This sumptuous and moving depiction of the familial bond between the Virgin and Christ Child is among Quentin Metsys’s most beautiful and celebrated paintings. Long thought lost and only recently identified, it exemplifies Metsys’s distinctive style, fashioned from his absorption of Netherlandish visual traditions and keen appreciation of significant recent Italian artistic developments. The Madonna of the Cherries theme derives from a lost composition by Leonardo da Vinci (1452 – 1519) two decades earlier, while the loving embrace between the Virgin and Christ Child references The Holy Family by Gerard David (about 1455 – 1523) in the Getty’s collection (2023.104) and its sources.
The Virgin firmly embraces Christ, portrayed as a robust nude infant who wraps both arms around his mother’s neck and kisses her. They occupy a splendid throne comprised of richly colored marble, adorned with lavish gold foliate tracery and cut gems, and enclosed by silk curtains. By situating the loving portrayal of holy mother and son in a opulent setting, Metsys celebrated their regal status and the intimate human relationship at the center of the Christian tradition.
The Virgin delicately flourishes cherries, the fruit of Paradise whose bright color alludes to the blood of Christ’s future sacrifice on the cross. The arched window at left provides a view over a lush landscape with a lake and palace. Metsys elaborated on the theme of Christ’s future sacrifice with fruit arranged on a plain wooden table or shelf in the foreground – an apple referring to Christ’s role as the new Adam and grapes with Eucharistic significance – in an important contribution to the emerging genre of still life.
Text: J. Paul Getty Trust, CC BY 4.0.
