Sketches for this painting exist in Raphael's so-called 'Pink' sketch book, which contains sketches for several other Madonnas, including the 'Mackintosh Madonna'. This suggests that they were worked on around the same period, probably during Raphael's early years in Rome.
In this work, the artist depicts the moment when the Christ child picks the carnation from John the Baptist's hand. The space between their hands is the centre of the careful geometry of the composition.
