' Virgin and Child ' ( Melun diptych ) Jean Fouquet ( French 1420 - 1481 ) Tempera on panel circa 1450

This spectacular panel is part of a diptych known as the 'Melun diptych' , after the French city where it used to kept . Chevalier was treasurer to King Charles V11 of France . Fouquet worked at the court of the king . It appears that the atmosphere at the court must have entered Fouquet's painting . Mary is dressed in a fashionable wardrobe and looks very aristocratic . Many think that the model was Agnes Sorel , the king's mistress . The red and blue cherubs block the view of the background . There presence does give the work something sacred , contrary to Mary's bare chest . The fine details in the throne and in the jewels are noteworthy . They suggest that Fouquet was influenced by Flemish painters , who were well known for their skills in that field . The prominent Dutch historian Johan Huizinga wrote about this panel in his 'Waning of the Middle Ages ' . He considered it a fine example of decadence in the late Middle Ages , when religious feelings became close to erotic ones .