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- [Steven] We're in the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
We wanted to talk about this amazing object.
There's a French term for this,
but the literal English translation is opening virgin.
- [Beth] And there are dozens of these that survive
and they were made across Europe,
so they were a very popular type of image.
Some were small, like the one we're looking at,
but some were close to life size.
- [Steven] This one comes from the Rhine Valley
in what is now Germany, and it looks to me so Gothic
in the representation of the Virgin Mary.
- [Beth] Even just look around this room, we can see
other examples of sculptures of Mary
holding the Christ Child, as she is here, when the sculpture
is closed, on her left knee with her arm around him,
and her figure is elongated and thin and graceful
in that way that is very typical of Gothic sculptures.
And we know how popular the Virgin Mary was
during this Gothic period.
- [Steven] And for most of the year,
when somebody went into a church,
a church that we don't know, in this case, and looked
at the sculpture, that's what they would have seen.
They would've seen the outside, but on certain occasions,
on feast days, perhaps, this sculpture would be opened.
- [Beth] Very much the way that we think about
Northern altarpieces that opened and closed.
- [Steven] But unlike altarpieces,
this sculpture is in the form of the human body.
- [Beth] Most of these sculptures,
like the one we see here, had inside scenes
from the life of Mary or scenes from the life of Christ.
And in addition, usually in the center, as we see here,
an image of God the Father holding the crucifix
on which was the crucified Christ together with the dove
which represents the Holy Spirit.
- [Steven] But in this particular sculpture,
which is 700 years old,
Christ on the cross has been lost.
The dove that represents the Holy Spirit has been lost.
But if you look closely, you can see a small hole
which is undoubtedly where Christ would have been attached,
and if you look at God the Father's torso,
you can similarly see a hole, which is likely where
the Holy Spirit would have been attached.
So you have inside this image of the Trinity,
the three-part nature of God.
- [Steven] But this is a specific kind of image
known as the Throne of Mercy, which is recognizable
to many people because it is the subject
of one of the most famous early Renaissance paintings,
Masaccio's the Holy Trinity with the Virgin and Saint John.
- [Beth] Very frontal image of God the Father,
this frontal image of the cross,
this sense of God's divine plan for mankind,
which is revealed through the Virgin Mary.
And it is the Virgin Mary who makes possible
God becoming human in the form of Christ.
This was made at a time when the Virgin Mary
becomes especially important as a pathway,
as an intercessor to Christ, to God.
- [Beth] At this time, we often see Mary on the trumeau,
at the very doorway into a church.
And we know that theologically
Mary herself was associated with the church.
And so with Mary, as this gateway to the divine.
- [Steven] Such a complicated object, not only do you have
the exterior image of the Virgin Mary
nursing the Christ Child, who in turn holds a small bird,
probably a goldfinch, but you also have
this additional layer of complexity because you have
carved dimensional sculptural figures in contrast
to a series of six interior painted scenes,
which are of course, largely two dimensional
- [Beth] Beginning with the annunciation,
that is the moment when God is made flesh,
the very moment of the incarnation.
As we move down, we have the nativity, the birth of Christ.
Then at the very bottom, the Adoration of the Magi.
- [Steven] And opposite that, the adoration
of the shepherds, which is depicted with unusual energy.
You can see the shepherd on the right
seems to be pointing down to one of the sheep,
a common reference to Christ.
Above that is the presentation in the temple.
And then this lovely image, which just has enough room
for two figures, appropriately.
And this is the visitation.
This object really rewards close looking.
I just noticed for example, that there is a correspondence
between the dress of the Virgin Mary and of God the Father.
You can see a kind of closure.
It's beautifully painted with a zigzag pattern
just below the neckline on both of those figures.
- [Beth] And God the Father is so richly dressed.
The cloak is raised in areas suggesting a golden embroidery,
also around the hem of his sleeves
and the hem of his garment.
But what I'm struck by is that Mary turns her head.
And in the version closed,
she would be looking toward Christ,
Christ looks up at her as he nurses,
and there's this real connection
between a mother and a child.
But when Mary is opened, we enter a divine world
where the figures are frontal, where they're symmetrical,
where we've transcended the earthly
and God's plan for mankind is revealed.
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