Maria, das Kind liebkosend

Hans Holbein the Elder, the leading painter of Augsburg in the late fifteenth century, created this intimate scene of the Virgin caressing the Child around 1499. Holbein maintained a large workshop that produced altarpieces for churches across southern Germany. His late works increasingly incorporated Italian Renaissance elements alongside his Northern European heritage, paving the way for his famous son. This work belongs to the High Renaissance, when the innovations of the preceding century were synthesized into works of monumental clarity and ideal beauty.

Oil on panel combining Northern European detail with increasingly soft, Italianate modeling. Holbein's ability to render tender human emotion within a devotional framework is characteristic of his mature work.