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Artist:
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Circle of Gil de Siloe
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Title:
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Virgin of the Milk (Virgen de la leche)
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Date:
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c. 1500
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Medium:
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Polychromed wood
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Dimensions:
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31 1/4 x 23 x 16 1/2 in. (79.38 x 58.42 x 41.91 cm) (approx.)
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Credit Line:
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The William Hood Dunwoody Fund
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Location:
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Gallery 279
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The Virgin is shown breastfeeding her son with unexpected naturalism. She squeezes milk out of her breast by massaging it with her fingers, and Jesus, at the end of his meal, is seen as "milk drunk," with his eyes unfocussed. But far from being simply a genre scene, the Virgin breastfeeding the Christ child has theological significance. Milk was seen as refined blood from the motherâs womb in medieval and early modern times. It was believed that the Virginâs milk â just like the blood that Jesus shed on the cross â had redemptive properties.
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Artist/Creator(s)
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Name:
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Siloe, Gil de
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Nationality:
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Spanish
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Life Dates:
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active Burgos, Spain, 1486-1501
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Object Description
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Inscriptions:
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Classification:
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Sculpture
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Physical Description:
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seated figure of Mary with long, thick brown hair, wearing rich robes of gold, blue and red, holding nude baby Jesus on her lap, breastfeeding; Jesus' brown hair is styled in ringlets close to his head
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Creation Place:
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Europe, Spain, , ,
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Accession #:
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2012.12
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Owner:
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The Minneapolis Institute of Arts
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