Madonna and Child

In 1475 and 1476 Antonello da Messina, the Sicilian painter who had learned to work in oil in the Flemish way, was in Venice, and his visit left its mark on how the city's painters handled light. Alvise Vivarini painted this signed Madonna in the 1480s, and the museum counts it among his early works. It also tells you where to look. The delicate light and soft shading on the beautifully formed hands recall Antonello, even though Alvise was still working in tempera here.

Little of the Virgin's original blue mantle has survived. In the 19th century it was painted over in green. In the wood you can still see lines scored by the painter, guides he cut to plan the fall of the drapery before any colour went on.