Virgin and Child
- Artist: Parmigianino
- Date: c. 1527-28
- Medium: oil on panel
- Museum: The Courtauld Gallery
- Collection record: The Courtauld Gallery website
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About this artwork
This is the Virgin and Child by Parmigianino. The work dates to about 1527‑28, a time when the young Girolamo Francesco Maria Mazzola had just settled in Rome after leaving Parma in 1524. He absorbed the dramatic compositions of Raphael and the muscular force of Michelangelo, and you can see those echoes in the careful, incised lines that frame the Virgin’s figure. Yet the canvas tells a story of interruption: several areas remain unresolved, most notably the shifting position of the Virgin’s feet, a hint that the artist may have left the panel unfinished. In fact, records suggest that Parmigianino abandoned the work when he fled Rome in 1527 amid the invasion by mutinous German troops. The painting remains an oil on panel, a testament to the artist’s delicate technique even as it hints at the turbulence of that era. Watching the Virgin and Child here offers a glimpse into Parmigianino’s brief Roman period and the unfinished dream he left behind.
See it in person
Virgin and Child hangs in The Courtauld Gallery at Somerset House, London. Point your phone at any artwork there and audioguide.london plays a free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
