Maria met kind

The painting is dated 1512, placing it in the mature phase of the artist's career. The Master of the Legend of the Magdalene was active from approximately 1483 to around 1527, and the work reflects the sophisticated court style he developed during his service to Margaret of Habsburg, regent of the Netherlands from 1507 until 1530. The panel's provenance includes association with the LVR-Landesmuseum Bonn before its current placement in the Gemäldegalerie, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin. The accession history and earlier ownership chain are not documented in the available sources.

The Master of the Legend of the Magdalene was a significant figure in Early Netherlandish painting, though his actual identity remains unknown. His name derives from a large, now-dispersed altarpiece depicting scenes from the life of Mary Magdalene, to which many paintings have been linked. Art historians have long debated his identity, with Max Friedländer and others speculating that he may be identified with Pieter van Coninxloo, or that van Coninxloo may have worked in his workshop. The artist's works are held in major collections including the National Gallery, London, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge. His association with the Habsburg court placed him at the centre of aristocratic patronage in the Netherlands, and his refined style reflects the international taste cultivated at Margaret of Habsburg's court. The Maria met child belongs to a broader corpus of Madonna and Child paintings attributed to the master, including related works depicting the Madonna lactans theme.