Nardo di Cione, St. Anne and St. Joachim at the Golden Gate

Circa 1350-55
Fresco
Church of Santa Maria Novella, Florence

Anne and Joachim embracing at the Golden Gate under the outstretched arms of the angel is a common subject in medieval art. The addition of bystanders is less common but not unprecdented, and not every artist chooses to represent Jerusalem on the other side of the gate.

The couple and the bystanders at the gate all wear combinations of red and blue, the colors of the garments in most images of the Virgin Mary, whose conception and birth is the result of this reunion of the two parents.

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Photographed at the church by Richard Stracke, shared under Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license.