SACRED ART IN 100 WORDS

The Visitation
Piero di Cosimo
C 1490
National Gallery of Art, Washington

The artist presents the meeting of two mothers who have miraculously conceived. The young Virgin leans to embrace her elderly cousin. As their gaze and hands affectionately meet, it’s the encounter of the human and the divine. The intimacy of the moment is interrupted by several Christmas-related scenes in the background. In the foreground, St Nicholas and St Anthony Abbot sit on either side. At the centre lies a sprig of a wallflower symbolizing Divine Love. The painting revolves around this love – the love of God made man, the love of two brave mothers, and the love of ordinary humans who believed in the extraordinary love of God. Let this love embrace us today!

– Archdiocesan Heritage Museum