Madonna and Child

The smile on Mary’s oval face reveals the artist’s debt to Leonardo da Vinci. As in the Renaissance master’s watershed paintings of the Madonna and Child, the figures assume a vivid three-dimensionality thanks to the supple rendering of light and shadow. The only background detail is the lily that symbolizes the Virgin’s purity. The serene faces and delicate draperies suffice to create a feeling of tranquility.

Bernardino Luini was the most prominent follower of Leonardo da Vinci and collected several of his drawings. He enjoyed great success as a fresco painter in and around Milan. In the 1520s Luini produced especially sensitive paintings of the Virgin and Child modeled after Leonardo’s example. A version similar to the Capodimonte panel is in the Wallace Collection in London.