Abstract
With the rising popularity of Mary's mother, St. Anne, Birth of the Virgin images proliferated at the beginning of the sixteenth century. However, these images have not been analyzed in great depth by any previous art historical scholarship. This thesis indicates the broader significance of these images by considering Birth of the Virgin compositions by Jan de Beer, Jacob Cornelisz van Oostsanen, and Adriaen van Overbeke. First, this thesis considers how these artists derived iconography from Robert Campin to connect Mary's nativity to the birth of her son. Thus, the artists invite the viewer to witness the significance and purity of both babies. Next, I argue that the sacrificial imagery of these panels cultivates a sacerdotal space, in which midwives become pseudo-priests and everyday objects are conflated with ritual material culture. These panels, which draw upon Old and New Testament covenants, present Mary as co-sacrifice, indicating a sixteenth-century expansion of the Virgin's co-redemptive role alongside Christ. The paintings emphasize the beginnings of the Virgin's life to explore the life-giving quality of mankind's redemption. Finally, I explore the viewership possibilities of these paintings for a lay audience, who could interpret their own experiences with birth through these images. Many of the objects in the artworks bear similarities not only to priestly objects but also to the material culture associated with birth. Overall, this thesis demonstrates the important role that Birth of the Virgin images played in interpreting the role of the Virgin Mary and her mother Anne in increasingly affective piety. The subject matter was a way to explore the doctrinal implications of Mary's sacrificial, life-giving power even as it invited viewers to frame their own day-to-day experiences with childbirth in more religious terms.
Degree
MA
College and Department
Humanities; Comparative Arts and Letters
Rights
https://lib.byu.edu/about/copyright/
BYU ScholarsArchive Citation
Butterfield, Alexandra Carlile, "The Unburnt Offering: Mary as Co-Sacrifice in Early Sixteenth-Century Northern Birth of the Virgin Images" (2023). Theses and Dissertations. 9935.
https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/9935
Date Submitted
2023-04-17
Document Type
Thesis
Handle
http://hdl.lib.byu.edu/1877/etd12773
Keywords
Birth of the Virgin, Northern Renaissance, sixteenth century, sacrifice, Old Testament holocaust, fireplaces, New Testament, Eucharist, altarpieces, St. Anne, Holy Kinship, childbirth, gendered viewership.
Language
english