Virgin and Child

The Virgin Mary holds a rosary and the Christ Child on her knee holds two birds, one of which he is about to place in the nest held by an angel. The birds are symbols of his future crucifixion, representing goldfinches which supposedly acquired their red spot when splashed with blood when plucking thorns from Christ’s brow. The rosary's miraculous powers were promoted by the Dominicans in Spain, particularly in fighting the Muslims, many of whom still lived in Aragon in the 15th century. It has been suggested that the anonymous artist worked in the circle of Bonanat Zaortiga who worked in Zaragoza between 1403 and 1445. He often used extensive raised and gilded gesso decoration similar to that found on the Virgin's crown and Christ's halo in this painting. Lever bought this painting from the sale of Sir Francis Beaufort Palmer in 1919. He paid more than £900 for it, the highest price in the sale, outbidding the National Gallery in London and refusing to transfer it to them afterwards. It was probably the rich use of gold and overall decorative quality that attracted Lever to this and other Spanish paintings, otherwise unusual in his mainly British collection.