Getty Museum
The Seven Sorrows of the Virgin
Creator
Simon BeningFlemish Illuminator · 1483–1561
All works by this person →One of the most celebrated painters of Flanders in the 1500s, Simon Bening was hailed by Portuguese art critic Francisco da Hollanda as the greatest master of illumination in all of Europe. In addition to producing books for powerful aristocrats such as Cardinal Albrecht of Brandenburg, Bening worked for a group of international royal patrons including Emperor Charles V and Don Fernando, the Infan
More on Getty ULAN- Date
- about 1525–1530
- Medium
- Tempera colors, gold paint, and gold leaf
- Culture
- Flemish
- Department
- Manuscripts
- Institution
- Getty Museum
In the center of the miniature, the Virgin sits on the ground with seven swords piercing her, each symbolizing one of the events related to Christ that brought her sorrow. The theme of the Seven Sorrows of the Virgin was meant to draw the viewer into Mary's thoughts and feelings as she reflected on her son's life and death. Moving clockwise from the bottom right around the central image, small narrative scenes represent the seven episodes: the Presentation in the Temple, the Flight into Egypt, the Dispute in the Temple, the Way to Calvary, the Crucifixion, the Lamentation, and the Entombment.
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