The Virgin and Child in an Apse with Two Angels

Image credit: The National Gallery, London

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We are looking through a gilded arch into a small chapel in which the Virgin is breastfeeding the Christ Child to an angelic musical accompaniment. She cradles him in her arms, and looks down affectionately as he hungrily squeezes her breast. This is one of around 60 versions of a lost painting by Robert Campin, possibly from around 1420. All the surviving paintings are slightly different, so it is hard to work out what the original looked like, but this seems to be quite a faithful copy: it is similar to other early versions. Much remains to be discovered about the Virgin in an Apse. The ‘apse’ itself and the upraised little finger of the Virgin’s left hand remain mysterious, but the most baffling question is why this composition should have enjoyed such immense popularity.

The National Gallery, London

London

Title

The Virgin and Child in an Apse with Two Angels

Date

about 1500?

Medium

Oil on oak

Measurements

H 56.7 x W 44.1 cm

Accession number

NG2608

Acquisition method

Salting Bequest, 1910

Work type

Painting

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The National Gallery, London

Trafalgar Square, London, Greater London WC2N 5DN England

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