Artwork Page for The Virgin and Child on a Grassy Bench

Details / Information for The Virgin and Child on a Grassy Bench

The Virgin and Child on a Grassy Bench

1503

Albrecht Dürer

(German, 1471–1528)
Culture
Germany, early 16th Century
Medium
engraving
Credit Line
Gift of Leonard C. Hanna Jr. 1934.335
Catalogue raisonné
Meder 31
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
Print

Description

This simple and intimate scene of the Virgin nursing the Christ Child is among Dürer’s most tender depictions of the subject. With affectionate devotion the Virgin cradles the infant in a warm embrace, providing protection and essential nourishment. The gentle play of hands at the center of the composition adds to the naturalism of the scene and captures the universal bond between a mother and her child. The dead tree and the goldfinch resting on the trellis behind them allude to Jesus’s inevitable Passion, making this private moment all the more meaningful.
A vertically oriented white-gray engraving with black ink depicts the Virgin Mary seated with the baby Christ on a grassy bench, both with light skin tones. Mary looks down, holding the child to her chest. She wears a voluminous gown and cloak with deep, sharp folds. Behind them stands a rustic fence with a perched bird. A sign reads 1503, and a stone at the bottom center bears an AD monogram.

The Virgin and Child on a Grassy Bench

1503

Albrecht Dürer

(German, 1471–1528)
Germany, early 16th Century

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