Getty Museum

The Virgin and Child on a Grassy Bench

Date

about 1500

Medium

Pen and brown ink; strip at the top added later

Culture

German

Department

Drawings

Institution

Getty Museum

The folds of the Virgin's kerchief, her hair, the grassy bench, and the hem of her gown display beautiful penwork. Her round face with its small chin shows a youthful sweetness as she gazes at her baby, and the long curls of her hair echo the loose bend of the grasses on the left. At the same time, however, the unknown artist had not mastered anatomy. He shortened the Virgin's right forearm unconvincingly, while the knee on which she appears to bounce the Christ Child seems bulbous and awkward. A young or inexperienced draftsman probably produced this drawing. The eclecticism and cautious restraint of the technique indicate that the artist's style may not have been fully developed.

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