Christ Blessing the Virgin (c. 1476): Artwork and History

Christ Blessing the Virgin (c. 1476) is in the Art Institute of Chicago collection. The museum lists its creator attribution as Martin Schongauer German, c. 1430/50-1491.

The work and its context

The Art Institute of Chicago describes the work:

This tender interaction between Christ and his mother takes place in a heavenly arbor after the Resurrection. Mary and a trio of angels bow their heads and elegantly pray in response to Christ’s blessing gesture. Although he has assumed the crown of heaven and holds the orb of the earth, Christ’s bare feet peep out from under his robes, hinting at his continuing humility.

Object facts

• Title: Christ Blessing the Virgin
• Date: c. 1476
• Artist attribution: Martin Schongauer German, c. 1430/50-1491
• Place of origin: Germany
• Medium: Engraving on paper
• Dimensions: Image: 16 × 15.3 cm (6 5/16 × 6 1/16 in.); Sheet: 16.4 × 15.5 cm (6 1/2 × 6 1/8 in.)
• Type: Print
• Department: Prints and Drawings
• Reference number: 1956.864

Collection credit

Bequest of Mrs. Potter Palmer, Jr.

View the original

Explore the artwork in the Art Institute's collection, including its image and the museum's current catalogue details.

The description above is credited to the Art Institute of Chicago and reused under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0; HTML formatting has been converted to plain text. Other catalogue metadata and the public-domain image are provided under CC0 1.0.