Madonna and Child

Madonna and Child

Giovanni Battista Cima da Conegliano, probably between 1500 and 1504

Download3138 × 3863 px View on a wall Edit

Artist: Giovanni Battista Cima da Conegliano (Italian (Venice), 1459–1517)
Medium: Oil on panel
Size: 9 x 7 3/8 x 1/4 in. (22.86 x 18.73 x 0.64 cm) (canvas)
Museum: Minneapolis Institute of Art
Rights: Public Domain Mark

By the beginning of the 16th century, Italian painters had mastered the realistic depiction of three-dimensional forms. Cima used a simple composition of firmly modeled, clearly defined volumes for this straightforward presentation of the Virgin and Child. Neither of the figures is idealized; rather, they are portrayed in distinctly human terms. The Madonna, a large-handed peasant woman, is an image of rustic dignity and maternal devotion. The Christ child's nakedness symbolizes innocence and truth. In the foreground, a ledge separates the earthly realm of the Virgin and Child. The landscape is typical of scenery near Cima's native town of Conegliano, in the alpine region of northern Italy.

While Cima is best known for the many half-length Madonnas he painted for Venetian churches and civic buildings, the small size of this painting indicates that it was made instead for a household altar.

Text: Minneapolis Institute of Art (Mia), CC BY 4.0.

More by Giovanni Battista Cima da Conegliano

Saint Helena

Giovanni Battista Cima da Conegliano, c. 1495

Virgin and Child

Virgin and Child

Giovanni Battista Cima da Conegliano, 1496

Madonna and Child

Madonna and Child

Giovanni Battista Cima da Conegliano, 1500s

Madonna and Child with John the Baptist and Mary Magdalene

Madonna and Child with John the Baptist and Mary Magdalene

Giovanni Battista Cima da Conegliano, 1511

Madonna and Child in a Landscape

Madonna and Child in a Landscape

Giovanni Battista Cima da Conegliano, 1496

Madonna and Child

Madonna and Child

Giovanni Battista Cima da Conegliano, 1499

Madonna and Child with Saint Jerome and Saint John the Baptist

Madonna and Child with Saint Jerome and Saint John the Baptist

Giovanni Battista Cima da Conegliano, c. 1492/1495

Saint Jerome in the Wilderness

Saint Jerome in the Wilderness

Giovanni Battista Cima da Conegliano, c. 1500/1505

David and Jonathan

David and Jonathan

Giovanni Battista Cima da Conegliano, 1505

Virgin and Child

Virgin and Child

Giovanni Battista Cima da Conegliano, 1499

Presentation of the Virgin Mary at the Temple

Presentation of the Virgin Mary at the Temple

Giovanni Battista Cima da Conegliano, 1496

The Annunciation

The Annunciation

Giovanni Battista Cima da Conegliano, 1500

Visually similar

Madonna Adoring the Sleeping Child

Madonna Adoring the Sleeping Child

Giovanni Bellini, early 1460s

Madonna and Child

Madonna and Child

Giovanni Battista Cima da Conegliano, 1499

Madonna and Child in a Landscape

Madonna and Child in a Landscape

Giovanni Bellini, c. 1480/1485

Virgin and Child

Virgin and Child

Giovanni Battista Cima da Conegliano, 1495–1497

Virgin and Child

Virgin and Child

Giovanni Battista Cima da Conegliano, 1499

Madonna and Child

Madonna and Child

Giovanni Battista Cima da Conegliano, 1512 - 1517

Madonna and Child with Donor

Madonna and Child with Donor

Giovanni Bellini, 1505

Virgin with the Sleeping Child on a Parapet

Virgin with the Sleeping Child on a Parapet

Giovanni Bellini, c. 1470–1475

Madonna and Child

Madonna and Child

Giovanni Bellini, late 1480s

Virgin and Child

Virgin and Child

Giovanni Battista Cima da Conegliano, 1496

Madonna del Prato

Madonna del Prato

Giovanni Bellini, c. 1500–1505

Madonna with Sleeping Child

Madonna with Sleeping Child

Paris Bordone, 1540 - 1560