Abstract

The image of the Virgin reading with Saint Anne became popular in Europe from the 14th century onwards. In many cases – especially in the Crown of Aragon – it was included in narrative cycles which, together with the words read by Mary, added symbolic content to a “domesticµ scene familiar to the late medieval public. Saint Anne, whose aged appearance is progressively emphasized in the 14th and 15th centuries, stands as the representative of the Old Covenant and the transmitter of the rich spiritual heritage of the Old Testament. Thanks to her privileged relationship with Mary, which stems from her motherhood, Anne is the gateway between the Old and New Testaments.