- Title
- Madonna and Child
- Date Made
- circa 1425
- Medium
- Tempera on panel
- Dimensions
- Panel: 10 1/2 × 6 3/4 in. (26.67 × 17.15 cm)
Framed: 12 3/4 × 8 3/4 × 1 1/2 in. (32.39 × 22.23 × 3.81 cm)
- Accession Number
- 47.11.1
- Curatorial Notes
This gentle image of the Virgin holding a standing Christ Child styles Mary as a “Madonna of Humility,” a visual trope in which she sits on a large pillow in a posture that emphasizes her humanity and modesty. Her cloaked arm wraps around her son, creating a cascade of folds that reveal the garment’s gold interior. The striking use of golden colors—the trim on the costumes, the yellow hair, the brocade pillow, the punched gilt background—establishes the scene’s divine otherworldliness. The Christ Child grasps a goldfinch in his hand. Although birds were a common pet during this period, the finch might also reference an apocryphal legend about Christ’s Passion in which a bird removes a thorn from Christ’s head as he travels the road to Cavalry. The emotive depiction simultaneously humanizes the infant Christ and reminds viewers of his future sacrifice, offering devotees an intimate moment of contemplation.
2024
- Selected Bibliography
- Schaefer, Scott, and Peter Fusco. European Painting and Sculpture in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art: an Illustrated Summary Catalogue. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1987.
Caroselli, Susan L. Italian Panel Painting of the Early Renaissance. Los Angeles: Museum Associates, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1994.
