Madonna Adoring the Child

In the pictureMary, in a blue mantle and red dress, kneels with her hands joined and looks down at the Child lying on the grass. The Child, naked, raises his arms toward his mother, and behind them stretch a crumbling wall and gate, a distant city and a river. The sky is pale and the grass is dark green.

BackgroundThe format in which the Child is laid on the ground rather than in a manger and adored by Mary was very popular in Florence in the late 15th century. Botticelli painted several works on this theme in the 1490s, and this one is considered the work of him and his workshop. The ruins behind signify the end of the old era and the coming of a new one, and Mary's long fingers and soft profile are Botticelli's hallmarks.

Puzzle tipIt divides into the blue mantle, red dress, the Child's flesh, gray ruins and green grass. Fit Mary's face and hands and the Child first, and join the mantle along the light lines of its folds. Set up the upper right with the straight pieces of the ruins, then fill in the grass. 100 pieces is about right.