Virgin and Child in the Clouds

Along with Dürer and Cranach, Matthias Grünewald ranks among the foremost German artists of the sixteenth century. He spent many years as architect, engineer and artist to the Prince-Archbishops of Mainz. Grünewald is best known for the Isenheimer Altarpiece, a polyptych he painted for a monastery near Colmar in Alsace. This retable depicts scenes from the Bible. The style is dramatic and sculptural, with figures in expressive poses and strong contrasts between light and shade. All that remains of Grünewald’s oeuvre are a few paintings and twenty-nine charcoal drawings, one of which is this Virgin and Child.

The Virgin is shown with her regalia: a royal crown and sceptre. She is portrayed as the Queen of Heaven. She stands on a cloud, with the moon, representing the firmament, beneath her feet. The infant Christ holds a large imperial globe surmounted by a cross, symbolizing the world. The drawing was a study for one of Grünewald´s three painted altarpieces for Mainz Cathedral, all of which were lost in about 1630. His drawing technique is unusual. He used charcoal, and suggested shadow by smudging it with a stump. Yellow body colour serves to heighten the luminous moon and evoke the glow of moonlight on the Virgin’s robe.