Claus de Werve
Virgin and Child

Burgundy, circa 1420
Limestone, polychromy, gilding; 53⅜ x 41&frac18 in. (135.5 x 104.5 cm.)
Metropolitan Museum of Art, Rogers Fund, 33.23

This sculpture is a variant of the "Throne of Wisdom" type from earlier centuries. But whereas the older Throne of Wisdom pieces arranged the mother, child, and book quite formally and frontally, now we see them sharing an everyday human activity, learning to read.

An inscription on the bench quotes the personified Wisdom in Ecclesiasticus (Sirach) 24:14: "From the beginning, and before the world, was I created."

Read more about portraits of the Virgin Mary.

• Home Page
• Portraits of Mary
• This Picture

Photo: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City