Medieval · National Gallery of Art · 46198

Virgin and Child

French 14th Century, c. 1325/1350

A crowned woman and the baby she holds on one hip are carved from white marble in this freestanding sculpture. The woman has a round face with a long nose and slightly smiling lips. Her long curly hair is parted down the middle and held back under a high crown made of spade-shaped acanthus leaves. A cloth covers her head and drapes over her shoulders and across her hips. Divots are carved along the lower hem of the cloth. The dress she wears underneath has three circular openings along the squared neckline, and pointy-toed shoes peek out from under the hem of the long skirt. She holds the stem of a now-broken frond in her right hand, to our left, by that hip. Her other hand supports the baby. He has a round face, short, wavy hair, wide-set eyes, chubby cheeks, a delicate nose, and his lips are parted. His torso is nude, and a cloth wraps around his hips and falls in folds around his bare feet. His left arm, to our right, is missing beyond the shoulder. He leans the other elbow against the woman’s chest, and the lower arm is missing beyond that. The sculpture is photographed against a pale gray background.

National Gallery of Art · National Gallery of Art, Washington · Samuel H. Kress Collection · CC0 · Public domain

Artist: French 14th Century
Date: c. 1325/1350
Medium: marble
Dimensions: 100.8 x 31.2 x 17.8 cm (39 11/16 x 12 5/16 x 7 in.)
Era: Medieval

Why it matters

Virgin and Child, dated c. 1325/1350, is catalogued by National Gallery of Art as a work in marble. The museum attributes the work to French 14th Century. The recorded dimensions are 100.8 x 31.2 x 17.8 cm (39 11/16 x 12 5/16 x 7 in.). This factual page is generated from the museum catalogue and links directly to its source record.

National Gallery of Art collection record