"Madonna and Child" (c1507) - Venetian Renaissance Oil Painting by Vittore Carpaccio at NGA West Building

[DonRocks]

In the Italian Renaissance section of the National Gallery (West Building), you can see works by Panini and Carpaccio.

Last weekend, I stumbled across this "Madonna and Child" (c1505-1510) by Vittore Carpaccio and laughed out loud when I saw it.

Click on it, and zoom in on the flying cherubs - they look like something straight out of the 20th century, and they are *hilarious*.

[DIShGo]

I love the little bodiless cherubs. I want one on a T-shirt. Mary's expression is priceless, too.

[DonRocks]

I love the little bodiless cherubs. I want one on a T-shirt. Mary's expression is priceless, too.

Almost priceless enough to make a parody of ...

Do you find it odd that Mary's reading Baby Jesus the Bible (also, didn't they use scrolls back then?)

Or maybe that's why she has that expression - I used to have the same one at Starbucks, Matt in my left hand, me trying to sweeten and stir my coffee with my right, thinking to myself, 'This is what's in store for me for the next 18 years?'

[Al Dente]

Another take:

And another:

[The Hersch]

Almost priceless enough to make a parody of ...

Do you find it odd that Mary's reading Baby Jesus the Bible (also, didn't they use scrolls back then?)

Or maybe that's why she has that expression - I used to have the same one at Starbucks, Matt in my left hand, me trying to sweeten and stir my coffee with my right, thinking to myself, 'This is what's in store for me for the next 18 years?'

You can't really tell if the book is a bible, but I'm pretty sure they didn't have that sort of book in first-century Judea. They also didn't have Italian hill-top villages.

This reminds me of the nativity scenes you see in Bavaria at Christmas-time. Like this:

In some of them you'll see shepherds in Lederhosen.