Viennese, ca. 1440–1460, this cutting from a German-language hagiographic manuscript—possibly a vernacular Legenda aurea—features an historiated initial F with an Anna Selbdritt composition: Saint Anne holding both the Virgin and Christ Child. The starry blue ground and tooled gold highlight celestial and Marian symbolism. Now in the Free Library of Philadelphia (John Frederick Lewis Collection), the fragment reflects the devotional and visual priorities of mid-15th-century Austrian illumination.

• Yunji Li, 2025
  → Show description