Madonna and Child, French School

French School Madonna and Child, c. 1490 Limestone Purchase, Robert Allerton Fund, 1956 (2254.1) By the end of the 15th century, the cult of the Virgin Mary as intercessor for the faithful was a widely accepted and celebrated phenomenon, and her image proliferated in painting and sculpture. through which Christians expressed devotion to Mary as the mother of Christ and an intercessor for sinners. In tThis late 15th-century examplesculpture, personifies the Virgin Mary as both embodies her sacred position as qQueen of Heaven and, as well as her secular role as mother of Christ. Richly robed in an elaborately embroidered mantle with an embroidered hem and wearing a low crown, her garments bestow upon on her a convey the regal elegance and sophisticated taste that reflects thefavored by sophisticated taste and manners of the French court during this period, as does her stylized beauty and graceful posture, both hallmarks of the International Gothic style. . The Virgin's humanity is emphasized stressed through the tenderness and intimacy of her relationship to with which she engages the infant Christ, as she supports him and gently grasps his extended foot.