“Agnus Dei” depicts the Christ Child, the Virgin Mary and St. John the Baptist in a Florentine setting. The painting was made for my final thesis project for graduation from the Sacred Art School and for a festival in honor of St. John the Baptist, Florence’s patron saint. It was for this reason that I placed the three holy figures in a Florentine context. We can see a typical Tuscan landscape behind them, and the native terra cotta of the region underneath their feet. I also looked to past Florentine artists, especially Raphael and Leonardo da Vinci for influence, drawing inspiration from compositions which depicted these figures. Drawing from these influences, I employed a triangular arrangement of the characters to better describe their interactions. The painting depicts Mary contemplating John the Baptist’s proclamation of her son as the, “Lamb of God”. Mary’s heart in therefore central in the composition. Here little John is seen holding a cross and a banner which reads, “Ecce Agnus Dei” (Behold the Lamb of God). I painted Jesus holding a spilt pomegranate, because it symbolizes his future passion. The garland which frames the figures, includes lemons and oranges because they are symbols of Mary’s purity, as well as apples, since Mary is the New Eve. The draped garland alone forms an M. The garland and the pointed archway together form an A. These two letters spell the A and M of Ave Maria. In a special way this pays tribute to the Virgin, who pondered the coming death of her son in her heart.