3-035-428 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

Madonna and Child with Saints Lucy, Dominic, and Louis of France, about 1596-1598. The Virgin, wrapped in a blue mantle and red dress, is seated on the left. Extending her right arm downward, she holds a book which rests on a basket containing a small white robe, probably intended for the Christ child in her lap. The lively child, balanced precariously on a pillow, clutches onto his mother's dress with his right arm, while with his left he gestures towards Saint Lucy's eyes, resting on their customary plate. (In medieval accounts, Saint Lucy's eyes were gouged out prior to her execution.) The veiled female saint, wearing a red dress and yellow cloak, kneels in front of him and the Virgin. A book and the palm of martyrdom lie at her feet. Behind this main group, two other saints watch the scene with devotion. A crowned Saint Louis of France, dressed in blue and wearing a golden demask cloak, stands on the left holding a sceptre.