Art Talk: Madonna and Child at the Rijksmuseum

With Christmas in a few days I have been thinking a lot about Christ. Here is a collection of Mary and Jesus paintings and statues from the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.

This is one of my favorite genres in art and am drawn to it in all the museums I visit.

Virgin and Child
Pyrenees, c. 1125
walnut with traces of polychomy

The Virgin is seated with the Christ Child on her lap. Here she is more than merely the mother of Jesus, she is the symbolic throne on which the Child sits, the incarnation of divine wisdom.

Virgin and Child
Ile-de-France, c 1340
Italian marble with traces of gilding

The most precious monumental French Mosan sculptures were made from imported Italian marble, such as this fine example. Mary holds a lily in her right had as a symbol of her virginity.

One of the most interesting things about the Madonna and Child is that the artist often portrays Christ as an adult man in a little body being held by his mother, Mary. I much prefer when the Christ figure is a child.

Madonna of Humility
Fra Angelico, Florence, c, 1440
Tempera on panel

Virgin and Child
Giovanni Rustici, Florence, c 1500-1525
Terracotta with old polychromy

Here are a few adoration paintings and one with the whole holy family, still with Mary holding the Christ child on her lap.

The Adoration of the Christ Child
Cosimo Rosselli, Florence, C. 1485-1507
oil on panel

Adoration of the Magi
Geertgen tot Sint Jans, Haarlem, c. 1480
oil on panel

Holy Kinship

Geertgen tot Sint-Jans painted Holy Kinship in 1495. This was originally part of an altarpiece. The painting is depicting the extended family of Christ. I got close ups of Mary and Christ and Elizabeth and John. Also shown in the painting are Saint Anne and Joachim, the parents of Mary. In addition to the family members some of the apostles are also in the painting.