The Girlhood of the Virgin Mary
Dante Gabriel Rossetti · 1848-49
Oil on canvas
London, United Kingdom - The Tate Gallery
LDA · XIII · MMXXV
Source
Book · I Preraffaelliti di Renato Barilli · Fratelli Fabbri Editori · 1967 · p. 29
Rossetti depicts Mary not as a supernatural figure but as a young girl preparing for her future role through disciplined study and domestic devotion. Her mother, Saint Anne, guides her hand in needlework - an artistic shorthand in 19th-century Christian painting for the formation of character and obedience to divine purpose. The books stacked in the foreground bear inscriptions such as Charity, Hope and Wisdom, showing that Mary’s spiritual identity is shaped through learning rather than miracle. The young angel holding the lily-patterned vase signals the Annunciation to come, while the dove outside the window foreshadows the presence of the Holy Spirit. Joseph in the garden raises his arms to prune the vine, a biblical metaphor for cultivation - the careful tending of the life that will later carry salvation.
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Detail
The child-angel with the lily vase - the lily prefigures the Annunciation, and the angel’s quiet waiting shows that destiny is already present in Mary’s childhood & that divine purpose arrives long before recognition.
Detail
Saint Anne guiding Mary’s hand in needlework - a symbol of the virtues shaped through discipline rather than revelation, teaching that holiness is formed slowly & intentionally long before it is witnessed by the world.
Detail
The dove encircled in gold above the cresset (lamp-shaped vessel sprouting with green shoots) - the aureole marks the Holy Spirit as the source of Mary’s calling, while the living growth shows that her sacred purpose will unfold through earthly life & take root in the world long before she recognises it. A cresset - a vessel shaped like a lamp and filled with earth for new growth - symbolises divine purpose manifesting through human experience rather than apart from it.
