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The Virgin and Child

Image credit: The National Gallery, London

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Two angels with golden wings and jewelled diadems invite us into this painting. They sit on a step, playing a lute and a violin, looking out at us. Behind them rises the Virgin Mary, seated on a stone bench. She supports the infant Christ, who stands on her lap and raises his right hand in blessing. Ten angels are gathered behind them, some with hands clasped in devotion.

This panel is the central part of an altarpiece. The two side panels, which are also in the National Gallery’s collection, show Saint Nicholas of Tolentino and a bishop saint, and Saints Bartholomew and Monica. The presence of the latter, the mother of Saint Augustine, suggests that the altarpiece came from an Augustinian foundation. The Florentine church of S. Spirito has been suggested, but another possibility is the Tuscan hilltop town of Montepulciano, where the panels were recorded in a private collection in the early nineteenth century.

The National Gallery, London

London

Title

The Virgin and Child

Date

probably about 1470

Medium

Tempera on wood

Measurements

H 163.8 x W 70.5 cm

Accession number

NG586.1

Acquisition method

Bought, 1857

Work type

Painting

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The National Gallery, London

Trafalgar Square, London, Greater London WC2N 5DN England

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