Madonna and Child in a Rosary

German 15th Century

National Gallery of Art

This print depicts a woman holding a child. The woman has simple facial features, pale skin, and long, wavy, yellow hair. She is dressed in a red robe over a gray garment, and there is a yellow crown on her head surrounded by a yellow halo. The child in her arms also has pale skin and short curly hair surrounded by a yellow halo, and they are unclothed. The woman is surrounded by rays of yellow light that emanate from her against a black background. Below the bottom of her dress, there seems to be a human face with pale skin that points downward, a frown on its face. Surrounding the woman is a circular border of flowers in white, red, and yellow, with green leaves between them. In the four corners of the print are different creatures holding scrolls, including an angel in the top left, a bird in the top right, a bull in the bottom right, and a lion in the bottom left. The bottom two animals have red wings, and all three have yellow halos. The angel has green wings.