[1] The tondo was worked on during the year in which Michelangelo sculpted his David, having found the time to dedicate to some other paid private commissions.

Detail of her eyes is not complete, as in the typical style of Michelangelo, but interpretations suggest that her gaze seems distracted, as if she is looking into the distance and meditating on the fate of her son that is foretold in the scriptures she is reading.

The cherub upon Mary's forehead symbolizes her knowledge of the prophecies, as is found in the terracotta relief, Madonna with Child, that is attributed to Donatello of Padua and dated to c. 1440.

Interpretations have suggested that she seems to bend over in order to fill the space allotted by the tondo and that her posture gives an impression that she desires to escape from the scene depicted.

Her head, in high relief, projects both outward and upward beyond the border of the tondo and turns left to break the rigidity of the vertical axis of her body.