Virgin Mary in mourning from Crucifixion group

“This eloquent standing figure of the mourning Virgin is wrapped in her mantle. She raises her left arm to hold her hand to her face; her right emerges from the mantle to grasp its folds, drawing the cloak closer to her body along her left side. The folds of the mantle, the raised arm, and the curve of the hood draw attention to the Virgin's face, which conveys an overall impression of pathos with its uneven eyes suggesting a tearful expression and slightly frowning lips. This figure would have had a counterpart in a mourning Saint John the Evangelist, the two standing on opposite sides of the crucified Christ. Such a Crucifixion group would have assumed a central position over an altar or perhaps atop a rood screen. The figural style of the Glencairn Virgin has its origins in the atelier of Claus Sluter in Burgundy, whose forms spread widely across Europe in the fifteenth century.” (Joan A. Holladay and Susan L. Ward, _Gothic Sculpture in America III: The Museums of New York and Pennsylvania_, 2016, 343)

Sources:
- Joan A. Holladay and Susan L. Ward, _Gothic Sculpture in America III: The Museums of New York and Pennsylvania_, 2016, 342-343
- Jane Hayward and Walter Cahn, _Radiance and Reflection: Medieval Art from the Raymond Pitcairn Collection_, 1982, 247-248.