Wooden Statue of the Virgin and Child in the Cloisters, Sept. 2007

Virgin and Child
Boxwood
Northern France, about 1300

Accession # 2006.118

Carved fully in the round, this statuette is notable for the delicacy of its execution and its monumental character. The sculptor introducted optical corrections to accommodate a low vantage point, as from a prie-dieu (the Virgin's left eye is slightly higher than her right eye, so that when seen from below, both eyes remain visible and appear focused on the Child.) The surface, worn by kisses and caresses, attests to the intimate rapport of the devout with images during the Middle Ages.

Text from the Cloisters label.