“The Virgin and Child in a Landscape” by Bernardino Luini in the front state room of The Wallace Collection, Marylebone, London, England

From The Wallace Collection website:

The representation of the Virgin as mother holding the Christ Child entered the West through Byzantine art. By the Renaissance, the relationship of mother and child became increasingly imbued with human feeling, as seen here, while the religious sense of the image was conveyed by means of symbolic attributes. The book refers to Christ’s innate wisdom, and may also be a forerunner of the Gospels; the ivory teething stick, with black ribbons, recalls His innocence and suffering and the white sheet, a symbolic winding sheet, foretells His death. The Virgin wears her traditional colours of a red robe beneath a blue cloak, and is posed in an attitude of humility with downcast eyes. In medieval theology, humility was regarded as the basis for all other virtues, and thus as an appropriate attribute of the Mother of Christ. The picture is thought to be an early work by Luini.

Object description
Type: Easel painting
Location: The Wallace Collection, London
Material: Oil on oak panel
Artist: Bernardino Luini (1480 – 1532)
Date: about 1520

Image details
Date: 8 December 2025
Camera body: iPhone Xs
Lens: Wide Camera 26mm ƒ/1.8
Focal Length: 26mm
Aperture: ƒ/1.8
Shutter Speed: 1/25s
ISO: 640
Licensing: Image of a Wallace Collection asset. This image cannot be licensed.