Madonna of the Meadow is a 1505 Religious Painting by Italian Renaissance master painter Giovanni Bellini.
Bellini (1430-1516) painted Madonna of the Meadow, also known as Madonna del Prato, in 1505, late in his career at age 75. Here he presents an exquisite background here filled with animals and buildings in a pastoral setting that foregrounds the Virgin Mary at prayer over the sleeping infant Christ who presses his hand to his heart.
The mother and child make up half of the canvas in a near-perfect triangle, splitting the background into two. The picture both captures and inspires in the viewer a profound devotion. It also has a subtle hint at the Pietà – the biblical scene where a grieving Madonna holds the dead Jesus Christ in her arms after his removal from the cross.
It was originally an oil and tempura painting on a wooden panel, however, after centuries of damage, it was transferred to canvas in 1949.
Giovanni Bellini, Madonna of the Meadow is in the National Gallery of London, United Kingdom.
