Madonna and Child
Madonna and Child

Currently not on view

Madonna and Child,

14th century

French
y1955-3269
This sculpture of the Virgin and Child shows Mary as an elegant figure in a balanced yet gracefully curved posture known as contrapposto (counterpoise), invented in classical antiquity. She supports herself on one foot while her upper body sways in the opposite direction, here forming an exaggerated S-curve. Traces of blue paint on her garments recall that architectural sculptures such as this were always painted, and that it was during the Middle Ages that blue became associated with the Virgin Mary.
View full record

More About This Object

MDVccards: Images of the Virgin Mary in the Middle Ages

Information

Title
Madonna and Child
Dates

14th century

Medium
Stone with traces of polychromy
Dimensions
97.8 × 39.7 × 20.5 cm (38 1/2 × 15 5/8 × 8 1/16 in.)
Credit Line
Museum purchase, Caroline G. Mather Fund
Object Number
y1955-3269
Place Made

Europe, France

Culture
French
Type
sculpture, devotional objects
Materials
stone, paint
Subject
religious art, polychromy, relief, Christ, women, Mary, figures (representations), infants

(Demotte). (Collector's Corner, NY); 1955 museum purchase.

IIIF manifest

The International Image Interoperability Framework, or IIIF, is an open standard for delivering high-quality, attributed digital objects online at scale. Visit iiif.io to learn more.

Open API URL

Our API is generally designed to provide programmatic access to the Museum's collections data for applications that require regular updates and/or the ability to dynamically query and filter the data via the endpoints provided.

Share your feedback with us

The Museum regularly researches its objects and their collecting histories, updating its records to reflect new information. We also strive to catalogue works of art using language that is consistent with how people, subjects, artists, and cultures describe themselves. As this effort is ongoing, the Museum’s records may be incomplete or contain terms that are no longer acceptable. We welcome your feedback, questions, and additional information that you feel may be useful to us. Email us at collectionsinfo@princeton.edu.

Explore More

Holidays at the Museum

Princeton Collects

Mosaic Restaurant