The Virgin with the Infant Christ Child on Her Knee thumbnail 1
The Virgin with the Infant Christ Child on Her Knee thumbnail 2
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Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
Medieval & Renaissance, Room 64, The Wolfson Gallery

The Virgin with the Infant Christ Child on Her Knee

Woodcut
1450-1475 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

The Virgin Mary is shown sitting on what appears to be a wooden bench. The Christ Child is wearing a necklace with what appears to be a piece of coral hanging from it. In the Renaissance coral was thought to afford the wearer of it protection against illness.

This is the only surviving example of this print. Its comparatively large scale compared to many other fifteeth century prints suggests that it may have been intended to be stuck up on a wall or on a piece of panelling as a focus for Christian devotion by its earliest owners. It is possible that some of the surface losses to this print are the visible traces of this devotional use.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleThe Virgin with the Infant Christ Child on Her Knee (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Woodcut coloured by hand and pasted onto wood
Brief description
The Virgin with the Infant Christ Child on Her Knee, woodcut coloured by hand, northern Italian, 1450-1475
Physical description
Woodcut coloured by hand and stuck on wood of The Virgin with the Infant Christ Child on Her Knee.
Dimensions
  • Height: 65cm
  • Width: 45.7cm
Measured for the Medieval and Renaissance Galleries
Styles
Gallery label
THE VIRGIN AND CHILD 1450-75 Hundreds of examples of this print were doubtless produced but this is the only known survivor. Being stuck to a wooden surface, perhaps a door, saved it from destruction. Prints like this enabled more people to have religious images in their own homes. Italy Woodcut on paper, coloured by hand and stuck onto wood Museum no.321A-1894 SIGNS AND SYMBOLS The Virgin Mary has a halo behind her head to show her holiness. As well as being the mother of Jesus, she was 'Queen of Heaven', so she also wears a crown. The top right and left corners of the print have stars representing Heaven.
Object history
Purchased from Stefano Bardini.
Historical context
The two earliest uses that the new technology of printmaking was put to in Europe in the fifteenth century were the production of playing cards, and Christian images. The latter took the form of images of the Virgin and Child, saints, scenes from the Bible etc.

This print is on an unusually large scale for a fifteenth century religous print. Many much smaller than this have only survived because they were pasted into, or inside the covers of, books.
Subjects depicted
Summary
The Virgin Mary is shown sitting on what appears to be a wooden bench. The Christ Child is wearing a necklace with what appears to be a piece of coral hanging from it. In the Renaissance coral was thought to afford the wearer of it protection against illness.

This is the only surviving example of this print. Its comparatively large scale compared to many other fifteeth century prints suggests that it may have been intended to be stuck up on a wall or on a piece of panelling as a focus for Christian devotion by its earliest owners. It is possible that some of the surface losses to this print are the visible traces of this devotional use.
Bibliographic references
  • Ajmar-Wollheim, Marta and Flora Dennis, At Home in Renaissance Italy, London: V&A Publishing, 2006.
  • Schreiber, W. L. Handbuch der Holz-und Metalschnitte des XV Jahrhunderts. Leipzig, 1926-30.
  • Hind, A.M. An introduction to a history of woodcut, with a detailed survey of work done in the fifteenth century. London, 1935.
  • Lambert, Susan. The image multiplied: five centuries of printed reproductions of paintings and drawings. London, 1987.
Collection
Accession number
321A-1894

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Record createdNovember 15, 2006
Record URL
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