  About the Artwork
  
  
  The Virgin Mary’s voluminous robes, once enlivened with layers of plaster and pigment known as polychromy, seem to drape over a robust, three-dimensional form. She cradles the infant Jesus, who turns his chubby torso toward her to exchange a warm glance. Archival documents suggest that Duke Philip the Good of Burgundy commissioned this sculpture — and several others — from Juan de la Huerta, perhaps for the now-destroyed castle of Rouvres, southeast of the Burgundian capital of Dijon, France. The striking naturalism of this work was influenced by the revolutionary Burgundian artist Claus Sluter, who departed from earlier, more idealized styles to create sculptures inspired by close observation of nature. De la Huerta emigrated from Aragon (present-day Spain) to the Duchy of Burgundy to join Sluter’s workshop, eventually succeeding him as its leader.
  
  
  Title
  Virgin and Child
  
  
  Artwork Date
  ca. 1455
  
  Artist
  Circle of Juan de la Huerta School of Dijon
  
  
  
  Life Dates
  active 1450-1460
  
  
  
  
  Nationality
  
  
  
  Please note:
  Definitions for nationality may vary significantly, depending on chronology and world events.
  Some definitions include:
  Belonging to a people having a common origin based on a geography and/or descent and/or tradition and/or culture and/or religion and/or language, or sharing membership in a legally defined nation.
  
  
  
  French
  
  
  
  Culture
  
  
  
  Please note:
  Cultures may be defined by the language, customs, religious beliefs, social norms, and material traits of a group.
  
  
  
  
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  Medium
  Limestone, with traces of polychromy
  
  
  Dimensions
  Overall: 42 3/4 × 18 1/4 × 11 1/4 inches (108.6 × 46.4 × 28.6 cm)
  Pedestal: 42 1/8 × 26 × 20 inches (107 × 66 × 50.8 cm)
  
  
  Classification
  Sculpture
  
  
  Department
  European Sculpture and Dec Arts
  
  
  Credit
  Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Edgar B. Whitcomb
  
  
  
  Accession Number
  
  
  
  This unique number is assigned to an individual artwork as part of the cataloguing process at the time of entry into the permanent collection.
  Most frequently, accession numbers begin with the year in which the artwork entered the museum’s holdings.
  For example, 2008.3 refers to the year of acquisition and notes that it was the 3rd of that year. The DIA has a few additional systems—no longer assigned—that identify specific donors or museum patronage groups.
  
  
  
  36.27
  
  
  Copyright
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