Madonna and Child

(click to enlarge)

Marianne Stokes
(Austrian, 1855-1927)
Madonna and Child, 1907-1908

Oil on canvas

One of my favorite paintings of Mary and the child Jesus. I love how your eyes are automatically drawn to Mary's serene face, and then to her hand lovingly and reverently pulling the cloth away so we can get a glimpse of Jesus's face. And baby Jesus! All bundled up in swaddling clothes! He's so delicately and skillfully painted! He looks like a real baby, but at the same time serious and holy. Though the painting looks very simple at first, enlarge it (it's a beautiful high-quality image!) and give it a closer look. I love the gold! Aside from being gorgeous, the gold recalls medieval icons. And the thorns are a look ahead to Christ's passion and death. I'm not sure what the flowers are or if they symbolize anything. This post is getting rather long, so I'll just point out a couple more things to look at: their delicate halos, the strong blues of the painting, the delicate shades of pink, the elegant hands, baby Jesus's raised hand, the the folds of cloth.