The Virgin and Child by Giovanni Bellini

The most immediately striking aspect of this painting is the superb expression of the state of mind of the figures.

Their gazes do not meet, but the two figures are united by their gestures.

The Virgin Mary tries to protect her son by taking away the fruit, a symbol of human sin and a foreshadowing of the Passion, while the Child pushes his mother away.

The richly ornate garments and the archaic way in which the drapery is depicted suggest that the work was produced during Bellini's youthful phase, when he was still very much influenced by his father Jacopo's approach.

Detail of the garment