La vierge et l'enfant (The Virgin and Child)

Paul Gauguin

National Gallery of Art

The image depicts a woman standing upright with a child resting on her shoulder. The woman faces forward with a calm expression, long hair framing her face. She wears a long dress and her arms cradle the child's legs. The child is semi-reclined against her, appearing relaxed. Both figures have a softly sketched halo-like feature around their heads. The background consists of swirling textured strokes and a spherical, moon-like element near the bottom left.