Virgin and Child

This tender portrayal of the Virgin and Child is characteristic of the Gothic style of Lorraine. The fact that the figures are set on a plinth, the Child standing on the Virgin’s proper right knee, with the Virgin looking slightly downward and the Child to one side, suggests that they once formed the central group of an Adoration of the Magi or similar ensemble placed at a height above the viewer in a chapel or on an altar. In addition to the stance, the iconography presents another remarkable feature: the slightly off-centre faces and, especially, the forward-leaning body of the Child give the work a slight imbalance. Such a setting would account for the lack of detailed carving on the back and the survival of extensive traces of gilt and polychrome.