Why it matters
Named after the Greek monograms at the top and its debt to Byzantine icons, Bellini's Greek Madonna holds the Child, who holds a golden apple. A 1986–87 restoration revealed that the background was originally blue sky.
Did you know?
- It was painted in 1460–1470.
- The golden apple may refer to Mary as the 'new Venus'.
- The French confiscated it from the Doge's Palace; it went to the Brera in 1808.
Based on the Wikipedia article Greek Madonna (CC BY-SA 4.0).
