Virgin and Child with Four Angels

Gerard David

ca. 1510–15

Virgin and Child with Four Angels by Gerard David

Medium

Oil on wood

Dimensions

24 7/8 x 15 3/8 in. (63.2 x 39.1 cm)

Classification

Paintings

Department

European Paintings

Museum

Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY

Credit

Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Wrightsman, 1977

Accession Number

1977.1.1

Tags

Musical InstrumentsAngelsHarpsMadonna and Child

Art Historical Context

Gerard David's *Virgin and Child with Four Angels* (ca. 1510–15) is a luminous oil-on-wood panel exemplifying the refined artistry of the Northern Renaissance. The Bruges-based Flemish master, active in the late 15th and early 16th centuries, in intimate devotional scenes like this Madonna and Child, drawing from the meticulous realism of predecessors such as Jan van Eyck. Here, the Virgin tenderly holds the Christ Child amid four angels, two of whom play harps—evoking celestial harmony and divine praise, a common motif in late medieval piety. Painted on oak panel, a favored medium for its st...

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