Virgin and Child

From the Getty Museum record

The Virgin, depicted both as a gentle, human mother and as an immortal, heavenly queen, cradles the Christ child in her arms. Andrea Briosco, called Riccio, made this sculpture while living in Padua, home to a thriving intellectual community and one of the most renowned universities in Europe. The study of ancient Greece and Rome was quite popular at the time, and Riccio combined a refined knowledge of antiquity with the Christian present, much to the delight of his contemporaries. The Virgin's dress and delicate features recall ancient Roman representations of deities. Shells, pearls, a winged putto, and a cameo decorate the crown atop her intricately arranged hair. Displaying the restless nature typical of small children, the infant Christ twists away from his mother to face the viewer. Though *Virgin and Child* was originally a full-length statue, only the upper half now survives. Because the figures' heads are angled downward, scholars believe that Riccio made the sculpture as the devotional centerpiece of a raised altar. Now largely stripped of color, *Virgin and Child* was once vibrantly painted. Originally, both figures had dark brown hair and pale skin. The Virgin wore a blue cloak over a red gown, while the Christ child wore a yellow garment. Scholars believe that traces of red on the Virgin's crown may be the remains of a preparatory ground for gold, suggesting that it was once gilded.