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Virgin and Child
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
About this work
In the later 1400s, artists increasingly infused sacred subject matter with a classical vocabulary. The shallow relief and simplified forms ultimately stemmed from ancient sculpture, bringing gravity as well as novelty to a conventional theme. Yet naturalistic elements such as the baby’s bulging navel, chubby wrists, and shirt pulled up to reveal his genitals all humanize Christ, a critical principle of Christian dogma.
Cleveland Museum of Art’s own descriptionCredit lineVirgin and Child, c. 1475–1485. Workshop of Pietro Lombardo (Italian, c. 1435–1515). Marble; overall: 54.6 x 37.2 x 9.5 cm (21 1/2 x 14 5/8 x 3 3/4 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, General Income Fund, 1920.273
