# Virgin and Child [View the canonical artwork record]() ## Artwork - Artist: [GIULIO ROMANO]() - Date: 1501-1550 - Technique: Tempera on wood, 105 x 77 cm ## Commentary Giulio Romano was one of the most gifted painters in Raphael's Roman studio. Romano's Virgin and Child is inspired by Raphael's better-known works, in which the master had explored the relationship between the Virgin and her son. Mary, with a majestic, strong, statuesque look, tenderly holds her son close, briefly setting aside her holy book. The artist has focused on the fingers clenching the small bunch of flowers that animates the scene, causing baby Jesus to laugh joyfully. In the background, the shadows reveal the forms of a simple interior, bordered by a strip of silver brocade fabric in the top right of the painting. Giulio Romano painted this panel during his time in Rome when, after Raphael's death, he worked to complete the master's unfinished commissions - such as the Room of Constantine and the decoration of Villa Madama - together with his fellow pupils from the studio, to whom Raphael had assigned independent roles in the design and execution phases of his works. The erudite, refined culture accrued by his pupils over these years would go on to form the foundations of the innovations developed by the leading figures of that period throughout Italy. ## Related artworks - [Adoration of the Shepherds \(detail\)]() - [Adoration of the Shepherds]() - [Aerial view]() - [Aerial view]() - [Aerial view]() - [Ajax Defends Patroclus's Corps]() - [Ajax Defends Patroclus's Corps]() - [Allegory of the Virtues of Federico II Gonzaga]() - [Battle of Zama]() - [Ceiling decoration \(detail\)]() - [Ceiling decoration \(detail\)]() - [Ceiling decoration \(detail\)]() ## Attribution [Web Gallery of Art]()