Virgin and Child

This Virgin and Child, complete with carved wooden canopy, is believed to date from the mid-fifteenth century. The composition and manner of painting suggest that it was made in the March of Ancona, a region of northern Italy now known as The Marches. Carlo Crivelli (1430-1495) spent much of his career in the March of Ancona, developing a distinctive personal style reminiscent of this work in its tooled gold background and conservative Late Gothic style. The Christ Child is shown wearing a coral necklace, the colour of which alludes to blood as symbol of life and death, as well as to the redemption brought by Christ. Coral was also used for teething during this period, and often worn by babies.