Virgin and Child

This panel is probably the earliest surviving painting by Bramantino, who trained as a goldsmith and later became an important architect and painter in Milan. The strong linearity of Bramantino's paintings reflects the artist's early experience incising metal surfaces. As his nickname, "little Bramante," suggests, Bramantino also adopted much from the paintings of the great Milanese architect Donato Bramante, including his restless figural contours and the lively lines in the draperies. The fortified brick town and the misty lake seen in the background of this painting are typical of the landscape around Milan.