Virgin and child with a pear

Unusual in the long series of Dürer’s depictions of the Madonna, this painting differs in its motivic structure and the painterly rendition of the head of Mary and the infant Jesus. The gently smiling face of the Madonna derives from the Netherlandish tradition, but the posture of the child, his body twisted on its axis, can be found in the early Italian Renaissance. Also of Italian origin is the powerful corporeality of the infant Jesus, which Dürer generously characterises with soft shadows. In his left hand the infant holds the upper end of a pear, which was considered a symbol of virginity. During his second stay in Venice (1505–1507) Dürer had to a certain degree internalised the ideals of Venetian painting. There is a greater emphasis on painterly rather than graphic representation, and individual details are omitted infavour of the overall impression. The Virgin and Child with a Pear was created during a phase of upheaval in Dürer’s work: between 1513 and 1516, Dürerturned away from painting for a considerable period, creating important graphic works instead. Shortly before this period began, however, he completed another commissioned painting: he created two idealised portraits, Charlemagne and Emperor Sigismund, to decorate a room in Nuremberg’s “Schoppenhaus”, where the imperial regalia were stored before being displayed at the Feast of the Holy Lance, which was celebrated just after Easter. Early 17th-century copies of these decorative paintings are found today in the Treasury of the Kunsthistorisches Museum (GG 2770 and 2771). © Cäcilia Bischoff, Masterpieces of the Picture Gallery. A Brief Guide to the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna 2010