Polychrome Madonna and Child - Lyon Museum of Fine Arts France

This polychrome Madonna and Child (c1550) is from the Loire Valley, and currently located at the Museum of Fine Arts in Lyon France.

This Madonna and Child sculpture stands at a critical moment in French art history, when Gothic devotional styles were still deeply embedded in ecclesiastical art. But Italian Renaissance influences were increasingly present — especially after Francis I’s Italian campaigns and the arrival of artists like Leonardo da Vinci (who died at Amboise in 1519, in the Loire Valley itself). Mary’s elongated form, elegant drapery, and downcast, contemplative gaze remain tied to Gothic elegance and spiritual introspection. The Christ Child appears more naturalistic and playful, with bodily volume and anatomical softness, which is a clear Renaissance trait.