The Virgin Seated on an Altar
Jean de Gourmont
1520/40
Medium
Engraving in black on ivory laid paper
Dimensions
Sheet, trimmed within platemark: 8.1 × 7.9 cm (3 1/4 × 3 1/8 in.)
Classification
engraving
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
4419
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
Here the Virgin and Child—sitting atop a classical altar turned into a Christian throne—preside over an audience of awed shepherds. A luxuriously patterned cloth of honor with tassels softens the rigid architecture, spilling forward down the steps to the rapt audience.