Madonna and Child

Vincenzo Foppa

ca. 1480 · Tempera, oil, and gold on wood · European Paintings

Foppa was the founder of Renaissance painting in Milan, where he worked for the dukes. In addition to major fresco cycles and altarpieces, he also painted touching images of the Madonna and Child for private devotion. This one dates to about 1480 and shows them before a rose hedge—the Madonna was sometimes referred to as the “rose without thorns” (that is, without sin). The finely drawn hands and gray flesh tones are typical of Foppa’s work, as is the delicate modeling with gold.

Artist

Vincenzo Foppa

Date

ca. 1480

Medium

Tempera, oil, and gold on wood

Department

European Paintings

Credit line

Theodore M. Davis Collection, Bequest of Theodore M. Davis, 1915