Virgin and Child between Saint Helena and Saint Francis

Amico Aspertini painted this image of the Virgin and Child around 1520, one of the most fundamental subjects in European devotional art. The intimate bond between mother and child served as a focus for prayer and meditation. The painting is in the National Museum Cardiff The Virgin Mary occupied a central place in late medieval and Renaissance piety, venerated as intercessor and Queen of Heaven, her image produced in countless devotional objects for public and private use.

The devotional composition is rendered with attention to the expressive and contemplative qualities that served the painting's function as an aid to prayer and meditation.