Madonna and Child with a Rabbit

This Madonna and Child with a Rabbit, attributed to Correggio and dated around 1525-1530, belongs to the artist's series of intimate devotional paintings featuring the Virgin in pastoral settings. The rabbit symbolizes fertility and the Virgin's purity in Christian iconography. Now in the Glasgow Museums collection, the painting exemplifies Correggio's ability to transform traditional devotional subjects into scenes of domestic warmth and lyrical beauty. The pastoral setting reflects the influence of Venetian painting, particularly Giorgione, on Correggio's conception of the relationship between figures and landscape.

Correggio's characteristic sfumato creates an atmospheric unity between the figures and their landscape setting, with warm golden light suffusing the entire composition. The soft, rounded modeling of the Christ Child and the Virgin's gentle expression demonstrate his mastery of conveying tenderness through subtle tonal gradations.