Masterpieces

Painted artwork depicting the Virgin Mary nursing the Infant Jesus, surrounded by angels. Front view.

Virgin and Child surrounded by praying angels, Cl. 23926 © GrandPalaisRmn / Michel Urtado

Virgin and Child (surrounded by praying angels)

Description

Not on display

15th century

Late Middle Ages

This image of the Virgin Mary and the Christ Child tenderly captures the intimate bond between a mother and her child during nursing. The detail of the infant sucking his thumb highlights the "moving everyday truth" of the scene (Charles Sterling).

However, the painting is a medium of private devotion, intended to support the believer's meditation through contemplation.

The Flemish background and great talent of the painter Jean Hey, who worked in Lyon and Moulins, in particular serving the Bourbon family, between around 1480 and 1505, can be seen in both the composition and the fineness of the execution.

From one artwork to another

Lead object: boat with an inscription on the sail carrying a Virgin and Child. Front view.

Pilgrimage badge, Notre-Dame, Cl. 4697 © GrandPalaisRmn / Michel Urtado

Pilgrimage badges

13th century - 14th century - 15th century