The Visitation c. 1480 - 1490

This small devotional image, The Visitation, was made anonymously in ink and tempera on parchment. The artist uses simple materials to depict the meeting of Mary and Elizabeth, as recounted in the Gospel of Luke. Notice how the ink outlines define the figures and landscape, while the tempera—pigment mixed with a binding agent like egg yolk—adds color and depth. The deep blues and reds are particularly striking, achieved through careful layering of pigment. The making of such an image would have involved considerable skill, from the preparation of the parchment to the mixing of the tempera and the precise application of the ink. This was painstaking work, usually done in a monastic setting, and therefore imbued with spiritual significance. By focusing on these material aspects, we can appreciate the labor and devotion that went into this small but powerful work of art, and how those creative forces are expressed in the image.