Tickets
English
DonateMembershipTickets

The Virgin with the Child Blessing

Jan Muller Netherlandish
ca. 1593
Not on view
The Virgin with the Child Blessing is an unfinished engraving, a working proof that Jan Muller retouched in pen and brown ink, revising the composition. He made adjustments to the Virgin’s drapery, reinforcing the creases and deepening the shadows, redrew the outline of her left shoulder, making it appear higher, and added to the radiant lines of the Mary’s and Christ’s halos.


The figures are in half length, the Virgin holding the Christ Child firmly in her arms, while he raises his right hand to the viewer in the traditional gesture of blessing. In the finished composition, Muller made the changes indicated in pen and ink on this proof and also included an illusionistic frame and a formal inscription below, emphasizing the devotional nature of the composition. This is not a scene taken from the Bible but an image intended to inspire reverence and prayer.


Muller printed an extraordinary number of working proofs during his lifetime. He is the first artist to have done so and more than 170 proofs of his 92 or 93 engravings still exist today.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: The Virgin with the Child Blessing
  • Artist: Jan Muller (Netherlandish, Amsterdam 1571–1628 Amsterdam)
  • Date: ca. 1593
  • Medium: Engraving; first state of three, with additions in pen and brown ink
  • Dimensions: Sheet: 8 15/16 × 6 in. (22.7 × 15.2 cm)
  • Classification: Prints
  • Credit Line: Purchase, A. Hyatt Mayor Purchase Fund, Marjorie Phelps Starr Bequest, Dr. and Mrs. Arthur H. Elkind Gift, and funds from various donors, 2014
  • Object Number: 2014.662
  • Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

More Artwork

More Artwork
A slider containing 5 items.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Holy Family and Two Music-Making Angels, Jan Muller Netherlandish, Engraving; probably second state of three (lacking titlespace below)
Holy Family and Two Music-Making Angels
Jan Muller
After Bartholomeus Spranger
Publisher Harmen Jansz. Muller
ca. 1588–92
Shaffron (Horse's Head Defense), Steel, gold, leather, Dutch
Shaffron (Horse's Head Defense)
Dutch
ca. 1620
Scrapbook of Drawings and Prints, Gideon Saint British, Pen and ink, engraving and etching
Scrapbook of Drawings and Prints
Gideon Saint
ca. 1760
Portrait of Hendrick Goltzius, Jan Muller Netherlandish, Engraving; New Holl.'s second state of three
Portrait of Hendrick Goltzius
Jan Muller
Sitter Hendrick Goltzius
ca. 1617
Pair of Stirrups, Iron, gold, Netherlandish
Pair of Stirrups
Netherlandish
first half 17th century

Research Resources

The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.

To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.

Feedback

We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please contact us using the form below. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.

Send feedback

Content Notice

The Metropolitan Museum of Art presents over 5,000 years of art from around the world, and our online collection reflects ongoing work conducted over the course of our more than 150-year history. You may encounter objects or images that may be inappropriate for some viewers or information that may be outdated.