Virgin and Child with an Angel

Virgin and Child with an Angel by Sandro Botticelli: In this humanizing yet idealized depiction of the Virgin Mary embracing the baby Jesus, Sandro Botticelli…

What to notice

Look at the angel presenting the child toward Mary, then at the careful overlap of hands and faces that makes the sacred group feel physically close.

Discover

In this humanizing yet idealized depiction of the Virgin Mary embracing the baby Jesus, Sandro Botticelli conveyed the sacred beauty of maternal love. Mary, her expression soft and her skin luminous, nuzzles her son’s chubby cheek as he grasps the nape of her neck. An angel, smaller in scale, looks on adoringly. Highly celebrated in his own lifetime, Botticelli developed a distinctly sentimental and tactile style of painting for both religious and secular subjects.