The Virgin and Child

Image credit: The National Gallery, London

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This graceful Virgin Mary seems to embody both motherly love and maternal sorrow. Her beautiful hands hold the Christ Child almost tentatively, as if to prevent him floating away. She gazes sadly at her son, and he too looks out with wary, hooded eyes, as if aware of his future. Mary’s halo is inscribed with Latin words that mean ‘Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you’ – the angel Gabriel’s greeting at the Annunciation (Luke 1: 28). The child seems weightless, just one foot resting on a gilded cushion. Delicate gold rays emanate from his head but he clasps his mother’s hand with tiny fingers and embraces her with human affection. Benvenuto has replaced the traditional gold background with a flowery landscape, but he was also more interested in an ideal of feminine beauty than in anatomical accuracy.

The National Gallery, London

London

Title

The Virgin and Child

Date

about 1474-5

Medium

Tempera on wood

Measurements

H 52.1 x W 34.3 cm

Accession number

NG2482

Acquisition method

Salting Bequest, 1910

Work type

Painting

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The National Gallery, London

Trafalgar Square, London, Greater London WC2N 5DN England

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