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The Visitation

Attributed to Master Heinrich of Constance German
ca. 1310–20
On view at The Met Cloisters in Gallery 02
Soon after the Virgin Mary learned of her miraculous conception of Jesus, she visited her relative Elizabeth, who was also expecting a child, John the Baptist. This representation of their joyous meeting comes from the Dominican convent of Katharinenthal, in the Lake Constance region of present-day Switzerland. Carved of walnut, with the original paint and gilding almost completely preserved, the figures of Mary and Elizabeth are each inset with crystal-covered cavities through which images of their infants may originally have been seen. The representation of the Visitation, incorporating images of the unborn Jesus and John the Baptist, is found with some frequency in contemporary works from German-speaking lands. Mary tenderly places her hand on Elizabeth’s shoulder, while her cousin raises her arm to her breast in reference to her declaration, “Who am I, that the mother of the Lord should visit me?” (Luke 1:43).

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: The Visitation
  • Artist: Attributed to Master Heinrich of Constance (German, active in Constance, ca. 1300)
  • Date: ca. 1310–20
  • Geography: Made in Constance
  • Culture: German
  • Medium: Walnut, paint, gilding, rock-crystal cabochons inset in gilt-silver mounts
  • Dimensions: 23 1/4 × 11 7/8 × 7 1/4 in. (59.1 × 30.2 × 18.4 cm)
  • Classification: Sculpture-Wood
  • Credit Line: Gift of J. Pierpont Morgan, 1917
  • Object Number: 17.190.724
  • Curatorial Department: Medieval Art and The Cloisters

Audio

Cover Image for 83. The Visitation, ca. 1310-20, Part 1

83. The Visitation, ca. 1310-20, Part 1

Gallery 304

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