This famous seated Virgin and Child takes its name from the inscription in the Oil language (from Northern France) running across the base: Nostre Dame de Grasse . The inscription has been carved in relief, on either side of a coat of arms of which the armorial bearings are no longer identifiable.
Nostre Dame de Grasse, detail of base, after restoration.
Photo : Daniel Martin
Nostre Dame de Grasse uses the traditional iconography of the Virgin and Child: the mother is represented as being very young (as she is described in the Gospels) and in a dynamic attitude, neither frozen nor frontal, looking in the opposite direction to the Child.
Several interpretations have been suggested to explain the divergence of their looks. The Virgin might be looking away because she has a premonition of the destiny of her Son. It is also possible that the work might have been part of a larger group of figures, centred in an Adoration of the Magi or between a pair of donors for example.
Nostre Dame de Grasse, detail,
after restoration .
Photo : Daniel Martin
Nostre Dame de Grasse, detail,
after restoration .
Photo : restaurateurs
The young mother is also a queen: she is seated on a throne, wearing a light crown decorated with beads. She is wearing a fur-lined dress with a tailored bodice bordered round the neck with beaded braid; she is also wearing a full mantle, the miniver lining of which is indicated by vertical grooves. The book Mary is holding under her right arm is covered by a sleeve of apparently sumptuous silk fabric.
Her hands with their long, tapered fingers are an indication of the great quality of the sculpture. Her fine face is framed by wavy hair, which reaches to below her waist. Her eyes are quite widely spaced under delicate eyelids and her eyebrows are highly arched.
The Child is dressed in a high-necked tunic that uncovers one leg and shows a bare foot. His slightly plump form and proportions are very faithful to nature and his features have a rare delicacy.