Mary the mother holds Christ the child in this vertical Virgin and Child that is painted in tempera on a rectangular panel. Gold predominates in the extensive gilded background, frame, halos and edging of Mary’s cloak. A predella, or base, of five small figures lines the bottom of the panel below Mary and Christ’s figures. All of the figures have light skin. Mary takes center stage in a rich dark blue cloak that covers her head and body to her lower torso where the image ends. A strip of fine gold ornamentation lines the hood, front and sleeves and a small gold star marks her right shoulder. Around her face and neck a delicate white fabric peeks out from under her robe, and at her neck and wrists the rounded neckline and sleeves of her rich burgundy undergarment can be seen. Her head is tilted slightly toward our right, curving above her son’s head, her facial features small and thin. Mary’s arms are bent at her waist with Christ sitting on the crook of her left arm, on our right. Her fingers are very narrow, long and claw-like. Christ is perched upright on his mother’s arm, his proportions that of a small man. His hair is fair and features are unremarkable. Similar to his mother, he looks blankly with no identifiable emotion. He wears a filmy white undergarment below blue fabric wrapped around his upper torso and right arm, and coral-colored fabric covers his lower torso and legs, a piece drawn up to his chest in his right hand. His mother’s bare right hand stiffly covers his feet. You can see his small toes peeking out in between her fingers. Halos back the heads of both Mother and Child, represented by elaborately designed concentric circles. These figures are backed by a flat gilded surface rimmed by borders of intricate geometric designs, all within a multi-layered gold frame.





Below the Virgin and Child in the predella are five small arches each bearing a light-skinned figure and divided by pillars. From left to right they include: a crowned male saint dressed in blue and gold and holding a cross; a red-bearded saint in a blue tunic and shawl, perhaps holding a palm frond, and identified as St. Paul; a black-cloaked saint carrying a book and lily, identified as St. Dominic; a red, gold and blue cloaked unidentified female saint holding what appears to be a book; and finally on the far right a kneeling woman, dressed as a nun, and identified as the donor, raises her hands and eyes as if in prayer to the Virgin and Christ Child above.