Madonna and Child

The painting is executed in tempera and gold on a panel support (32.8 × 24.7 cm). It is in excellent condition. Stylistically, it follows a formula Crivelli often reused for private devotion: the Christ Child stands on a parapet, held by the half-length Madonna.

A gold background imparts an abstract sacred quality, while the artist's exceptional craftsmanship is evident in raised gesso decoration, damask effects, and intricate punchwork. Despite this decorative richness, certain details, such as the Virgin's slender, elongated hand caressing the Child's knee, are notably naturalistic. Symbolic fruits and a cherry on the ledge allude to Christ's future sacrifice.

The painting dates to circa 1490, determined by stylistic analysis. Its earliest documented owner was Eugen Miller von Aichholz of Vienna, who reportedly acquired it around 1890 from a nobleman in the Romagna region of Italy. It then entered the collection of Camillo Castiglioni, who exhibited it in Vienna in 1924.

Castiglioni's collection was sold at auction by Frederik Muller & Co., Amsterdam, in November 1925, where the painting was purchased by P. & D. Colnaghi & Co. on behalf of Mme E. ten Cate of Enschede. In April 1930, Duveen Brothers acquired the work and brought it to the United States. They sold it to the Samuel H. Kress Foundation in 1937, and it was donated to the National Gallery of Art, Washington, in 1939. No specific commission record exists.

The painting is held in the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., as part of the Samuel H. Kress Collection, to which it was donated in 1939 via the Samuel H. Kress Foundation. Its exhibition history includes a loan to an exhibition in Vienna in 1924 while in the collection of Camillo Castiglioni. The work is inventoried within the Kress Collection at the National Gallery.

Carlo Crivelli's Madonna and Child, painted around 1490, represents a late work by the Venetian artist, who primarily worked in central Italy's Marches region. Executed in tempera on panel, its modest dimensions of 32.8 by 24.7 centimeters suggest it was intended for personal contemplation rather than a public setting. This painting showcases the artist's characteristic meticulous detail and refined execution, typical of his mature style.

The painting has continued to be a subject of scholarly and public interest. In 2015–2016, it was a featured artwork in the exhibition 'Ornament & Illusion: Carlo Crivelli of Venice,' first presented at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston and later at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore. Its inclusion in these significant displays underscores its importance in understanding Crivelli's unique contribution to Renaissance art.