This extraordinary late 16th-century panel by an artist working in the circle of Spanish painter Miguel Barroso (1538-1590) depicts the Virgin Mary seated upon a raised throne. She gently supports the Christ Child as he raises his hand in blessing. Painted around 1580, during the reign of Philip II, it transports us directly into the spiritual world of late Renaissance Spain.Beside the Virgin, kneels a donor - probably the individual who commissioned the work. He''s dressed in black and absorbed in prayer. Above, a host of cherubs unfurls a scroll bearing the words Ave Regina Caelorum (''Hail, Queen of Heaven''), while elegant arches open onto a distant landscape beyond.Around four hundred and forty years ago, someone stood before this very image seeking guidance - and perhaps forgiveness or hope. The kneeling donor serves as a bridge between their world and ours. We''re looking at the same painted face of the Virgin, the same blessing hand of the Christ Child, and the same dev...