Virgin and Child

religious

The half length figure of the Virgin, with the Child supported by her right arm, is shown within the three-dimensional representation of a window-frame. It was due to the influence of Sienese painting that this Byzantine type of picture found its way to the North. In the Burgundian (and French) painting this is the very first half figure representation of the Madonna and as such has remained unique for many years.

Loading map…

About the Artist

Jean Malouel

1365 – 1415

Jean Malouel (Dutch: Johan Maelwael), Netherlandish painter. He worked in Gelderland in 1386; he is documented in Paris in 1396 and from 1397 to 1415 he was court painter to the Dukes of Burgundy. In 1415 he was succeeded by Bellechose. He was the uncle of the Limbourg brothers. No documented works by him survive, but he has been suggested as the painter of several works, including part of the Martyrdom of St Denis (completed by Bellechose) and a tondo of the Trinity, both in the Louvre, Paris. They have all the refinement of French court art combined with a strength of modelling and a realistic naturalism derived from Flanders.

View all works →