"Seat of Wisdom (Sedes Sapientiae)". Carved and polychromed sculpture. Gothic. 14th century.

"Seat of Wisdom (Sedes Sapientiae)". Carved and polychromed sculpture. Gothic. 14th century.
One of the sweetest and most intimate depictions of the Virgin Mary as Our Lady of the Milk. Mary is presented as a mother, suckling her son.
This image of Mary was widespread in the Middle Ages, and into the Renaissance.
Already far from the rigid and severe canons of the Romanesque, it was during the Gothic period that the Virgin Mary took centre stage, especially in sculptures with the Christ Child. She is depicted, as in this case, as a young Virgin Mary – mother, idealised, with a sweet expression, smiling, lovingly holding the baby Jesus in her arms, showing great humanisation.
The Christ Child, as well as having moved from the centre to the left, is to be found on his mother’s lap, as he lovingly embraces her with both hands while lifting his gaze to her eyes.
The Virgin Mary is seated on her throne of glory, and forms in turn a throne for her son, but all the solemnity has disappeared, and in this case, the throne and the crown are the only vestiges of the Maestà formula. Neither Mary nor Jesus face forwards, they are not giving blessing or holding an orb in any of their hands. The scene really is that of a mother and her child absorbed in one another.
From the middle of the 14th century, feelings were the chosen way to transmit spirituality and dogmas of faith to people, rather than the fear that was transmitted in previous epochs. Artists began to give religious characters greater feeling, both to show us Jesus’ suffering and to show us the Madonna as a mother with her child.
In this image, Mary is young and beautiful, wearing a short veil and crown on her head. She wears a tunic which is cinched with a belt and a cloak which falls behind her shoulders to the floor, forming gorgeous gothic folds. A delicate, black bead necklace with a red pendant adorns her neck.
59 x 22,5 x 17,5 cm.