The Virgin and Child with Two Angels

Verrocchio had a large and active studio in Florence, and trained many artists who would become leading figures in the Florentine Renaissance, including Botticelli and Leonardo da Vinci. He usually collaborated closely with his students, giving them the opportunity to work on important parts of a painting.

Here, recent technical analysis has shown that he allowed his student Lorenzo di Credi to paint the chubby Christ Child, the parted curtains and the angel on the right. Looking at the hands of the two angels we can see that Lorenzo was more concerned with painting flesh, while Verocchio wanted to show the definition of the joints beneath – an interest that related perhaps to his other practice as a sculptor.

Verrocchio trained as a goldsmith and has used real gold leaf, such as on the fringe of the left angel’s sleeve, and yellow paint, for example on the Virgin’s sleeves, to recreate the effect of gold – a technique derived from northern European artists to show various degrees of shine.

Text: © The National Gallery, London

Painting photographed in its frame by Google Arts and Culture, 2023.