Virgin and child

Rocco Marconi, a Venetian painter active from around 1504 to 1529, created this Virgin and Child around 1516. A pupil of Giovanni Bellini, Marconi maintained his master's devotional tradition while absorbing influences from Palma il Vecchio and the younger generation of Venetian painters. The tempera-on-panel medium required a carefully gessoed surface and was painted in fine, precise layers, yielding a luminous, jewel-like surface of great durability.

The panel reflects the warmth of the Bellinesque tradition with rich Venetian glazes, soft atmospheric modeling, and the gentle devotional mood characteristic of early Cinquecento Venice.