Virgin and Child
c. 1470–80
Medium
oil on wood
Dimensions
unframed: 31.5 × 22 cm · framed: 41.3 × 31.4 × 4.1 cm
Classification
Painting
Department
Medieval Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Delia E. Holden and L. E. Holden Funds
Accession Number
1934.29
Tags
About this artwork
This small panel was once part of a devotional portrait diptych (a hinged two-panel painting). The Christ child’s attention seems drawn to something outside the picture and lifts his hand in recognition. The opposing panel, once hinged on the right, would have featured a portrait of its original owner in prayer, now unfortunately lost. Such devotional portrait diptychs were popular after 1400 and remained so until their production ceased around the 1530s. Used in private chapels or within the cu...