Virgin and Child

Francesco Bacchiacca's Virgin and Child belongs to his production of devotional cabinet pictures combining exquisite finish with the learned Florentine figure style he developed from his training in the circle of Perugino and influence from Andrea del Sarto. Bacchiacca's Madonnas are typically shown in landscape settings that demonstrate his careful observation of Florentine and central Italian geography, the natural world providing a meditative frame for the sacred relationship between mother and divine child. His precise brushwork and jewel-like color create intimate devotional images that rewarded close contemplation.

The devotional composition is rendered with attention to the expressive and contemplative qualities that served the painting's function as an aid to prayer and meditation.