Durer

02 The Virgin in the Garden is one of the most beautiful subjects in the history of art. Its origins lie in the richly symbolic medieval cult of the Virgin Mary, which celebrated her life and personal attributes with imagery drawn from a garden filled with flowers. This lovely book is the first to discuss Dürer"s nature studies in the context of the National Gallery"s Virgin with the Iris, now attributed to Dürer"s workshop. Bringing together several of Dürer"s most beautiful studies of the natural world, the book describes how the artist used preparatory drawings, prints, and watercolors to build compositions for himself and his workshop. The book also features some of Dürer"s most famous—and exquisite—flower studies to illuminate a discussion of the rich symbolism of the flowers used in representations of the Christ Child and the Virgin.Susan Foister is Curator of Early Netherlandish, German, and British Paintings at the National Gallery, London. She is coauthor of Holbein"s "Ambassadors"; Dürer to Veronese: Sixteenth-Century Painting in the National Gallery; and Giotto to Dürer: Early Renaissance Painting in the National Gallery, all available from Yale University Press. The Virgin in the Garden is one of the most beautiful subjects in the history of art. Its origins lie in the richly symbolic medieval cult of the Virgin Mary, which celebrated her life and personal attributes with imagery drawn from a garden filled with flowers. This lovely book is the first to discuss Dürer"s nature studies in the context of the National Gallery"s Virgin with the Iris, now attributed to Dürer"s workshop. Bringing together several of Dürer"s most beautiful studies of the natural world, the book describes how the artist used preparatory drawings, prints, and watercolors to build compositions for himself and his workshop. The book also features some of Dürer"s most famous—and exquisite—flower studies to illuminate a discussion of the rich symbolism of the flowers used in representations of the Christ Child and the Virgin.Susan Foister is Curator of Early Netherlandish, German, and British Paintings at the National Gallery, London. She is coauthor of Holbein"s "Ambassadors"; Dürer to Veronese: Sixteenth-Century Painting in the National Gallery; and Giotto to Dürer: Early Renaissance Painting in the National Gallery, all available from Yale University Press.