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Bartolomeo Montagna, 'The Virgin and Child', perhaps about 1504-6

About the work

The picture has been transferred from its original panel and placed onto a canvas, a process that has damaged the paint surface. Nevertheless, the composition, where the Virgin is placed behind a ledge and in front of a cloth, shows Montagna’s artistic debt to his teacher Giovanni Bellini. The sheen on the Virgin’s headdress as it drapes over her shoulder, catching the light, is also inspired by Bellini.

The Virgin is shown worshipping the Christ Child as he sleeps. Christ’s swaddling covers only half of his body and is intended to remind the viewer of a burial shroud; his pose – slumped against the marble wall, legs extended across the ledge – is supposed to recall his dead body in the tomb. The viewer is reminded that he is not an ordinary baby but the Son of God whose death, Christians believe, was for their salvation.

Key facts

Full title
The Virgin and Child
Artist
Bartolomeo Montagna
Artist dates
living 1459; died 1523
Date made
perhaps about 1504-6
Medium and support
oil, originally on wood, transferred to canvas
Dimensions
59 × 51 cm
Acquisition credit
Bought, 1881
Inventory number
NG1098
Location
Not on display
Collection
Main Collection

About this record

If you know more about this painting or have spotted an error, please contact us. Please note that exhibition histories are listed from 2009 onwards. Bibliographies may not be complete; more comprehensive information is available in the National Gallery Library.

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The Virgin and Child
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The Virgin and Christ Child are painted in fresco, a technique that involved painting directly onto fresh plaster. The Virgin’s mantle would originally have been a much more vivid shade of blue.This once belonged to Austen Henry Layard, archaeologist and explorer. He was a founder of the Arundel...
Not on display