Dream of the Virgin

In 1799, under Napoleon, the monasteries of Bologna were seized and their altarpieces broken up. This small panel once crowned one of them, probably in a religious house such as the nunnery of Sant'Agostino or San Lorenzo, and after its removal it was reshaped and regilded to stand as a picture on its own. The subject is rare. Mary lies asleep in a bed with a patterned cover while a companion reads at its foot, and from her womb grows a golden vine bearing the crucified Christ. Below, a hand grasps old Adam by the arm, with Eve peering over his shoulder and the gates of Limbo lying flat on the ground. Simone painted it between about 1365 and 1380. It belongs to the Society of Antiquaries of London, which has lent it to the National Gallery, where it hangs in Room 65.