St. Anne, Mary and the Christ Child (Anna Selbdritt)

The cult of St. Anne became widespread in Western Europe, particularly in Germany, following Pope Sixtus IV's acceptance of the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception in 1476, and his Grave nimis Bull of 1482. In view of its diminutive scale, this work was almost certainly intended as an aid to private devotion, and was perhaps commissioned by a member of the burgeoning middle class. Fostering an intimate dialogue between the owner and St. Anne, and by extension the Virgin and Child, the portable tabernacle would have been the object of numerous prayers. Such piety was later curtailed by the Protestant Reformation, and with the Council of Trent, St. Anne's cult was significantly diminished.