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St Anne with the Virgin and Child
unknown - Enlarge image
St Anne with the Virgin and Child
- Object:
Statuette
- Place of origin:
Mechelen (made)
- Date:
ca. 1520 (made)
- Artist/Maker:
unknown (production)
- Materials and Techniques:
Carved walnut, painted and gilded
- Museum number:
CIRC.10-1930
- Gallery location:
In Storage
Here St Anne holds the tiny Virgin and Christ Child on her right arm. Her left hand is now broken. The figure has been completely and crudely overpainted. The lastest layer at least was applied after St Anne's left hand had been broken off as a thick layer of paint covers the break. The colour scheme you can see here does not seem to be anything like the original decoration. St Anne probably originally held a bunch of grapes (now missing) in her left hand, instead of the more common book. The grapes would have been a symbol of the blood of Christ, and would have foretold Christ's Passion. This statuette is in poor condition and has been disfigured by the later painting. This makes its style appear slightly different from most of the figures made in Malines (Mechelen, Belgium).
