Virgin and Child

JPG • 2775 × 3537 PX • 2.5 MB
Curatorial Notes

This painting depicts the Virgin Mary holding the Christ Child, who embraces her and looks lovingly into her face. The composition belongs to the tradition of devotional images intended to encourage contemplation of the relationship between Christ and his Mother, emphasizing the Savior's humanity and Mary's maternal affection. Produced in Peter Paul Rubens's workshop, the painting derives from a composition by the Flemish master whose original has not survived. According to studies cited by the auction house Lempertz, Rubens drew inspiration from Italian Renaissance painting, particularly Raphael's Tempi Madonna, adapting the intimacy between Mother and Child to the monumental language of the Baroque. The composition became widely circulated through an engraving by Jonas Suyderhoef and several versions produced in Rubens's workshop. One of these is the painting preserved at the Metropolitan Museum, attributed to the master's collaborators, without confirmed evidence of his direct participation.

Artwork Identification

Title Virgin and Child
Title (PT) Virgem com o Menino
Title (ES) Virgen con el Niño
Artist Workshop of Peter Paul Rubens
Artist Bio The workshop of Peter Paul Rubens was one of the most important centers of artistic production in European Baroque painting, operating in Antwerp, in the Southern Netherlands, during the first half of the 17th century. Directed by the Flemish painter Peter Paul Rubens (1577–1640), it brought together specialized artists who collaborated on religious, mythological, and historical paintings. Many of these works were based on compositions created by the master but executed partially or entirely by his assistants. The identity of the painter responsible for this depiction of the Virgin and Child remains unknown.
Date 1618
Work Type Painting

Location & Collection

License Creative Commons Public Domain Mark 1.0
Ars Sancta