Curatorial Notes
Ercole de’ Roberti’s painting of the Virgin and Child is calm, expressing a gentle melancholy. The artist’s mannerisms are evident in the exaggerated, slender fingers of the Virgin, which seem to barely hold the Christ Child, even as they press into his flesh. Ercole worked in Bologna and, from 1486, in Ferrara, where he was associated with the sophisticated court of the ruling Este family, who supported the arts, sciences, literature, and philosophy.
Artwork Identification
Title Virgin and Child
Title (PT) A Virgem e o Menino
Title (ES) La Virgen y el Niño
Artist Ercole de'Roberti
Artist Bio Attributed to Ercole de' Roberti (Italian, 1455/56–1496)
Date 1490–96
Work Type Painting
Location & Collection
Institution Art Institute of Chicago
Source View Museum Page
License Creative Commons Public Domain Mark 1.0
