The Virgin and Child with an Angel
Artist
Albert Bouts
(Netherlandish, about 1452–1549)
Dateprobably 1540s
Mediumoil on panel
Dimensionspanel: 40.2 x 29.1 cm (15 13/16 x 11 7/16 in.)
ClassificationsPaintings
Credit LineMuseum Purchase
Object number1917.5
Label TextAlbert was the second son and the pupil of Dirk (or Dieric) Bouts, a well-known Flemish painter. He lived and worked in Louvain. This panel, which is in excellent condition, is thoroughly characteristic of Albert's work and probably dates late in his career.
The Virgin and Child are here shown in an enclosed garden (hortus conclusus), a setting widely used to symbolize the Virgin's purity and chastity. The various wild flowers on the wall and beneath her feet are likewise symbolic of her virtues and of events in the Christian calendar. Each is so carefully rendered that it can be identified and its meaning discovered from contemporary texts. Among them are violets, symbolizing humility; lilies of the valley, representing the Immaculate Conception and the advent of Christ; dandelions, a symbol of the Passion; and carnations, symbolizing pure love.ProvenanceSchnell, Paris (1911); Henry Reinhardt & Son, New York, by 1917; Sold to the Worcester Art Museum, February 1917.On View
On view
