3-098-378 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

The Betrothal of the Virgin, 1420-1430. The miracle of the flowering rod (left); the marriage of Mary and Joseph (right). Two scenes from the life of Mary, each set in a distinct building yet arranged in a sense of spatial continuity. On the left is the scene of the miracle of the flowering staff, in which Saint Joseph was proclaimed protector of the Virgin. According to a Christian tradition recounted in the apocryphal gospels, the priest Zechariah summoned all the widowers of Judea to the temple to decide who would be Mary's husband, instructing them to bring a staff. While Joseph prayed, his staff blossomed, a sign that he was the chosen one. The painting depicts the moment after the miracle, when Joseph realizes what has happened and, frightened, tries to hide the blossoming staff under his cloak and leave the temple, but he is discovered by two figures who lift his cloak and prevent him from leaving. The main event, the revelation of the chosen one, is placed on the far left, with the priest in prayer occupying the centre. The building, entirely fantastical, is situated within the tradition of Romanesque architecture. On the right, on the portal of a Gothic church under construction, the betrothal of Mary and Joseph is officiated over by a priest.