NETHERLANDISH SCHOOL, CIRCA 1500

Noting a distant connection in the figure types to work of Petrus Christus, Diane Wolfthal (op. cit., p. 62) dates this highly-refined Virgin and Child to the turn of the 16th century. She specifies that the painting is remarkable in its execution: "No photograph can convey the dusky beauty of its colors. Unusually lovely are the dark flesh tones tinged with red at the cheeks and mouth. The modeling, especially of the Virgin's left cheek and temple, is exceptionally delicate and sensitive. The Madonna's expression is quiet and gentle. In its size and subject, this work is unexceptional among Early Netherlandish canvases, but in its quality, it is far above most of its class".