Allegory of the Immaculate Conception

When Vasari painted this in 1541, the idea behind it was still an open argument inside the Church. The belief that Mary herself was conceived free of original sin had passionate supporters and equally stubborn opponents, and it would not become official Catholic teaching for another three centuries, until 1854. Vasari built a picture to make the case. At the foot of the Tree of Knowledge from the story of Eden he bound Adam and Eve together with the patriarchs and prophets of the Old Testament, everyone born under the old fault, while above them the Virgin stands radiant with the moon at her feet and crushes the serpent's head. Angels unfurl a Latin motto that sums up the argument: those whom Eve's fault condemned, Mary's grace set free. The full-size altarpiece went to the Florentine banker Bindo Altoviti for his family chapel. This smaller panel is one of the careful replicas the composition spawned once wealthy collectors wanted a copy for their own rooms.