The Visitation
1444
Stained glass
Metropolitan Museum of Art, acc. no. 13.64.3a
In Luke 1:26-80 Gabriel visits Mary in Nazareth, "a city of Galilee." He announces that she is to bear the Savior, adding that her aged cousin Elizabeth is also with child. Mary assents to her role and then in Luke 1:39 she travels from Nazareth to "a city of Juda," where she meets with her cousin Elizabeth. The two cities are pictured in the background as medieval castles. Luke 1:40 places the meeting inside the Elizabeth's home, but this stained glass follows the tradition of putting it in an outdoor setting.
As the women join hands and touch each other's shoulders their pregnant bellies press together. Their closeness is expressed by the colors of their garments — blue on red for Mary, red on blue for Elizabeth, and white for their veils.
The trees behind the women apparently symbolize the children they will bear. The one behind Mary is laden with fruit, as Jesus is "the fruit of thy womb" in the "Hail Mary" prayer. The one behind Elizabeth, whose pregnancy is further along and whose son will prophesy before Jesus, is closer and larger.
The image pictures only the two women, unlike most others, which will include figures such as young women accompanying Mary, servants in the house, and/or Elizabeth's husband.
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Photographed at the museum by Richard Stracke, shared under Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license.