Head of the Virgin

This Head of the Virgin at Christ Church, Oxford, preserves a study or fragment from a larger Marian composition. Such head studies reveal Correggio's approach to painting the Virgin's features with his characteristic combination of physical beauty and spiritual tenderness The Virgin Mary occupied a central place in late medieval and Renaissance piety, venerated as intercessor and Queen of Heaven, her image produced in countless devotional objects for public and private use.

The Virgin's features are rendered with Correggio's signature sfumato, creating soft transitions of light across the face. The warm palette and gentle expression demonstrate his mastery of devotional portraiture.