Saint Anne Teaching The Virgin To Read

Saint Anne Teaching the Virgin to Read.

5×7 inches

Blank interior

Envelopes included

This illumination shows Saint Anne teaching the Virgin to read. Saint Anne, the mother of Mary, holds the book for her daughter. Young Mary traces the sentence she struggles through with her finger. Behind them, a climbing briar twines around the trellis. The flowers and low stone wall reflect imagery from the Song of Songs that is often applied to Mary: “A garden enclosed, a fountain sealed.”

Although Mary’s parents are not named in the Gospels, ancient tradition identifies them as Anne (Hannah) and Joachim. The oldest mention of them dates to the Protoevangelium of James, c. AD 145. This apocryphal gospel dwells mostly on the early life of Mary, featuring her birth, youth, and Jesus’ birth. According to this gospel, Anne was barren well into old age, and only gave birth after miraculous intervention. In art, St Anne is shown sitting with her daughter and Christ, at the birth of Mary, or, my favorite, homeschooling.

This illumination is inspired by a scene from the anonymous Master of Sir John Fastolf. This artist, whose name comes from a book he painted for John Fastolf, worked in the beginning of the 15^th century in France and England. I love the bright, cheerful colors and clearly defined figures of his illuminations