Madonna and Child, Orazio Gentileschi (1605)
Neither the Virgin nor the infant Jesus look towards the viewer in Orazio Gentileschi’s painting: the whole scene is contained within the canvas, and the essence of the work lies in the interplay of glances and contacts between mother and son. The ritual solemnity pervading depictions of the Virgin and Child is absent: except for the golden edge of the halo, it might be taken for a secular subject, depicting a moment of family intimacy. This effect is also secured by the coloring, which rests on a dull ground of ochre and brown tones: the painting then kindles with light through the flesh tones of mother and child, as well as in the threefold division of pure colors (red, yellow and blue) in their garments.
                                
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