Tempera and gold ground on poplar panelexpand_more
The William Hood Dunwoody Fund and Gift of Funds from Alfred and Ingrid Lenz Harrisonexpand_more 87.64
Mary, the mother of Jesus, insists you look her in the eye. She has long inspired intense devotion. Christians believed that a relationship with her would bring them closer to her son, and worshippers identified with her role as a mother. Segna portrays them both as very human and approachable—Jesus plays with his doting mother’s fingers like any other baby. Yet his erect posture and serious countenance convey the wisdom and spiritual authority of the man he would become. The painting was once the central part of a five-panel altarpiece and was likely cut down in the 1800s to fit this frame.
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