Madonna and Child with a Lamb by a Low Wall 17th-18th century

Curator: Isn't it lovely? The "Madonna and Child with a Lamb by a Low Wall," held here at the Harvard Art Museums. It's a tiny etching, just about 15 by 22 centimeters. Editor: It feels so intimate, like a stolen glance. The lamb looking up at the baby, the mother's protective hand...It's a scene of utter tenderness. Curator: The artist is, alas, unknown. We have a feeling that this was made sometime in the seventeenth century. Editor: I am curious as to why the landscape is so detailed and vast, contrasting with the sharp and flat look of the foreground wall. How do you interpret this contrast? Curator: I wonder if it suggests a sense of longing, perhaps for a simpler life, a life lived in harmony with nature... a commentary on the expectations of motherhood. The infant Jesus seems to be pointing toward a mountain in the distance. Editor: I never thought about it that way. I was stuck in the moment of that scene, you've led me to consider the painting in a new light.