The Virgin Reading to the Infant Christ/The Virgin Adoring the Infant Christ with Saint John The Virgin Reading to the Infant Christ (recto)

Perched on a window ledge, a mother turns from her book to look at her son. Only the haloes and the crown held by the toddler indicate that this is Mary and the infant Christ. The mood is domestic and almost impromptu, as if the sitters have been captured unawares. Representations of the Virgin and Child were among the stock-in-trade of every Renaissance artist. The back of this sheet holds another study of this subject by the Venetian painter Carpaccio.