Saint Anne With The Virgin And Child — Jan Van Steffesweert Or Alternatively Jan Van Steffenswert Or Jan Van Stevensweert

Saint Anne with the Virgin and Child

Admire Jan van Steffeswert’s ‘Saint Anne’ – a poignant Gothic sculpture of the Holy Family. Explore this 1500s wooden masterpiece, showcasing detailed polychromy & everyday life depiction. #art #sculpture #GothicArt


jan van steffesweert or alternatively jan van steffenswert or jan van stevensweert

Discover Jan van Steffeswert: Early Netherlandish sculptor known for signed works of saints & biblical figures. Explore his unique style at the Bonnefanten Museum.

Bonnefanten Museum (Maastricht, Niederlande)

Erkunden Sie das Bonnefanten Museum in Maastricht! Entdecken Sie historische und zeitgenössische Kunst, von mittelalterlichen Skulpturen bis hin zu modernen Meisterwerken wie italienischen Gemälden, Minimalismus, Arte Povera und einzigartigen Ausstellungen.

This small group, dated A(nn)o 1500 on the plinth, shows a scene with the Virgin feeding a bowl of gruel to her son Jesus, who is kicking impatiently on the lap of his grandmother, St Anne. The child’s eagerness makes the gruel spill over the edge of the bowl. At the back of the statue, you can see how the Virgin is balancing on one foot to keep the bowl straight. The choice of a simple bowl of gruel rather than an attribute with a deep symbolic meaning is quite unusual in sculpture of this period. It would seem that the maker’s main aim was to portray everyday life rather than a scene with a deeply religious meaning. It is as if Jan van Steffeswert has derived the domestic scene from a corner of his own intimate surroundings. The polychromy on the statue is from the nineteenth century. It is not known for which church the statue was originally created.