Artwork
Mary with the child and the juvenile Johannes
Mary with the child and the juvenile Johannes is a paint painting by the Early Renaissance artist Giuliano Bugiardini. It dates from 1514 and is held in the collection of the Gemäldegalerie Berlin.
About this work
Overview
Giuliano Bugiardini’s *Mary with the Child and the Juvenile Johannes* dates to 1514 and belongs to the Florentine output of the early sixteenth‑century Renaissance. Executed in tempera on panel, the work presents a quiet, outdoor grouping of the Virgin Mary with the infant Christ and a young John the Baptist. The painting is part of the permanent collection of the Gemäldegalerie in Berlin.
Subject & Meaning
The composition centers on a modestly dressed woman, identified as the Virgin, who cradles two children. The older boy, traditionally John the Baptist, holds a small Latin‑inscribed book, a conventional symbol of his prophetic role. The younger child, the Christ infant, reaches toward Mary’s face, emphasizing the intimate, devotional bond among the figures.
Technique & Style
Bugiardini employs a restrained palette and soft chiaroscuro to model the figures, allowing gentle light to separate them from a muted landscape of trees and distant hills. The tempera medium yields a smooth surface and fine detail, evident in the delicate rendering of the head covering, the simple dress, and the faint inscription on the book.
History & Provenance
After remaining in private Florentine collections for several centuries, the painting entered the Gemäldegalerie Berlin’s holdings in the early twentieth century. Its documented provenance traces a path from the artist’s workshop to various European owners before its acquisition by the museum, where it remains on display as part of the Renaissance gallery.
Artist & collection
Artist
Giuliano di Piero di Simone Bugiardini (29 January 1475 – 17 February 1555) was an Italian Renaissance painter.
