Art Talk: Madonna and Child by Albrecht Durer

I will admit this is not my favorite Madonna and Child painting from the Art Talk: Madonna and Child Tour. The Mary as a blank stare and she is holding the Christ child awkwardly and his little right arm is at such a strange angle.

With that being said. I really do like Durer and am excited to talk about this painting.

Albrecht Durer, German
Madonna and Child, 1496/1528

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While most of the pieces in the Madonna and Child Tour are Italian I included Durer, a German painter, because it was painted during the late 1400 and into the early 1500s and was heavily influenced by Italian painters.

Durer traveled to Italy in 1494/1495 and again in 1505/1507 and was a major transmitter of the Italian Renaissance to artists in the North.

This painting is especially fascinating in that it combines Italian Renaissance and northern traditions.

Italian
Half Length Madonna
Standing Child
Foreground parapet (low protective wall or balcony)

Northern
Mary in the corner of a room with a window open on a distant view
Alpine landscape
Careful attention to textures and surfaces

The other very interesting thing about this painting that I didn't know until just now. The Madonna and Child is on one side and Lot and His Daughters is on the reverse side.

Sources:
National Gallery of Art
German Paintings- NGA

Art Talk Series Highlights

2020
Art Talk: Recycled Plastic Art Movement
Art Talk: Gates of Paradise
Art Talk: Sunrise as abstract art

March- Italian Renaissance
Art Talk: NGA Italian Renaissance Tour
Art Talk: Raphael
Art Talk: Venus
Art Talk: Egg Tempera
Art Talk: Guest Blogger, @laurabellamy

April- French Impressionism
Art Talk: NGA French Impressionism Tour
Art Talk: Fredric Bazille
Art Talk: The Mother and Sister of the Artist
Art Talk: En plein air

May- Hudson River School
Art Talk: NGA Hudson River School Tour
Art Talk: Albert Bierstadt
Art Talk: The Voyage of Life
Art Talk: Romanticism & Nature & Hudson River School

June-Andrew Mellon and the Hermitage
Art Talk: NGA Andrew Mellon and the Hermitage Tour
Art Talk: Rembrandt
Art Talk: The Annunciation
Art Talk: Provenance

July-Portraiture
Art Talk: NGA Portrait Tour
Art Talk: Rembrandt Peale
Art Talk: Portrait of My Grandmother

October- NGA Highlights
Art Talk: NGA Highlights tour
Art Talk: Artist highlight
Art Talk: Ginevra de’ Benci

November- Dale Chihuly
Art Talk: Chihuly at Cheekwood Estate and Garden
Art Talk: Artist Dale Chihuly
Art Talk: Guest Blogger: Frankie O'Neill

December- Madonna and Child
Art Talk: Madonna and Child Tour
Art Talk: Fra Lippo Lippi