Master of Madonna of Veveří

Sometime after 1344, a panel of the Virgin and Child was painted for the church of the Assumption below Veveří Castle, near Brno in Moravia. Its commission is usually linked to John Henry of Luxembourg, Margrave of Moravia and brother of the future Emperor Charles IV. The painter left no name, so scholars call him after this one picture, and many place him close to the Master of the Vyšší Brod Altarpiece, the painter of a celebrated cycle made for a monastery in South Bohemia.

The panel shows clear Italian influence. Mary wears a double crown over loose hair, and the Child holds a goldfinch, a bird linked with Christ's Passion because it was said to feed among thorns. For decades the painting hung in the National Gallery in Prague. In 2015 a court ruled that it belonged to the parish of Veverská Bítýška, and in March 2016 it went on show at the Diocesan Museum in Brno.