO CAPUCCINO PROVINCIALE DI BOEMIA DONATES THIS PAINTING TO THE R.ME CAPUCCINE DI PAVIA SO THAT THEY MAY PLACE IT FOREVER IN THEIR CHOIR AND ALWAYS REMEMBER TO PRAY TO THE LORD...". Valeriano Magni, nicknamed the 'long monk' was born in Milan to Count Agostino Magni and Ottavia Carcassola in 1587. The following year the family moved to Prague He had diplomatic assignments from Emperors Ferdinand II and Ferdinand III. He joined the Capuchin Order in that city in 1602, was soon elected Provincial of the Austro-Bohemian province and was a valued advisor to the Emperor. A manuscript preserved in the Pavia University Library (Aldini 306- correspondence) also reveals the reason why the Capuchin nuns of Pavia were chosen as the beneficiaries of the painting in question. At that convent was the noblewoman Sister Maria Domitilla, born Servetta Galluzzi, (Aqui 1595 - Pavia 1671), a cousin of Father Valeriano. In the volume containing Sister Domitilla's correspondence with various noblewomen of the House of Habsburg, one also finds those of Magni, who had a long correspondence with her cousin. The Capuchin Poor Clare nun, famous for her mystical experiences that made her well-known and revered, but also the object of the attentions of the Holy Office, asked for donations for the convent in her letters. The painting from Prague probably arrived in Pavia to satisfy this request. The painting is preserved in a carved and gilded box frame, enriched at the four cardinal points by a composition of double volutes concealing a mask in the centre. Elegant foliate applications in the round are arranged vertically to it. Broken and missing frame.