Signed and dated one year before Gossaert's death, this painting reveals Mary in a contemplative mood and pose that relate to the text at the top and bottom borders of the original portions of the frame. Translated from the Latin it reads, "Mother, may your contemplation be our reconciliation." These would be the words spoken by the supplicant presumably poised in prayer in the right half of a diptych (now lost) that included this painting at the left. Such words recognize the Virgin's intercessory role in seeking redemption for sinful humanity through Christ. Gossart was influenced by Durer for the poses of his Virgin and Child, specifically Durer's 1521 drawing the Ninety-Three-Year-Old Man (Graphische Sammlung, Albertina, Vienna) and perhaps his 1512 Virgin and Child with the Pear (Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna). The bucolic landscape was provided by an unknown landscape painter. (http://www.metmuseum.org)