A most unusual Lactation image in that the scene is witnessed by three other figures. Kneeling in the lower left border is the small figure of the donor Provost Johannes IV in liturgical vestments and holding an open book. At his feet is his crest. His patron saint, John the Evangelist, stands behind him with his hand on the donor's head. The Virgin is seated on a raised platform with a backdrop of a brocade hanging. On either side of her are four panels depicting scenes from the Passion of Christ similar to an altarpiece. From the top left the scenes represent the Agony in the Garden, the Betrayal by Judas, Christ before the High Priest, and the Scourging; then, the lower row, Mocking with the Crown of Thorns, Carrying the Cross, the Crucifixion, and the Resurrection. Bernard, in a black cowl and with a mitre and coat of arms at his feet, kneels on the right of the Virgin who presses her bared breast with her right hand sending a jet of milk to Bernard's mouth. To the left of the Virgin is St Catherine, and to the right of Bernard, St Barbara.
|