St Anne with the Virgin and Child thumbnail 1
St Anne with the Virgin and Child thumbnail 2
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On display
Image of Gallery in South Kensington

St Anne with the Virgin and Child

Statue
ca. 1520-1530 (made)
Artist/Maker
Unknown
Place of origin
Limburg (Netherlands) (made)
Maastricht (made)

The image of St Anne with the Virgin and Child was especially popular in the late Middle Ages. It was known as the' Anna Selbdritt' in Germany and' Anna-te-Drieën' in the Netherlands. St Anne holds the young Virgin on her lap with her right hand. The crowned Virgin in turn holds the Christ Child around the waist with her left hand. In her right hand she holds a bunch of grapes, which is a symbol of the blood of Christ.
This piece shows the small figures of the Virgin and Child perched on St Anne's lap. The earliest examples of this composition date from the late 1400s. Most of the surviving pieces were made in the 15th and 16th centuries. These three-figure groups were made as a single religious image. From the 1400s onwards the group was often part of a larger composition known as the Holy Kindred or 'Heilige Maagschap' .This showed St Anne as a young woman with the Virgin and Christ Child. It also included St Anne's three husbands, and her three daughters with their husbands and children.

Object details

Categories
Sculpture
Religion
Christianity
Children & Childhood
Object type
Statue
TitleSt Anne with the Virgin and Child (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Carved oak
Oak
Carved
Brief description
Statue, St Anne with Virgin and Child, carved oak, Limburg, 1520-30
Physical description
Wood carving. Group of St. Anne, holding on her lap the Virgin, who is nursing the infant Saviour; above is a crenellated canopy. Formerly in the Chapel of Bude Castle, Cornwall.
Dimensions
  • Height: 128.5cm
  • Width: 52.5cm
  • Weight: 54kg
Gallery label
(26/11/2010)
St Anne with the Virgin and Child
About 1520–30

St Anne supports her daughter the Virgin Mary on her
lap, while Mary herself cradles the Christ Child. In her
right hand, the Virgin holds a bunch of grapes. These
are a reference to the shedding of Christ’s blood at his
future crucifixion.
Netherlands, probably Maastricht
Oak
Museum no. 37-1887
Object history
Formerly in the Chapel of Bude Castle, Cornwall, the residence of Mr William Maskell; bought from Mr Maskell, Penzance, in 1887 (£40)

Historical significance: Such representations of the Holy family were popular in the Netherlands and Germany in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.
Historical context
The figure came originally from the chapel of Bude Castle, Cornwall
Subjects depicted
Christianity
Throne
Throne Canopy
Lion
Book
Crown
Grapes
Medallions (Medals)
Anne (Saint)
Mary (Virgin Mary)
The Christ Child
Summary
The image of St Anne with the Virgin and Child was especially popular in the late Middle Ages. It was known as the' Anna Selbdritt' in Germany and' Anna-te-Drieën' in the Netherlands. St Anne holds the young Virgin on her lap with her right hand. The crowned Virgin in turn holds the Christ Child around the waist with her left hand. In her right hand she holds a bunch of grapes, which is a symbol of the blood of Christ.
This piece shows the small figures of the Virgin and Child perched on St Anne's lap. The earliest examples of this composition date from the late 1400s. Most of the surviving pieces were made in the 15th and 16th centuries. These three-figure groups were made as a single religious image. From the 1400s onwards the group was often part of a larger composition known as the Holy Kindred or 'Heilige Maagschap' .This showed St Anne as a young woman with the Virgin and Christ Child. It also included St Anne's three husbands, and her three daughters with their husbands and children.
Bibliographic references
  • Williamson, Paul, Netherlandish Sculpture 1450-1550, London: Victoria and Albert Museum, 2002, cat. no. 7.
  • Maskell, A. Wood Sculpture London, 1911. pp.306-7, pl. xxxviii
  • Williamson, Paul. 'A figure of Saint John the Evangelist in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London' in Laat-gotische beeldsnigkunst uit Limburg en grensland, 2. Handelingeis van net synposium. Sint- Truiden, 1992. pp.71. n. 3.
  • Kunstschatten mit de St- Servaos Maastricht. 1976. fig 92
  • Heiyi Anna, Grote Moeder: De cultus van de Heilingen moeder Anna en haar familie in de Nedarlanden en aangrenzende streeken. Museum voor Religieuze Kunst, Uden 1992cat. no. 74, fig. 85
  • Laat-gotische beeldsnijkunst uit Limburg en grensland, Deel 2, Handelingen van het symposium. Sint- Truiden, 1992. pp.201
  • Prior, E.S and Gardner, A. An Account of Medieval Figure- Sculpture in England Cambridge, 1912. pp. 524. n. 1
  • Kunstschatten uit de St-Servaas Maastricht, 1976. fig. 92
  • List of Objects in the Art Division, South Kensington Museum acquired during the Year 1887 London: Eyre and Spottiswoode, 1888. pp.7
  • Laat gotische beeldsnijkunst uit Limburg en grensland, Deel 2, Handelingen van het symposium Sint-Truiden, 1990. p. III 128, fig. 491.
Collection
Sculpture Collection
Accession number
37-1887

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Record createdDecember 5, 2002
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O71527/st-anne-with-the-virgin-statue-unknown/
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