Virgin and Child
Andrea Mantegna (Italian, 1431-1506)
1485/91
- Medium
- Engraving in black on buff laid paper
- Classification
- Dimensions
- Image before remargining: 22.8 × 23.5 cm (9 × 9 5/16 in.); Sheet: 26.5 × 25 cm (10 7/16 × 9 7/8 in.)
- Culture
- Italy
- Museum
- Art Institute of Chicago, Prints and Drawings
- Credit line
- Gift of Mrs. Charles Netcher in memory of Charles Netcher II
- Rights
- Public domain (CC0), as the museum states it.
- Who can see it
- Tweens profiles and older: its subjects are known and suit older children. How works are placed
View at the Art Institute of Chicago
About this work
The painter Andrea Mantegna’s engravings have been at the center of much art-historical controversy. Existing documents suggest that he commissioned other artists to engrave some of his prints for him, and that other engravings may have been made from Mantegna drawings. This monumental image of the humble Virgin Mary huddled with the infant Christ on the ground is one of the closest to Mantegna's engraving style. Whether or not he engraved it himself, the powerful diagonal strokes, the expressive features of the figures, and the Madonna's sculptural drapery proclaim the work's master.
Description © Art Institute of Chicago, CC BY 4.0
