Open full image Pin

The Virgin and Child Surrounded by Saints and Angels

Fra Bartolommeo

1500

ink

paper

From the collection of National Gallery of Art

Renaissance Renaissance Religious

Dominant colour

The Virgin and Child Surrounded by Saints and Angels is a 1500 ink by Fra Bartolommeo, a Renaissance work, held at National Gallery of Art.

Who painted this?: Fra Bartolommeo
When & what style?: 1500 · Renaissance
Where can I see it?: National Gallery of Art

About this work

This sketch shows a group of figures in soft, loose lines. At the center sits a woman holding a child, surrounded by two standing figures with wings—angels, maybe. Behind them, a kneeling person reaches upward, while another figure crouches nearby. The whole scene is drawn in brown ink on pink paper, with some white highlights. The artist used quick, sketchy strokes, almost like a quick study rather than a finished work. The paper’s pink background makes the lines stand out. Next, check out technique: cross-hatching to see how artists build depth with lines.