Madonna of the Stonecutters
by MANTEGNA, Andrea, Tempera on wood, 29 x 22 cm
This view of the Madonna has the feeling of a fragment. She is set dramatically against a rocky backdrop cut off by the edge of the painting. Mary and Child are isolated from what is happening in the rest of the picture and appear to be turned in upon themselves, a reflection of the rapt devotion of those who kneel before this image in pious devotion.