Dieric Bouts, Virgin and Child, 1460, Oil on Panel, 10 7/8” x 8 5/8”inches, Roscoe and Margaret Oakes Collection, Accession Number 75.214, The Legion of Honor of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, (FAMSF).
“This intimate portrayal of the Virgin Mary and Christ Child evokes the bond between mother and infant, amplifying the emotional resonance between the divine and the faithful. Dieric Bouts was among the innovative Netherlandish painters who created startlingly realistic representations using rich colors and shadows that emphasize three-dimensionality. The cloth of honor behind the figures shimmers as if truly woven from gold thread, lending the picture an air of luxury. This painting, once an object of personal devotion, is one of three versions of the composition made in Bouts’s workshop; the primary version is at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.”
—Curators, Legion of Honor
A Friday Morning—-A small image in gallery number three has captivated me on many occasions, so minute, and so un-minute in feeling. It is a patient depiction of mother and child.
The somber face of Mary, with downcast eyes, caresses the imploring upward expression of Baby Jesus. The two faces meet at the lips with a portrayal of touch that is quiet and lovingly electric. The proximity of the features, lips, noses, and eyes, offers we viewers a beautiful connection—there is hope, need, and care. One views the embrace with knowledge of the outcome, yet, for a moment it is a remarkable view of intimacy illustrating an eternal bond. The hands, the body, and the limbs of Baby Jesus are so delicate and small supported in his mother’s lithe hands. The child’s tiny foot is contrasted with the elongated fingers.
The pair are enveloped in an extraordinary textile with glistening threads. The artist builds the experience of the surface with stroke after stroke of care. All of the tones of the painting and the varied shapes stand to give contrast to the soft skin of Mary. Her neck is supple with folds.
On my way to the museum it was this painting I thought of. As this painting is thought to be for personal devotion, perhaps it was a need for me. The sturdy yet vulnerable Mary speaks to the trials and tribulations we endure. Mary’s love is a beacon, a reassurance, and an answer.
by Drew Burgess
Drew Burgess is an art instructor at the College of Alameda of the Peralta Community College District of California
Curators, Dieric Bouts, Virgin and Child, accessed 20 September 2025, https://www.famsf.org/artworks/virgin-and-child
Cite this Page:
Drew Burgess, Virgin and Child by Dieric Bouts, September 20, 2025, https://www.drewburgess.art/museum-visits/2025/9/20/virgin-and-child-by-dieric-bouts
Dieric Bouts, Virgin and Child, 1460, Oil on Panel, 10 7/8” x 8 5/8”inches, Roscoe and Margaret Oakes Collection, Accession Number 75.214, The Legion of Honor of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, (FAMSF).