Virgin and Child
c. 1530
Lucas van Leyden brings a quiet intimacy to this Northern Renaissance piece, depicting the Virgin Mary in a rich emerald gown and a distinctive, puffy white headdress. She cradles a remarkably chubby baby Jesus, who clutches a dark orb topped with a cross—a symbol known as the globus cruciger representing his future rule over the world. Notice the heavy green curtain behind them; it acts like a theatrical stage, focusing all attention on the tender, almost melancholic gaze of the mother. Van Leyden was a true child prodigy who began creating engravings at just nine years old, and here his meticulous attention to the silky folds of fabric shows exactly why he was a superstar of the Dutch Renaissance.
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