Feminae: Medieval Women and Gender Index
Home
What is Feminae?
What's Indexed?
Subjects
Broad Topics
Journals
Essays
All Image Records
Contact Feminae
SMFS
Other Resources
Admin (staff only)
There are 45,336 records currently in Feminae
Quick Search
Advanced Search
Article of the Month
Translation of the Month
Image of the Month
Special Features
Click to view high resolution image
Title:
Vierge Ouvrante (or Shrine Madonna)
Creator:
Description:
The
vierge ouvrante
is a visual representation of the mystery of the Incarnation. When closed it presents the
madonna lactans
, a tableau of maternal tenderness in which the Virgin nurses the Christ Child. When opened, the viewer encounters a sculptural representation of the Trinity. The body of Christ on the cross is now missing, as is the dove of the Holy Spirit which would have been attached to the chest of God the Father, above the figure of Christ. Painted scenes on the interior walls of the figure depict scenes from the life of Christ. On the interior left wing is the Annunciation, Nativity, and Adoration of the Magi. On the interior right wing is the Visitation, Presentation of Christ in the Temple, and the Annunciation to the Shepherds. Melissa Katz notes that this particular
vierge ouvrante
is alone among surviving examples in combining Trinitarian (Eucharistic) and infancy (Incarnation) imagery. The
vierge ouvrante
became a controversial object, as its message could be taken to mean that the Virgin was the source not only of Jesus's humanity, but also his divinity and even the two other members of the Trinity.
Source:
Wikimedia Commons
Rights:
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.5 Generic
Subject
(See Also)
:
Jesus Christ- Infancy
Madonna Lactans (Artistic Motif)
Mary, Virgin, Saint and Child
Trinity
Vierges Ouvrantes, Statues of the Virgin which Open to Reveal a Scene Inside
Geographic Area:
Germany
Century:
14
Date:
ca. 1300
Related Work:
Current Location:
New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 17.190.185
Original Location:
Artistic Type (Category):
Digital images; Sculptures
Artistic Type (Material/Technique):
Oak; Linen covering; Polychromy; Gilding; Gesso
Donor:
Height/Width/Length(cm):
36.8 cm/34.6 cm (opened); 12.7 cm (closed)/
Inscription:
Related Resources:
Melissa R. Katz, "Marian Motion: Opening the Body of the
Vierge ouvrante
." Meaning in Motion: The Semantics of Movement in Medieval Art. Edited by Nino Zchomelidse and Giovanni Freni. Department of Art and Archaeology, Princeton University in association with Princeton University Press, 2009. Pp. 63-91.