The Virgin with the Swaddled Child

Albrecht Dürer

National Gallery of Art

This print depicts a woman seated on a cushion with a baby in her arms. Her face is turned downwards towards the child she holds. The woman has light skin, closed eyes, small lips, long, wavy hair, and a round chin. She wears a long-sleeved garment with ruffled cuffs and a fur neckline with a large gem at the center. The baby also has light skin and light, curly hair. It is swaddled in a cloth, resting peacefully. Both the woman and child have rays of light emanating from around their heads; the rays around the woman are in a circular, halo-like shape, while those around the child are in three triangular bursts. In the background, far below them, there are buildings, rolling hills, and a flat body of water. The woman sits on a cushion with tassels on top of a square block, and a stone with the date "1520" is visible in the bottom left corner.