# Virgin Mary with the Christ Child and a Donor [View the canonical artwork record]() ## Artwork - Artist: [FRANCESCO DI SIMONE DA SANTACROCE]() - Date: 1451-1500 - Technique: Oil on wood, 82 x 74 cm ## Commentary Behind a porphyry sarcophagus, a kneeling donor is blessed by the Virgin and the Christ Child. The Christ Child makes the sign of the cross \(Signum Crucis\) with his hand while the pious Virgin Mary places her hand on the donor's head. The sacred scene is framed in part by a red curtain, with a rocky landscape making up the distant background. Francesco di Simone da Santacroce was influenced by Giovanni Bellini which is clearly evident in both the painting's idiom and content. As with the works of the Venetian masters, the composition here is dominated by a strong and saturated coloration, the intensity of which is highlighted by the major contrasts between cold and warm shades of colour. The Virgin Mary's blessing gesture in this painting is furthermore inspired by Bellini, who is thought to be the originator of this manner of depiction of Madonna in donor portraits. ## Related artworks - [Annunciation]() - [Holy Family with Zacharias and the Infant John the Baptist]() - [Mystical Marriage of St Catherine]() ## Attribution [Web Gallery of Art]()