The Ghent Altarpiece: Virgin Mary

A modest, young Madonna the Mother of God sits at the right hand of the mysterious figure in the centre (the viewers left).

Her serene face looks out from beneath a cascade of hair.

Dressed in a deep-blue robe, the darkness of which is alleviated by a golden hem, decorated with jewels, she is absorbed in a prayer book. Twelve stars surround her fabulous crown an allusion to the Book of revelation.

The crown itself incorporates four types of of flower, all of which were Marian symbols: lilies (virginity, purity) columbines (humility) and lily-of-the-valley (linking the song of songs, 2:1, to the Virgin Mary).