Image scanned from a transparency and color-corrected by Pat Cagney.

Madonna and Child with the Infant Saint John the Baptist and Angels

Artist Cornelis van Cleve (Flemish, 1520-1567)

CultureFlemish

Dateca. 1550

MediumOil on panel

DimensionsOverall: 22 3/8 x 20 1/8 in. (56.8 x 51.1 cm)
Overall, Frame: 35 3/8 x 29 7/8 in. (89.9 x 75.9 cm)

InscribedLabel on back of panel near bottom: "Cleaned &c by H.W. Holder 355 Oxford Street, London".

Credit LineGift of the Irene Leache Memorial Foundation, in memory of Frances Rogers Curd

Object number2014.3.4

Collections

European Art before 1945

Not on view

DescriptionOil on panel painting in a gilt and hand-carved frame. Panel patched on back at center bottom and lower right corner with heavy tape. Convex warp to panel. Under varnish loss upper left drapery, upper right, around Child's hand, craizing in Christ Child, Madonna, and St. John.

Label TextCornelis van Cleve Flemish, 1520–1567 Virgin and Child with the Infant Saint John the Baptist and Angels, ca. 1550 Oil on wood Cornelis van Cleve’s painting focuses all attention on the Virgin and Child, highlighting them as holy icons. Seated at center, they preside over a balanced ensemble of graceful figures whose bowed heads, circling movements, and arm gestures direct our eyes back to the divine pair. Van Cleve pushed their solid, rounded bodies forward, further stressing their importance. Even the space they occupy is designed to pull us toward them. Ordered according to the Renaissance construct of one-point perspective, space recedes to a single vanishing point that converges on the central figures. Just follow the lines of the floor tiles into the distance (see image). Your eyes will always land on the Virgin’s tender face. Gift of the Irene Leache Memorial Foundation, in memory of Frances Rogers Curd 2014.3.4 ProvenanceGift of the Irene Leache Memorial Foundation to the Chrysler Museum of Art, March 2014.Published ReferencesAnnouncement in LEDGER DISPATCH, March 14, 1960. Articles and photo in VIRGINIAN-PILOT, March 14, 1960. Published in the Museum BULLETIN, May 1960. Published in ARTS QUARTERLY, Autumn 1960.