Description
Seated and in a very maternal position, Mary is wearing a red dress with a long, flowing cloak covering her narrow shoulders and falling down her body, with one side hugging her bust.
Her hair, half hidden under a veil, frames an oval face featuring a high forehead, a long and thin nose, a small mouth with thin lips and half-closed eyes.
Mary is carrying her son, the infant Jesus, who is wrapped in a cloak, in her lap. Jesus is being nursed by his mother, held by her left hand.
This remarkable depiction, imbued with such gentleness, is directly inspired by the iconographic theme of the Virgin and Child in Majesty. It breaks with the hieratic, impassive style of the models from the 12th and 13th centuries, adding a touch of realism. From Virgin Queen, Mary became Virgin Mother.
Linked to the development of the Marian cult, this type of representation, sometimes known as Virgo lactans, Virgin of Milk or Nurturing Virgin, remains extremely rare. This image of the Virgin Mary and the Infant Jesus is an extremely delicate representation of the intimate bond formed by a mother and her child.