This painting and its companion piece, Apostle St John, were probably intended to be shown at either side of a representation of the crucified Christ, a hypothesis supported by St John's gaze. Since the Virgin and the Apostle have been portrayed as sculptures in a niche, in an architectural setting, the absent Christ would probably have been a statue. Unfortunately, the effect the sculpture would have had in the niche is offset by the extravagant frame.
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