Education of the Virgin Mary

The Education of the Virgin Mary at the Hermitage (c. 1640) depicts Anne teaching the young Mary to read — a subject from the apocryphal tradition that combined domestic intimacy with theological significance. Anne, Mary's mother and Christ's grandmother, was venerated in the Catholic tradition as the person responsible for the Virgin's formation; her role as teacher made her a patron of women's education. The subject emphasizes the intergenerational transmission of faith: Anne, the Old Testament faithful, teaching the daughter who would become the New Testament's central figure. Reni's late treatment shows his characteristic late manner: the two figures rendered with transparent luminosity, the interaction between grandmother and grandchild invested with the warmth he brought to all his treatments of sacred family life. The Hermitage's collection of late Reni works — including multiple versions of devotional subjects in his late manner — allows scholars to study the development of his final style in depth.

Anne and the young Mary are arranged in a close, affectionate grouping, the open book a focal point of the composition. Reni's late silver palette is fully in evidence: cool, pearlescent flesh tones against pale blue and grey draperies. The loose, almost summary brushwork of the drapery contrasts with the careful handling of the faces.