Virgin and Child with Music-Making Angels
ca. 1630
Anthony van Dyck brings a celestial concert to life in this dramatic Baroque masterpiece, where the Virgin Mary cradles the Christ Child while two angels serenade them with a lute and a violin. Notice how the toddler Jesus boldly steps on a globe topped with a cross, symbolizing his future dominion over the world, all bathed in that signature moody, theatrical lighting. Van Dyck, who was basically the rockstar portraitist of his day before becoming court painter to King Charles I of England, infuses this religious scene with an incredibly tender, almost human intimacy that makes the divine feel surprisingly close to home.
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