Virgin and Child with St. John
1529
From the collection of Statens Museum for Kunst
This black-and-white photo shows a woman holding a baby while an older child sits close by. The woman’s face is half-lit, her body curved as she leans toward the baby. The child’s hand reaches up, almost touching the woman’s face, while the baby looks down, small and round. The lighting is dramatic—dark shadows make the figures stand out sharply. This style is called *chiaroscuro*, where light and dark create strong contrast. Look up chiaroscuro to see how artists use light and shadow like this.
