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Virgin and Child with an Apple
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
About this work
This engraving shows the Virgin and Child on a little mound of earth, resembling a sculpture on a pedestal. The apple held by the infant alludes to the Virgin's status in Catholic theology as the "New Eve," who, by birthing the son of God participated in the possibility of the redemption of humankind from the stain of Eve's original sin. This print, alongside the one of Saint Martin (1924.509) and Saint John the Baptist (1924.510), belong to a series of standing holy figures, never completed by Martin Schongauer, and characterized by isolation of the subject against a blank background.
Cleveland Museum of Art’s own descriptionCredit lineVirgin and Child with an Apple, c. 1475. Martin Schongauer (German, c. 1450–1491). Engraving. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Ralph King, 1924.224
