Madonna and Child

Elegance and sadness characterize this portrayal of the Virgin and Child. Crowned as the Queen of Heaven, Mary sways gracefully, her body forming an s-curve that typifies late Gothic sculpture. The Virgin's melancholic expression results from her foreknowledge of her son's fate--a point made by the Christ Child himself as he most likely gestures toward a prophetic text. Mary was a favorite subject of devotion in the late Middle Ages, and small sculptures like this were extremely popular throughout Europe. Medieval sculpture was often brightly colored and traces of polychromy and gilding appear on this Madonna and Child as well as on the St. Sebastian.