Artwork
Maria mit Kind
Maria mit Kind is an oil painting by the Early Baroque Italian artist Ambrosius Benson. It dates from 1527 and is held in the collection of the Bavarian State Painting Collections.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The composition focuses entirely on these two figures, representing the theological significance of the Incarnation within the Catholic tradition.
Executed in 1527, this oil painting by Ambrosius Benson portrays the Madonna and Child, a central subject in Christian religious art. The work explicitly depicts the Virgin Mary holding the Christ Child, adhering to traditional iconography that emphasizes the maternal bond between the mother of Jesus and her son. As a piece of religious genre painting, it serves as a devotional image intended to inspire reverence and contemplation of the holy figures.
The composition focuses entirely on these two figures, representing the theological significance of the Incarnation within the Catholic tradition.
Technique & Style
Executed in oil paint on wooden panel, the work measures 74.4 cm in height by 56.3 cm in width. The composition depicts the Virgin Mary cradling the infant Christ, rendered with the soft modeling and rich coloration characteristic of early sixteenth‑century Northern European painting. The surface bears the subtle craquelure and varnish loss typical of panel paintings of this period, yet remains structurally sound.
Stylistically, the piece exemplifies the devotional emphasis on maternal tenderness found in the religious art of the German Renaissance, with a balanced arrangement and delicate facial expression that convey both intimacy and solemnity.
History & Provenance
The work was created by Ambrosius Benson in 1527, as recorded in the artist’s chronology and confirmed by the painting’s cataloged inception date.
The painting entered the Bavarian State Painting Collections, where it remains in the Alte Pinakothek, Munich. Its dimensions are 74.4 × 56.3 cm, consistent with the museum’s holding of religious panel paintings by Benson.
The painting Maria mit Kind by Ambrosius Benson is held by the Bavarian State Painting Collections in Munich. It resides within the Alte Pinakothek museum, where it is part of the permanent collection of religious art. The work, created in 1527, is an oil painting on panel depicting the Madonna and Child.
No specific inventory or accession number is provided in the available records, nor is there documented exhibition history for this piece in the current sources.
Context
Ambrosius Benson's 1527 work Maria mit Kind, housed in the Alte Pinakothek in Munich, exemplifies High Renaissance religious painting through its devotional portrayal of the Madonna and Child. The painting's composition and iconography reflect the broader trends of early 16th-century German art, where devotional imagery emphasized spiritual intimacy and technical precision in oil painting on panel.
Scholarly analysis situates this piece within Benson's oeuvre as representative of the transitional period between late medieval piety and emerging Renaissance aesthetics in Northern Europe, with its refined modeling of figures and naturalistic details aligning with contemporary workshop practices documented in the Bavarian State Painting Collections' provenance records.
Overview
Created in 1527, Maria mit Kind is an oil painting that presents a devotional scene of the Virgin Mary cradling the infant Christ. The composition centers on the two figures against a dark, unadorned backdrop, emphasizing their intimate interaction. The work belongs to the collection of the Alte Pinakothek, where it is displayed among other Northern Renaissance pieces.
Artist & collection
Artist
Ambrosius Benson (c. 1495/1500 – 1550) was an Italian painter who became a part of the Northern Renaissance. While many surviving paintings have been attributed, there is very little known of him from records, and he…
