<div class="description">
The Madonna is shown seated on the ground as she nurses the infant Christ in a style of depiction called the "Madonna (or Virgin) of Humility." Humility was a virtue extolled by Saint Francis of Assisi, and this style of image was a product of Franciscan piety, first developed by them for contemplation. The word humility is from the Latin humus, meaning earth or ground. By showing Mary seated on the ground or on a cushion, the artist emphasized the Virgin’s simplicity and humanity. The divine nature of the subject is made clear by the inscription (in Latin): Holy Mary, the milk of God. This indicates that the Virgin alone of all of humankind could bear and nurture the son of God.</div>
<bdi><a href="https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4217193" class="extiw" title="d:Q4217193"><span title="Venetian artist, painter active in the 14th century">Catarino Veneziano</span></a>
</bdi>
<a rel="nofollow" class="external free" href="https://clevelandart.org/art/1963.500">https://clevelandart.org/art/1963.500</a>