Virgin and Child (c. 1385–90): Art, History and Details

Virgin and Child (c. 1385–90) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

The vibrant naturalism of the Virgin’s face and long flowing hair, as well as the deep, rich folds of drapery are characteristic of the work of itinerant artists from the Netherlands who found employment at the Valois courts of France at Paris, Berry, and Burgundy. Their native styles and attention to realistic detail fused with native French artistic traditions toward the end of the 14th century and took root. The original source of this Virgin and Child is unknown, but its style suggests a relationship with similar sculptures made for churches and abbeys of the Central Loire Valley. The additional influence of the style of the sculptor André Beauneveu has also been noted for this sculpture. His commissions were abundant and his influence widespread. The sculptor of this work appears to have had some knowledge of Beauneveu’s work in the Loire region.

Object facts

• Title: Virgin and Child
• Date: c. 1385–90
• Culture: France, Loire Valley, 14th century
• Type: Sculpture
• Technique: limestone with traces of polychromy
• Dimensions: Overall: 135.3 x 41.3 x 30.5 cm (53 1/4 x 16 1/4 x 12 in.)
• Collection: MED - Gothic
• Department: Medieval Art
• Accession number: 1962.28

A detail from the museum

This sculpture was painted over many times over its history, common for medieval sculpture.

Collection credit

Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund

Further reading listed by the museum

• Lee, S. (1962). Year in Review 1962. The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art, 49(9).
• Wixom, W. (1963). A Fourteenth-Century Madonna and Child. The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art, 50(1).
• The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.