Artwork
Madonna and Child
Madonna and Child is an oil painting by the Northern Renaissance artist Master with the Parrot. It dates from 1515 and is held in the collection of the Detroit Institute of Arts.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The work functions as a devotional image, focusing entirely on the maternal bond between the mother and her divine son.
This early sixteenth-century panel painting portrays the Virgin Mary holding the Christ Child, a central motif in Christian religious art known as the Madonna and Child. The work functions as a devotional image, focusing entirely on the maternal bond between the mother and her divine son. Executed in oil, the composition adheres to traditional iconographic conventions where the figures are presented for veneration, emphasizing their spiritual significance rather than a specific narrative event. The depiction serves to humanize the sacred figures while affirming their theological roles within the faith.
Technique & Style
The Madonna and Child is executed in oil paint on a wooden panel, a support and medium combination typical of early sixteenth-century devotional works. The painting is relatively large in scale, measuring 94 cm in height and 59 cm in width, giving the composition a vertical orientation suited to the standing presentation of the Virgin and Child. Stylistically, it belongs to the religious genre tradition, and the work is attributed to Master with the Parrot, an artist active around 1515 whose signed and dated practice is associated with devotional images of this type.
The handling reflects the painterly oil technique characteristic of the period, in which the medium is layered to model the figures and build depth across the panel surface.
History & Provenance
The Madonna and Child by the Master with the Parrot is dated 1515, as indicated by the work’s inscription and corroborated by both the internal corpus and Wikidata records.
The painting entered the collection of the Detroit Institute of Arts, where it remains located. Its provenance prior to the twentieth century is not documented in the provided sources, and no commissioning information is recorded.
The Madonna and Child by Master with the Parrot is held by the Detroit Institute of Arts, as recorded in its collection data. Dated 1515 and executed in oil on panel, the painting measures 94 cm in height and 59 cm in width. Its subject is the Virgin Mary with the Christ Child, and it is classified as a religious work.
The available sources confirm the work's location and institutional ownership but do not provide an accession number or any documented exhibition history.
Context
The Master with the Parrot, active in the early sixteenth century, exemplifies the devotional painting traditions prevalent in Northern Italy during this period. His work, including a Madonna and Child dated 1515 now held by the Detroit Institute of Arts, reflects the stylistic conventions of religious imagery of the time, characterized by intimate domestic settings and emphasis on the sacred relationship between mother and child. The painting's composition and execution demonstrate the artist's contribution to the evolution of sacred art within the broader context of Renaissance visual culture.
Overview
This oil painting, titled 'Madonna and Child', is a devotional work created around 1515. It is attributed to the Master with the Parrot, a collective name for Flemish artists active in Antwerp.
Own this work as a print
Artist & collection
Artist
The Master with the Parrot or Master of the Parrot (fl. between 1520 and 1540) is the notname given to a group of Flemish painters who likely worked in a workshop in Antwerp in the first half of the 16th century. They…
![Madonna and Child [obverse], by Albrecht Dürer](https://artifactworldgallery.com/img/albrecht-durer--madonna-and-child-obverse--d7b8ebf05d22ebe5-w320.webp)
