Madonna and Child

Giovanni Bellini

ca. 1510 · Oil on wood · European Paintings

Beautifully preserved, this small picture epitomizes the finest works produced in Bellini’s workshop for private devotion. The landscape derives from one by Bellini himself. The metaphorical contrast between the two halves of the landscape, with a dead tree and one in foliage, are intentional and remind the viewer of the consequences of the choices we make during our pilgrimage of life. The poet Bembo reported that "it is [Bellini's] practice . . .to always wander at will in his paintings so that in a like fashion they satisfy those who look at them."

Artist

Giovanni Bellini

Date

ca. 1510

Medium

Oil on wood

Department

European Paintings

Credit line

The Jules Bache Collection, 1949