Known also as the Madonna of the Book, this painting represents the Virgin and Child in a domestic setting, intent on reading a volume, perhaps a Book of Hours.
   A window is open on the landscape at twilight, but the diffused light which transforms the space into a mystical setting seems to emanate from the figures themselves. The various fruits in the bowl have a symbolic meaning, the cherries allude to the blood of Christ, the plums to the love between Mother and Child, the figs to the Salvation or the Resurrection. The nails and the crown of thorns (perhaps not original) evoke the Passion of Christ.
   Dating from about 1480, the painting shows all the elements of the Botticelli’s mature poetic: a delicate, elegant linearity, a style which is still far from the intense pathos of his late work.

百度翻译：http://fanyi.baidu.com

　　圣母和圣婴面前画了一本打开的书，或许“祈祷书”，一本13世纪和18 世纪广为流行的祈祷用书。
　　因为书籍和盒子等常见对象的突出显示使得画面具有熟悉的内涵。右侧景观上有一扇窗户，落日的余晖照亮了室内。但弥漫在母亲和孩子身上的光似乎没有天然的起源。相反，它似乎来自两个神圣的人物本身，将简单的房间和家庭空间变成了一个神秘的场景。
　　珐琅碗中的水果具有象征意义：樱桃暗指基督的血液，李子暗示母亲和孩子的温柔，而无花果象征着耶稣的救赎或复活。孩子手中的三颗钉子和荆棘的冠冕唤起了基督的激情。
　　这幅约1482年至1483年的画作，也被称为《读书圣母》，属于桑德罗·波提切利的成熟作品，但它仍然反映了菲利普·里皮的影响，他最早教授波提切利。
　　这件作品包含了波提切利艺术这一时期的特征：一种精致优雅的线性，一种珍贵的风格，远离他晚期作品的强烈感伤。