Virgin and Child - Eastern France Mid-14th century

Carved in the round from walnut, this work relates to the output of workshops in eastern France in the mid-14th century. Standing with a slight contrapposto, the Virgin carries the Child seated on her left arm. She wears a gown and a mantle whose edge is brought forward across the front, and a tall fleuroned crown set over a short veil that reveals softly wavy hair. Her fairly frontal stance is balanced by the Child, who grasps the edge of his mother’s veil with his right hand. Her elegant silhouette fully belongs to the Rayonnant “courtly style”, while moving beyond the sometimes abstract preciosity of Île-de-France models to assert a plastic density and vigor characteristic of Lorraine sculpture.