Maria Lactans on the Crescent

The Master of the Legend of the Magdalene was an anonymous painter active in Brussels around 1490-1520. This Maria Lactans (Nursing Madonna) on the Crescent from around 1490 combines the intimate nursing subject with the apocalyptic Woman of the Apocalypse standing on the crescent moon. The unusual iconographic combination reflects the complex Marian theology of the late medieval period. The oil medium allowed for rich tonal transitions and glazed layers of color that created luminous depth impossible with the older tempera technique.

Oil on panel combining two distinct Marian image types. The Brussels technique shows Netherlandish refinement in the rendering of the Madonna and the symbolic crescent moon attribute.