Jan GossaertFlemish, Dutch, 1478–1532Virgin and Child
Can I see it?
Yes, on view now
Where is “Virgin and Child” now? Art Institute of Chicago, Gallery 207, Chicago. Yes, on view now. Checked September 29, 2026.
Chicago, United States
Closed· opens at 11:00 AM
On public display.
- Checked
- In this state since
- Source
- The museum
About the painting
The first Netherlandish painter known to have studied Classical sculpture in Rome, Jan Gossart here fused the vocabulary of the Italian Renaissance with a traditional Netherlandish diptych (two-panel) format. The Virgin Mary’s draperies and the child’s athletic figure show Gossart’s command of the new Renaissance style perfected by Italian artists Michelangelo and Raphael. The glance and blessing gesture of the infant Jesus are directed beyond the picture to the right, suggesting that the panel was once joined by another depicting a donor in prayer. Earlier Netherlandish patrons favored this construction of paired, hinged panels for portable altarpieces.
Art Institute of ChicagoCC BY 4.0
Details
- Accession number
- 1957.47
What it shows
In the catalog
Sources
- Art Institute of Chicago
- Image: Art Institute of Chicago — CC0
In the life of Jan Gossaert
The whole life1517–1524 · Workplace
Utrecht
1517–1524
Jan van Scorel is among his pupils at Duurstede
During the years at Philip's court in Duurstede, Jan van Scorel studies under Gossaert; it was probably the master who inspired him to undertake a long tour of Europe. From then on, journeys across Europe became the custom among Netherlandish artists, Rubens and Van Dyck among them.
1521
Dürer travels to Middelburg to see Gossaert's altarpiece
Albrecht Dürer comes expressly to Middelburg to see the altarpiece of the Descent from the Cross, a replica that Gossaert made at the order of Philip of Burgundy after the celebrated picture of Tongerlo Abbey. Dürer admired the work.
![Saint Jerome Penitent [left panel], Jan Gossaert, c. 1509/1512](https://api.nga.gov/iiif/eea01b49-e215-488c-83f9-916964067d45/full/!2400,2400/0/default.jpg)
![Saint Jerome Penitent [right panel], Jan Gossaert, c. 1509/1512](https://api.nga.gov/iiif/1a0bd5c7-54f0-49e9-b570-aaa680278896/full/!2400,2400/0/default.jpg)
