3-029-729 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

St Anne with the Virgin and Child, 1500-1550. The theme of three generations of the Holy Family, grandmother, mother and child, was popular in Northern Europe and especially Germany in the 15th and 16th century. Christ is depicted as a plump young child with his hand raised in blessing. The pomegranate held by the child and the Virgin is a Christian symbol of the Resurrection, due to its classical association with Proserpine, the daughter of the corn goddess Ceres, who returned each spring to regenerate the earth. It also has associations with the Virgin's chastity.