The Virgin Holding an Oak Branch
ArtistAttributed to
Michel Dorigny
(French, 1616-1665)
Dateafter 1640
MediumOil on canvas
DimensionsOverall: 32 1/2 x 25 1/2 in. (82.6 x 64.8 cm)
Overall, Frame: 41 1/2 x 35 in. (105.4 x 88.9 cm)
Overall, Frame: 41 1/2 x 35 in. (105.4 x 88.9 cm)
ClassificationsEuropean art
Credit LineGift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr.
Object number71.520
Terms
- Virgin Mary
- Infant Jesus
- Oak
Collections
On View
Not on viewLabel TextAttributed to Michel Dorigny French (1617-1665) The Virgin Holding an Oak Branch, after 1640 Oil on canvas Gift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr. 71.520 In this tender devotional image of the Madonna and Child, the infant Christ reclines on his mother's lap. His pose and knowing glance seem to prompt us forward in time, to the tragic moment of the Pietà, when Christ's body is pulled from the cross and placed in the Madonna's lap. This melancholic reference is countered by the more hopeful message conveyed by the oak branch the Madonna holds. According to early Christian lore, Christ's cross was hewn from an oak tree, and like the cross, the hardy oak became a symbol of the strength and endurance of the Christian faith in the face of life's adversities. The gifted Parisian engraver and painter Michel Dorigny was a student of Simon Vouet who introduced the Baroque style of painting to early 17th-century France. Dorigny married Vouet's daughter Jeanne Angélique, and his style closely followed that of his famous father-in-law. In fact the Chrysler's painting closely follows the composition of Vouet's Virgin Holding and Oak Branch, ca. 1540 (present location unknown).
14th century
