Artwork

Virgin with child

Virgin with child, by Bernhard Strigel, oil, 1496
Virgin with child, by Bernhard Strigel, oil, 1496

Virgin with child is an oil painting by the Northern Renaissance artist Bernhard Strigel. It dates from 1496 and is held in the collection of the Bavarian State Painting Collections.

About this work

Subject & Meaning

Created in 1490 by Bernhard Strigel, this oil painting on pine panel depicts the Madonna and Child, a central subject in religious art.

Created in 1490 by Bernhard Strigel, this oil painting on pine panel depicts the Madonna and Child, a central subject in religious art. The work portrays the Virgin Mary holding the Christ Child, representing the theological concept of the Incarnation. As a devotional image housed in the Alte Pinakothek, the piece utilizes the intimate scale and medium typical of late 15th-century German panel painting to facilitate private contemplation of the holy figures.

Technique & Style

The painting was executed in oil on a pine panel, a common support for late 15th-century panel paintings. Bernhard Strigel rendered the Virgin and Child with meticulous attention to devotional intimacy, emphasizing the tender relationship through close composition and delicate modeling of forms. The work measures 62.7 cm in height and 38.5 cm in width, reflecting the modest scale typical of devotional altarpieces intended for private contemplation.

Its formal treatment features a restrained use of color and soft chiaroscuro to enhance the sacred narrative without ostentation, aligning with Swabian Renaissance conventions of spiritual realism.

The handling of drapery and facial expression conveys a quiet solemnity, while the gold background, though now muted, originally heightened the heavenly setting. These stylistic choices underscore the artist's focus on devotional clarity and emotional resonance.

History & Provenance

The painting titled Virgin with Child was created by Bernhard Strigel in 1490. Executed in oil paint on a pine panel, the work depicts the Madonna and Child within the tradition of religious art. It is currently held by the Bavarian State Painting Collections at the Alte Pinakothek in Munich.

The specific commission details and the full chain of ownership prior to its arrival at the Alte Pinakothek are not detailed in the available records.

The painting is held in the collection of the Bavarian State Painting Collections and is located at the Alte Pinakothek. Created around 1490, the work is executed in oil paint on a pine panel measuring 62.7 cm in height and 38.5 cm in width. The provided sources do not contain specific inventory numbers or details regarding the work's exhibition history.

Context

The work is recognized as a significant example of late 15th-century German religious painting, specifically within the oeuvre of Bernhard Strigel active in Swabia and Tyrol. Scholarship situates it within the devotional practices of the late medieval period, emphasizing its function within the context of Swabian artistic production and the artist's role in shaping regional religious art. The painting, housed in the Bavarian State Painting Collections at the Alte Pinakothek, exemplifies the Madonna and Child motif common in German art of the period, reflecting contemporary iconographic traditions and the stylistic conventions of the Swabian school.

Its dimensions of 62.7 by 38.5 cm and execution in oil on pine panel underscore its material context within late medieval panel painting practices.

Overview

Bernhard Strigel, a Swabian painter active in the late 15th century, completed an oil painting titled Virgin with Child in 1496. The work presents the Virgin Mary and the infant Jesus in a tightly focused composition that emphasizes their faces and gestures against a dark, unadorned backdrop.

Virgin and Child
Virgin and Child, Albrecht Dürer

Artist & collection

Portrait of Bernhard Strigel

Artist

Bernhard Strigel

Bernhard Strigel (c. 1461 – 4 May 1528) was a German portrait and historical painter of the Swabian school, the most important of a family of artists established at Memmingen. He was born at Memmingen and was probably a…

Frequently asked questions

Who painted Virgin with child?

Virgin with child was painted by Bernhard Strigel in 1490-01-01.

Where can I see Virgin with child?

Virgin with child is held by Bavarian State Painting Collections.

What movement is Virgin with child?

Virgin with child is associated with Northern Renaissance.