Madonna and Child with the Young Saint John the Baptist

In the pictureMary, in a red dress and blue mantle with a transparent veil, bows her head to nurse the naked baby lying on her lap. The Child, with golden curls, holds her breast with both hands. Behind them on the left, the young John, in a garment of animal skin and a red cloak, leans a slender cross-staff against himself and folds his hands. A cloth with a gold floral pattern hangs behind Mary; to its left is red rock, and to its right a landscape of trees, water and pointed rocky peaks. The halos are drawn with a single thin gold line. There is a small gold star on Mary's right shoulder.

BackgroundThe nursing Madonna is an old image that stresses that the Son of God took on a human body, and compositions that add the young John the Baptist were especially popular in Florence in the late 15th century. John's animal-skin garment and cross-staff are symbols of the preaching he would later do in the wilderness. Cosimo Rosselli (1440–1507) was a Florentine painter who also took part in painting the frescoes of the Sistine Chapel; in this picture he used oil and gold along with tempera. It measures 45.4 × 35.9 cm. The star on the shoulder is a sign linked to the title "Star of the Sea" given to the Virgin.

Puzzle tipThe image divides into zones: the red dress, the blue mantle, flesh tones, the gold-patterned cloth and the landscapes on either side. Fit the three faces and the Child's body first, then build up the patterned cloth behind Mary by following the run of its floral design. The narrow landscapes at the sides won't get mixed up, since the left one is red rock and the right one is blue sky and rocky peaks. Fill the dark cushion pieces at the bottom last. The Child's golden curls and John's brown hair mark off the lower left from the area above. 100 pieces works well.