Artwork
Madonna with Child
Madonna with Child is a tempera painting by the Early Renaissance artist Giovanni Bellini. It dates from 1460 and is held in the collection of the Gemäldegalerie Berlin.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
A piece of fruit, identified as an apple, rests on the ledge alongside the child, serving as a symbolic reference to Original Sin and the future Redemption.
Giovanni Bellini's 1460 tempera on poplar panel depicts the Virgin Mary supporting the Christ Child, who stands nearly upright upon a parapet. This composition adheres to the traditional Madonna and Child iconography, situating the sacred figures against a detailed landscape background. A piece of fruit, identified as an apple, rests on the ledge alongside the child, serving as a symbolic reference to Original Sin and the future Redemption.
The work functions as a devotional image, emphasizing the humanity of the divine figures through their physical interaction and the tangible presence of the architectural barrier separating them from the viewer.
Technique & Style
Created around 1460, this work by Giovanni Bellini is executed in tempera on a poplar panel support. The painting measures 66.3 cm in height and 48.6 cm in width. Its formal composition features the Virgin Mary holding the Christ Child, who stands nearly upright upon a parapet.
A fruit, identified as an apple, rests on this architectural element, while a landscape unfolds in the background. The piece exemplifies the religious art genre of the Italian Renaissance, characterized by its devotional subject matter and the use of traditional panel painting techniques typical of the period.
History & Provenance
Giovanni Bellini executed the tempera painting Madonna with Child circa 1460. Created on a poplar panel, the work depicts the Virgin Mary holding the Christ Child, who stands nearly upright upon a parapet alongside a piece of fruit, with a landscape visible in the background. The artwork is held in the collection of the Gemäldegalerie in Berlin, where it is displayed in Room 37.
While a very similar composition exists in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, this Berlin panel remains distinct in its institutional history and location.
Although the specific inventory number is not provided in the sources, the work is identified as part of the Gemäldegalerie's collection. Its exhibition history includes a showing in the exhibition "Mantegna and Bellini."
Overview
Created circa 1460, this tempera panel by Giovanni Bellini presents the Virgin Mary cradling the infant Christ. The composition centers on the figures, set against a muted landscape that includes a rocky hill, a modest tower, and distant travelers. The Virgin’s red mantle dominates the scene, while the child’s curious gaze and gentle hand on her shoulder convey intimacy.
Context
Bellini’s Madonna with Child emerges at a time when Venetian painters were beginning to explore spatial depth and emotional expression. The work anticipates later developments in the city’s art scene, influencing contemporaries and successors who would further refine coloristic richness and compositional balance.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Giovanni Bellini (Italian: ; Venetian: Zuane Belin; c. 1430 – 29 December 1516) was an Italian Renaissance painter, probably the best known of the Bellini family of Venetian painters. He was raised in the household of…
