The Virgin and Child
Artist: Marco d'Oggiono (Italian, Documented from 1487, died 1524)
Original Dimensions: 26 1/4" x 21"
Location: National Gallery of Art, London
About Artwork: (Probably about 1520) "The Virgin Mary is seated on the ground in a rocky landscape with the Christ Child on her knee. He reaches out for the flower that his mother has just picked. D‘Oggiono trained in Leonardo da Vinci’s workshop and both the style and composition of this painting seem to reflect models he had learned during his youth. He is clearly trying to imitate Leonardo’s famous sfumato (’smoky’) technique – blurring the outlines of a form – and his palette is softer than in earlier works, such as Portrait of a Man aged 20 (also in the National Gallery). D'Oggiono never mastered anatomy or expression, however: Christ’s hands are podgy and boneless, and he looks somewhat vapid." - (National Gallery of Art, London)

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