Artwork
The Adoration of the Christ Child
The Adoration of the Christ Child is an oil painting by the Early Renaissance artist Cosimo Rosselli. It dates from 1500 and is held in the collection of the Rijksmuseum.
About this work
Overview
Created in 1500 by Florentine artist Cosimo Rosselli, this tempera painting presents a devotional scene typical of the early Renaissance. It is part of the Rijksmuseum’s collection and illustrates a moment of reverence surrounding the infant Christ.
Subject & Meaning
The composition centers on a kneeling woman in a blue robe, her hands clasped in prayer as the infant Christ reaches toward her face. Two angels flank the pair, one winged and the other bearing a small child, while an elderly bearded figure observes the tableau, suggesting a narrative of intercession and veneration.
Technique & Style
Executed in tempera, the work features delicate modeling of flesh and intricate detailing of feathered wings. The background combines a muted landscape of distant hills and trees with a gold‑leaf patterned ground, where stylized flowers add ornamental richness.
History & Provenance
Rosselli, active in Florence, Pisa, and Rome, contributed frescoes to the Sistine Chapel and received notable commissions despite being eclipsed by contemporaries such as Botticelli and Perugino. The painting eventually entered the Rijksmuseum’s holdings, where it remains on display.
Context
The piece reflects the early Renaissance’s focus on intimate, devotional subjects rendered with naturalistic detail. Rosselli’s choice of tempera and gold‑leaf ground aligns with transitional practices before oil paint became dominant in Italian art.
Artist & collection
Artist
Cosimo Rosselli (Italian: ; 1439–1507) was an Italian painter of the Quattrocento, active mainly in his birthplace of Florence, but also in Pisa earlier in his career and in 1481–82 in the Sistine Chapel in Rome, where…
