St Luke Drawing the Virgin (detail)
by GOSSART, Jan, Oil on oak panel
Sitting on a low step, Mary is the Virgin of Humility, but she is simultaneously praised as the Queen of the Heaven in the antiphon Regina Coeli, which is embroidered on the hem of her mantle. The Ave Maria prayer, acknowledging her as both the mother of Christ and intercessor for humankind, is embroidered there as well. Mary’s baring of her breast to nurse the Christ Child identifies her as the Virgo Lactans.