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Virgin and Child in a Niche

Workshop of Jan van Eyck Netherlandish
ca. 1440–50
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 605
This picture, likely produced in close association with Van Eyck’s workshop in Bruges, reflects the popularity of Van Eyck’s Virgin and Child at the Fountain (Royal Museum of Fine Arts, Antwerp), which continued into the 1500s. Here, the Virgin lovingly embracing her child, a pose originally derived from Byzantine prototypes that circulated in the Low Countries, is placed within a flamboyant Gothic niche adorned with statuettes of the biblical figures of Moses and Isaiah (above) and personifications of the Church and Synagogue (below). The architecture, imbued with theological meaning, serves as a shrine for the sacred pair.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Virgin and Child in a Niche
  • Artist: Workshop of Jan van Eyck (Netherlandish, Maaseik ca. 1390–1441 Bruges)
  • Date: ca. 1440–50
  • Medium: Oil on wood
  • Dimensions: 23 x 12 1/8 in. (58.4 x 30.8 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: Marquand Collection, Gift of Henry G. Marquand, 1889
  • Object Number: 89.15.24
  • Curatorial Department: European Paintings

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Workshop of Jan van Eyck - Virgin and Child in a Niche - The Metropolitan Museum of Art