Ah, for those medieval times when breastfeeding was not viewed as shameful. Although there is one angel eying the holy boob rather hungrily. 
The Madonna is the right panel of a diptych. The left panel shows Etienne Chevalier, the person who commissioned the painting, with his patron saint.
The Madonna is modelled on a real woman, named Agnès Sorel. The resemblance is clear from her sculpted tomb image. Mary is depicted in a non-standard Madonna costume and is fashionably dressed: she doesn’t wear the customary shapeless dress in rich blue with thousands of folds.
Agnès Sorel (1422 – 1450), known by the sobriquet Dame de beauté (Lady of Beauty), became favourite mistress of King Charles VII of France, by whom she bore four daughters. She is considered the first officially recognized royal mistress.
Conservative clergy, already peeved with the king’s decision to give a court appointment to his mistress, were outraged that a woman known for her sexuality was used to portray the Holy Mother.
Nevertheless, Agnès remained the king’s darling, a position that gave her considerable authority, which likely contributed to her death at the age of 28. She was murdered by mercury poisoning, probably on the instructions of the heir to the throne, the future Louis XI.
Although Agnès died young, her legacy lived on with ever lower necklines becoming the court fashion in emulation of her frequently exposed decolletage.
Chefs also served up a range of dishes a l’Agnès Sorel to honour her memory. Her name appears on timbales, and in veloutés, a garnish made with button mushrooms, pickled tongue and truffles, and a demi-glace of rendered stock and madeira wine.
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