What the hands can tell us in Bellini’s “Madonna and Child”

"I can see a very deep sense of compassion, a mother's desire to protect her child, which she may only be able to do for a short while."

"I can see a very deep sense of compassion, a mother's desire to protect her child, which she may only be able to do for a short while."

Curator Alison Manges Nogueira on "Madonna and Child" by Giovanni Bellini.

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Throughout 2013, The Met invited curators from across the Museum to each talk about one artwork that changed the way they see the world.

Photography by Juan Trujillo

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Contributors

Alison Manges Nogueira
Associate Curator, Robert Lehman Collection

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Madonna and Child, Giovanni Bellini  Italian, Tempera, oil, and gold on wood
Giovanni Bellini
ca. 1470