Madonna del Magnificat

Look at what Mary is doing here, because it is unusual. She is holding a pen, mid-word, writing out the opening line of the Magnificat, her own song of praise from the Gospel of Luke. In Florence around 1481, writing was thought of as a man's act, tied to learning and authority, so a woman shown as the author of her own words carried a quiet charge. The infant Christ steadies her hand as she writes, and with his other hand he reaches for a pomegranate, its packed red seeds a standing sign of the blood of his Passion. Botticelli built the whole scene as a circle, a tondo, so the two angels lifting the crown, the bent heads, and Mary's turning shoulders all follow the curve of the frame. Behind them a pale Tuscan valley opens up, with a river winding out toward the light.