Approaching Sacred Pregnancy

Altarpieces in Late Fifteenth-Century Florence. Bibliotheca Historica 109 During the late medieval period the Visitation became a familiar subject in works of art. Gradually the story of the meeting between the Virgin Mary and Elisabeth emerged as the focus of devotional practices that culminated in the introduction of a new liturgical feast of the Visitation in 1389. In this study some important paintings of the Visitation are analysed in separate case studies. The altarpieces of the Visitation produced towards the end of the fifteenth century highlight the religious and social importance of a cult of the Visitation in late fifteenth-century Florence. The roots of this cult can be traced back to late medieval spirituality originating in the environment of Dominican convents. As a Christian mystery the Visitation focused on the pregnancy of the Virgin and the blessing of John the Baptist in his mother's womb.