Virgin and Child

Close up of Virgin and Child

A young, light-skinned, brunette woman gazes down lovingly at the plump baby she holds on her lap. She wears a loose, tan turban, vivid blue cloak, and red dress with white sleeves. The light-skinned child returns her gaze, leaning back to crown the woman with a circlet of roses.
A young, light-skinned, brunette woman gazes down lovingly at the plump baby she holds on her lap. She wears a loose, tan turban, vivid blue cloak, and red dress with white sleeves. The light-skinned child returns her gaze, leaning back to crown the woman with a circlet of roses.
Elisabetta Sirani, Virgin and Child, 1663; Oil on canvas, 34 x 27 1/2 in.; National Museum of Women in the Arts, Gift of Wallace and Wilhelmina Holladay. Conservation funds generously provided by the Southern California State Committee of the National Museum of Women in the Arts; Photo by Lee Stalsworth

Elisabetta Sirani’s Virgin and Child portrays Mary not as a remote Queen of Heaven but as a very real, young mother.

Wearing the turban favored by peasant women in Bologna, Mary gazes adoringly at the plump baby wriggling on her lap. Within her embrace, the Christ child playfully leans back to crown his mother with a garland of roses, which she lowers her head to receive. Sirani’s virtuoso brushwork is clearly visible in the Virgin’s white sleeve, thickly painted to emphasize its rough, homespun texture.

The Virgin’s only ornaments are her blue-patterned headscarf and a gold tassel at the corner of the pillow on which the Christ child rests. This touch of glitter and the floral garland seem especially noticeable in contrast to Sirani’s plain, dark background. The artist’s signature and the date appear in gold letters set along the horizontal seam of the pillow.

Artwork Details

  • Artist

    Elisabetta Sirani

  • Title

    Virgin and Child

  • Date

    1663

  • Medium

    Oil on canvas

  • Dimensions

    34 x 27 1/2 in.

  • Donor Credit

    Gift of Wallace and Wilhelmina Holladay. Conservation funds generously provided by the Southern California State Committee of the National Museum of Women in the Arts.

  • Photo Credit

    Lee Stalsworth

  • On Display

    No

The Artist, Elisabetta Sirani

According to written records, when she died at 27, the Italian artist Elisabetta Sirani had already produced 200 paintings, drawings, and etchings.
A light-skinned young woman with long curly brown hair is pictured against a dark background from the waist up. She wears a blue dress with large flowy white and pink sleeves, with a pearl necklace and dangling earrings. In her hands, she holds a palette and paintbrush.