Madonna and Child - Marianne Stokes

Painted in 1905. in Dubrovnik, on the Croatian coast. The costume worn by Our Lady is representative of a traditional clothing of Dubrovnik’s woman from the time, and provides a bright focus for Stokes to express her style as a colourist. In the background Stokes surrounds the Holy mother and child with thorny stems foreshadowing the future Passion of Christ, the babe in Her arms. 

The deep colors and eternally placid gaze of the young Madonna's eyes are deeply moving and the painted Christ child is delightfully lifelike.

From the late 1890s Stokes steadily moved her area of interest towards religious, portraiture and historical subjects similar to that of the later Pre-Raphaelite movement. Marianne Stokes enjoyed a successful career as an artist and exhibited paintings at the Royal Academy from the end of the 1870s through to the 1900s.