# Virgin and Child [View the canonical artwork record]() ## Artwork - Artist: [NARDO DI CIONE]() - Date: 1351-1400 - Technique: Tempera and gold leaf on panel, 75 x 48 cm ## Commentary Virgin and Child c. 1350 Tempera and gold leaf on panel, 75 x 48 cm Milwaukee Art Museum, Milwaukee Following the bubonic plague outbreak in Florence in 1348, a renewed religious conservatism marked the general atmosphere and the next generation of artists. Nardo di Cione and his two brothers were among the leaders of this medievalizing style, which harked back to models of presentation antedating the naturalistic and humanistic innovations of Giotto. The enduring, iconic quality of Nardo's Virgin and Child is a product of his interpretation of the Virgin as the Queen of Heaven, set against an abstract and timeless gold background in the Byzantine tradition. The artist's own lyricism is evident in the delicate skin tones, rhythmic and ornamental draperies, and rich, saturated palette. The painting likely served as the central panel of a small folding altarpiece. ## Related artworks - [Christ Blessing]() - [Christ Blessing]() - [Coronation of the Virgin]() - [Crucifixion]() - [Five Saints]() - [Five Saints]() - [Hell \(detail\)]() - [Hell \(north wall\)]() - [Last Judgment \(detail of the blessed\)]() - [Last Judgment \(detail of the damned\)]() - [Last Judgment \(west wall\)]() - [Madonna and Child with Sts Peter and John the Evangelist]() ## Attribution [Web Gallery of Art]()