The Nativity of the Virgin Mary
German, circa 1480
Limewood with paint
From the church of St. Lawrence, Ebern, Bavaria
The Cloisters, accession #56.211
St. Anne lies beside her newborn child. Renaissance paintings of Mary's birth tend to be populated with a crowd of visitors, midwives, etc. Anne herself is often separated from the baby and relegated to the background. But in this sculpture she and the child lie serenely alone together.
Read more about images of the birth of the Virgin.
Read more about St. Anne.
Photographed at The Cloisters by Richard Stracke, shared under Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license.