The Cleveland Museum of Art
Collection Online as of April 19, 2024
The Virgin and Child on a Grassy Bench
1503
Location: not on view
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.- Dürer’s Women: Images of Devotion and Desire. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 22-September 28, 2014).16th Century German Engravings. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 13, 1938-January 22, 1939).Exhibition of Prints by the Little Masters: Prints form the Museum Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 23-April 24, 1938).Recent Accessions of Prints, 1933-34. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 20-March 13, 1935).
- {{cite web|title=The Virgin and Child on a Grassy Bench|url=false|author=Albrecht Dürer|year=1503|access-date=19 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}
Source URL:
https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1934.335