Virgin Mary Praying

This early devotional image of the praying Virgin from 1505 shows Metsys at the beginning of his transformation from a goldsmith-trained painter working in the Flemish tradition toward the more Italianate and humanist approach of his mature career. Metsys is said by Carel van Mander to have been a blacksmith who taught himself to paint for love of a painter's daughter — a legend that emphasizes his self-made artistic identity outside the conventional workshop training. His early Madonnas draw on the Flemish tradition established by Memling and David while showing the first signs of the Italian influence that would distinguish his mature work.

Close-up framing and downcast eyes create an atmosphere of quiet contemplation suited to private devotion. Thin, luminous glazes over a light ground produce the translucent skin tones that became a hallmark of Metsys's Madonnas.