Master of the Fuessener Altarpiece, or his Circle
Education of the Virgin
Circa 1460-70
Polychrome and gilded wood
Columbia Museum of Art, Columbia, SC. Bequest of Mr. and Mrs. David E. Finley
This is an early example of a subgenre in which Anne teaches Mary to read. It has echoes of other types. Anne points to Mary (or more precisely, to Mary's womb) in the same way Mary points to her child in Hodegetria images. Mary holds her right hand in the blessing configuration, as Christ does in so many of his portraits.
View this image in full resolution.
Read more about images of St. Anne.
Photographed at the museum by Richard Stracke, shared under Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license.