PROVENANCE: Sir Francis Cook, Sir Frederick Cook, Sir Herbert Cook, Doughty House, Richmond, Surrey, England; Newhouse Galleries, 1952; BJU, 1952.

Jan Gossaert, called Mabuse from his place of origin, was one of the earliest known Netherlandish artists to travel to Italy and to assimilate both an Italian and northern style. His highly polished forms and pristine interiors suited such royal patrons as Philip of Burgundy, Adolph of Burgundy, and Margaret of Austria. According to Max J. Friedländer, Mabuse's goal was to paint more realistically than anyone else. He taught a number of other masters, such as Lambert Lombard and Jan van Scorel and influenced Bernaert van Orley, Lucas van Leyden, and Maerten van Heemskerck.

Although the Bible records no daily domestic duties that Mary attended to, she must have performed the many necessary, if mundane, tasks that motherhood requires. Flemish artists beginning with Robert Campin (the Master of Flemalle) in the first part of the 15th century imagined and illustrated one such duty (changing Christ's diaper). Almost 100 years later, Gossaert, still under the influence of Gerard David, presents a highly-polished version in which Mary warms her hands by the fire so that her touch will not be cold as she changes Christ's diapers. The setting is fully contemporary to the artist from the stone hearth and linen-fold paneling to the glimpse of a charming 15th -century baby walker.