Saint Anne with the Virgin and the Christ Child Pere Vall

This painting was once the central panel of an altarpiece. Seated on the throne, Saint Anne rests her daughter Mary on her lap, who in turn holds the Infant Christ protectively. Saint Anne points at the future Saviour, who, in a typically childish gesture, grabs the finger with both hands. Despite the exaggerated size of the central figure and the slightly stiff arrangement of the scene, the intimate bond between the three family members is evocatively conveyed.
The veneration of S aint A nne became a n important phenomenon around the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, spreading with the cult of the Immaculate Conception. This period saw the emergence of the type of representation called Anna Metterza (in Italian) or Anna Selbdritt (in German), known in English as the Virgin and Child with Saint Anne. Around the three holy figures are angels playing music on a variety of instruments, while the figure kneeling at the foot of the enormous throne is the patron who commissioned the altar.