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The Virgin and Child with Roses and Laurels ('La Vierge aux Lauriers')

Image credit: The National Gallery, London

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Notes

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The Virgin Mary sits on a stone bench and holds the infant Christ on a cushion on her lap. She may have just lifted him and the cushion from the low wall in front of her.

The flowers of the rose bush behind Christ are associated with purity and suffering, and are intended to remind us of Christ’s sacrifice for humanity. The laurel bush behind the Virgin is a symbol of distinction and acts as a halo behind her head. The identity of the other shrub behind her is not clear; it probably has an additional meaning relating to the Virgin.

This picture, which was once very famous, was formerly believed to be by Giorgione, Moretto da Brescia or Palma Vecchio. Unfortunately it is so damaged and has been so extensively overpainted over the years that it is now very difficult to tell who it is by.

The National Gallery, London

London

Title

The Virgin and Child with Roses and Laurels ('La Vierge aux Lauriers')

Date

about 1510-20

Medium

Oil on canvas, transferred from wood

Measurements

H 90.7 x W 72.3 cm

Accession number

NG2495

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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