Virgin and Child Seated under a Tree

Landscape plays an important role in the three engravings on view. Here, however, Lucas decided not to work out the background in detail: all attention is focussed on the confident rendering of the delicately elaborated figures. The folds of Mary’s gown are busier and more angular than in the engraving of 1508. The pronounced highlights on the folds are a feature that recurs in the painting Virgin and Child.