A modest young Madonna the Mother of God sits at the right hand of the mysterious figure in the centre (the viewers left). Her serene face looks out from beneath a cascade of hair. Dressed in a deepblue robe the darkness of which is alleviated by a golden hem decorated with jewels she is absorbed in a prayer book. Twelve stars surround her fabulous crown an allusion to the Book of revelation. The crown itself incorporates four types of of flower all of which were Marian symbols: lilies (virginity purity) columbines (humility) and lilyofthevalley (linking the song of songs 2:1 to the Virgin Mary).
Flemish art and heritage collections, in great detail