Initial H: The Nativity of the Virgin, leaf from an antiphonal

From the Getty Museum record

Illumination production flourished in thirteenth- and early fourteenth-century Bologna, which was one of the most important centers in Europe for mendicant orders of monks and nuns, known for their vows of poverty. The work of the Master of Sant’Agnese is largely known through works made for the Christian Dominican convents of Sant’Agnese and Santa Maria Maddalena di Val di Pietra in the city. This leaf originally graced a choir book made for the latter institution and introduced a chant for the Feast of the Nativity of the Virgin. Saint Anne and the baby Mary are shown in similar curvilinear positions, the stacked shell shapes emphasizing their bond, while Mary’s tight swaddling clothes are entirely gilded, highlighting her role as the future mother of Christ.