Virgin and Child
c. 1500 - c. 1520
Medium
oak with remnants of polychromy and gilding
Dimensions
136
About this artwork
height 136 cm
Art Historical Context
### Virgin and Child (c. 1500–c. 1520) This poignant oak sculpture, standing at 136 cm tall, depicts the timeless Christian motif of the Virgin Mary cradling the Christ Child—a subject central to late medieval and early Renaissance devotion. Created by an anonymous artist during the early 16th century, it likely served as a focal point for prayer in a church, chapel, or affluent home, inviting worshippers to contemplate maternal tenderness and divine incarnation. Carved from oak, a durable wood favored in Northern European workshops for its fine grain and resistance to warping, the figure re...
About the Artist
anonymous
In the vast tapestry of art history, "Anonymous" stands not as a singular individual but as a collective designation for countless unidentified creators whose works have endured across millennia. These artists, spanning prehistoric cave painters to medieval illuminators and folk craftsmen, produced the foundational layers of human visual culture. Prior to the Renaissance, when individual fame emer...