Madonna and Child
A young, pale-skinned woman with reddish-blond hair sits with a nearly nude, chubby toddler standing in her lap in this vertical painting. She looks down at him, her body and face angled to our left. Thin lines creating a gold halo fan out from the back of her head. An ivory-white scarf wraps around her head and trails down the back of her neck where it is tucked into a dark, teal-blue cloak covering her shoulders and draping across her lap. Under the robe, she wears a loose, cherry-red gown with vertical pleats over her chest. The baby, also with pale skin, reddish blond hair, and a delicate gold halo, looks up at her face with light brown eyes. He stands on the woman’s right thigh, to our left. One of the woman's hands wraps around his body and supports his legs, while she props up his chest with her other. A length of pale gray fabric wraps over one shoulder and around his stomach. The two are situated in front of a column and pillar supporting a horizontal lintel overhead. The view beyond is of a blue sky over a golden field with dark green conical cypress trees in the distance.
Details
- Palette
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- Medium
- tempera on panel
- Dimensions
- overall: 74.5 x 54.5 cm (29 5/16 x 21 7/16 in.) framed: 113.7 x 94.9 x 8.6 cm (44 3/4 x 37 3/8 x 3 3/8 in.)
- Department
- CIS-R
- Holding institution
- National Gallery of Art
- Image provider
- national-gallery-of-art
- License
- CC0-1.0
- Credit
- Andrew W. Mellon Collection
Art Genome Taxonomy
9 tags
Subject Matter
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Madonna and Child Both · 99%
The catalog title is Madonna and Child, and the image visibly shows a haloed woman holding a haloed child in her lap.
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Deities and Holy Figures Both · 97%
The two figures are presented with halos in a devotional composition, identifying them as sacred figures.
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Human Figure Visual · 99%
The composition clearly depicts two modeled human bodies, with detailed faces, hands, limbs, and physical interaction.
Styles and Movements
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Renaissance Art Interpretive · 86%
The artist, circa-1470 date, tempera-on-panel technique, and devotional subject support a Renaissance-art classification, although the supplied metadata does not provide a formal style designation.
Visual Qualities
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Dark Colors Visual · 88%
Deep green, teal, brown, and red garments and architectural elements occupy much of the image, contrasted with pale flesh tones and a light blue-green background.
Medium and Techniques
Time Periods
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15th Century Art Metadata · 99%
The catalog date of circa 1470 places the work in the fifteenth century.
Cultural and Religious Styles
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Christian Art and Architecture Both · 96%
The title, halos, and devotional Madonna-and-Child imagery support a Christian-art identification; the architectural framing is also visible in the composition.
Source & rights
Sandro Botticelli. Madonna and Child. Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington.