Probably dating from the early 1480s, this work is very representative of the early Venetian Renaissance and the art of Giovanni Bellini (1430–1516). The technique of oil painting was at the time an innovation that distinguished Venice from the other centres of Italian art. Among the many depictions of the Madonna and Child painted by the artist throughout his life, this one is characterised by the elegance of the gestures, the graceful faces, the strength of the colouring and the exceptional finesse of the drawing and modelling. The intensity of colour is accentuated by the use of a monochrome black background rather than the usual landscape, something rare for Bellini. The Virgin is shown with her hands joined in prayer before her son. The Christ Child sits on his mother’s red mantle, the colour of the Passion but also of her love for him. His right hand rests on a book, which symbolises the Holy Scriptures and thus his destiny already written.