Curatorial Notes
The first Netherlandish painter known to have studied Classical sculpture in Rome, Jan Gossart here fused the vocabulary of the Italian Renaissance with a traditional Netherlandish diptych (two-panel) format. The Virgin Mary’s draperies and the child’s athletic figure show Gossart’s command of the new Renaissance style perfected by Italian artists Michelangelo and Raphael. The glance and blessing gesture of the infant Jesus are directed beyond the picture to the right, suggesting that the panel was once joined by another depicting a donor in prayer. Earlier Netherlandish patrons favored this construction of paired, hinged panels for portable altarpieces.
Artwork Identification
Title Virgin and Child
Title (PT) A Virgem e o Menino
Title (ES) La Virgen y el Niño
Artist Jan Gossart
Artist Bio Jan Gossart (Netherlandish, c. 1478–1532)
Date c. 1520
Work Type Painting
Location & Collection
Institution Art Institute of Chicago
Source View Museum Page
License Creative Commons Public Domain Mark 1.0
