Virgin

This image of unknown provenance allows us to mention another characteristic trait of the Gothic images of the Virgin: her clothing, which is shown very clearly here. As is well known, mediaeval artists portrayed biblical characters anachronistically, as if they were contemporary. Therefore the clothing of the Gothic Virgins is a true reflection of the way the ladies of the 14th and 15th centuries dressed. This one is dressed in an ankle-length tunic with a cloak held by a brooch on her breast. Her head is covered by a veil that reaches her arms. We also see that she is wearing a crown, even though it was mutilated, most certainly with the aim of putting a fake one there. We note that the child is holding a bird in his hand, an iconographical peculiarity already mentioned with reference to the Virgin MEV 10633. It has been noted besides that the child's gesture of grabbing the edge of the veil covering Mary's head occurs in other Catalan Virgins of the mid-14th century attributed to the circle of Jaume Cascalls, as Francesca Español points out.