Workshop of Andrea Solario, 'The Virgin and Child', early 16th century

The infant Christ embraces the Virgin in a pose that very closely resembles – and is probably based on the design for – that in Raphael’s so-called ‘Mackintosh Madonna’. The picture may have been made by a member of Solario’s workshop or it might be a copy of one of his works, made during his lifetime: it is of a lower quality than paintings by him. But the landscape background – a broad valley leading to distant snowy mountains, which is here framed by a square stone opening – is characteristic of Solario’s work.

In the wooded part of the countryside to the right of the Virgin’s head two men politely greet each other as their paths cross; one has been riding, the other walking, accompanied by his dog. Further down, near the bottom ledge, is a single white lily, a symbol of the Virgin’s purity. Just behind Christ’s head we see a shepherd playing his pipes as his flock grazes. The painting’s original colours are obscured by a varnish which has turned yellow over time.