| Comments : Tucked into Luke's second chapter is a small mention of the ritual purification of Mary, proscribed by the lLaw (Leviticus 12:4) to occur 40 days after giving birth. Roger van der Weyden, a Northern Renaissance painter, chose to include this historic detail in his triptych (three-panel) St Columba altarpiece. He places a handled basket containing two turtledoves into the left hand of Mary's handmaiden. You can see the altarpiece in its entirety here. Van der Weyden places Mary's purification as the third and completing step of a three-part cycle that begins with the Annunciation, and is fulfilled in the Nativity of Jesus the Christ child. -Mel Ahlborn |
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