Rediscovered and Reconsidered: Jan Gossart’s Virgin and Child with a Book

Long hidden away in a private collection in Prague, Jan Gossart’s Virgin and Child with a Book has recently reappeared. This article confirms the attribution to Gossart and dates the painting to around 1520. The prominence of the devotional book in the composition is discussed in relation to the theological tenet of the Virgin as the Book. A review of Gossart’s idealised and unidealised treatment of the Virgin in his paintings provides context for the depiction in the Prague painting. The notable and naturalistic intimacy of the poses and the connected gazes of the two figures leads to a discussion of Noa Turel’s theories on the term “au vif,” meaning, in her interpretation, pictures brought not from life but to life. It is proposed that such concepts, as well as insights gained from Gossart’s 1508–1509 trip to Rome, encouraged his efforts in this direction. In Rome, Gossart encountered poets in Pope Julius II’s entourage who wrote epigrams to be “spoken” by the ancient marbles. This trope of empowering sculptures with speech finds a parallel in Gossart’s paintings, where the artist endeavours to animate his figures through lifelike poses and various compositional strategies. Although we may not know whether the woman depicted as the Virgin in the Prague painting was intended as a disguised portrait or was simply a model for the Virgin, the Virgin and Child epitomises Gossart’s approach towards bringing his figures to life.