Feminae: Medieval Women and Gender Index

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Click to view high resolution image Title: Mary of Guelders in Hortus Conclusus Creator: Master of Mary of Guelders, painter Description: Mary of Guelders, wife of Renaud III, duke of Guelders, stands within a small walled garden, or hortus conclusus, and reads a prayer book. This setting suggests that Mary is presented in the guise of the Virgin Mary, her patron and namesake. The hortus conclusus was a symbol for the Virgin's purity. Above, God the Father sends down the dove of the Holy Spirit, as in standard Annunciation iconography. An angel to the left bears a scroll that reads, "O milde Maria" [O Mary mild]. Erwin Panofsky has argued that this image served as a visual prayer from the childless Mary that she also might miraculously conceive. She, however, remained childless. Source: Wikimedia Commons Rights: Public Domain Subject (See Also): Books of Hours Donor Portraits Duchesses Flowers Gardens Hortus Conclusus, Symbol of Mary's Virginity Literacy Mary of Guelders, Wife of Renaud III, Duke of Guelders Mary, Virgin, Saint- Representation as Mary, Virgin, Saint- Annunciation Geographic Area: Low Countries Century: 15 Date: 1415 Related Work: The Hours of Mary of Guelders Current Location: Berlin, Staatsbibliothek, MS Germ. qu. 42, 19v (MS now unbound, folio loose) Original Location: Artistic Type (Category): Digital images; Manuscript illuminations Artistic Type (Material/Technique): Vellum (parchment); Paint; Gold leaf Donor: Laywoman; Mary, Duchess of Guelders (1449-1460) Height/Width/Length(cm): 18 cm/13.4 cm/ Inscription: Related Resources:

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