Virgin and Child. Southern Germany or Austria, first half of the 16th century.

Virgin and Child. South Germany or Austria, first half of the sixteenth century.
Carved wood, polychrome and partially gilded.
Polychrome retouch with two fingers of Christ redone.
Painted and sculpted in hollow on the back.
Measurements: 120 cm (height).

This important sculpture of the Virgin and Child, dated at the beginning of the 16th century and belonging to the German or Austrian school, leaves behind the Gothic prevailing until then to enter the Renaissance. The Virgin is richly dressed, her neck is surrounded by a two-row coral necklace. The position is hieratic, while the attitude of Jesus is rather jocular. At this time, religious sculpture was characterized by a profound expressiveness and an increasingly accentuated realism, with an emphasis on spirituality and restrained pain. At the beginning of the 16th century, Germany was experiencing a period of profound cultural and religious change. Late German Gothic, still very present in religious imagery (it was an enclave where Gothic lasted much longer than in Italy), emphasized emotionality, delicacy in the folds of the garments and expressiveness in the faces. However, with the influence of the Nordic Renaissance, more naturalistic details and a greater search for three-dimensionality in the sculptures began to appear.