Virgin and Child

This life-size wooden statue was once the central figure of the high altar of a Viennese church. The iconographic type of the statue combines the representation of the Virgin and Child with the attributes of the Apocalyptic Woman – such as the crescent moon under her feet. The type appeared in the art of Central Europe at the end of the14th century. Its sculptor follows the style of the great innovator of the early 15th century, Hans Multscher of Swabia, but on the slender, fragile figure of Mary the effects of the half century earlier Soft Style are also felt.

Miriam Szőcs