The Virgin and Child
Artist: Workshop of Jean Bellegambe (Dutch, 1470 - 1535)
Original Dimensions: 28 1/8" x 20 3/4"
Location: National Gallery of Art, London
About Artwork: (About 1520) "The Virgin Mary, the smiling Christ Child on her lap, sits under a fanciful framework of architecture, sculpture and metalwork which forms the back and canopy for her throne. Stone columns rest on green cushions, which seem to be carved and coloured in a deceptive imitation of reality. Stone branches sprout from the column tops and are entwined in stone acanthus leaves. In the upper corners, two babies, carved from whitish stone, grasp the stems which meet over the Virgin’s head. The Virgin holds an open book in one hand but glances sideways at her son. He is playing with the Renaissance equivalent of a bubble maker. The bubble is a reference to an ancient proverb, homo bulla (‘man is a bubble’), which was used by artists as a reminder of mortality." - (National Gallery of Art, London)

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