Saint Anne, the Virgin and child

• CE00288
• Wood: Carved - Painted

Relief depicting Saint Anne, the Virgin Mary and Christ-child seated at her lap. Saint Anne is holding a book, symbol, following the apocryphal gospels, of how she taugh Mary to read on her childhood.

At the end of the 13th century themes related to saints spread thanks to the Golden Legend by Jacopo della Voragine. These hagiographical themes spread widely during the Middle Ages up until the 16th century, when the criticism from the Council of Trent began.

The trinitary group represents the three generations of the Holy family, grandmother, mother and child, and was used by many artist from northern Europe, mostly from the German area during the 15th and 16th centuries. In the territories of the Hispanis Monarchy, this depiction continued during the 17th century as a veiled reference to the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin, not yet accepted as dogma at that time.

Altough we can see the book, there are five elements common to these representations that are missing: the crown, royal attribute given to the Virgin and/or child as kings of creation, the flower, Mary's, and sometimes Saint Anne's, attribute, the fruit, generally an apple, for the conception of Mary as the new Eve, offering the fruit of salvation, the scepter, symbol of royalty and majesty, but also symbol of fertility, and the Wolrd's globe.