The Virgin

This painting is one half of a diptych that portrays Christ and the Virgin. This picture shows the Virgin at prayer. In the companion picture Christ is shown holding an orb as ruler of the world. They are posed in this fashion in other pictures which show them in heaven.

Many versions of these pictures exist, indicating that they were popular and devotional images. The images presumably derive, at several removes, from the Ghent altarpiece by the van Eycks.