ALTARPIECE OF THE LIFE OF THE VIRGIN AND THE CHILDHOOD OF CHRIST

ICONOGRAPHY 

This altarpiece is composed of six scenes dedicated to the life of the Virgen.

The lower section, from left to right, starts with the Betrothal of Mary and Joseph, in the presence of various attendees and the priest who joins their hands with the traditional gesture. Next comes the Annunciation, with a smiling Archangel Gabriel accompanied by the unusual figure of another angel beneath the gaze of the Eternal Father. It finishes with the Magi's Adoration of the Virgen and Child, together with St. Joseph and the pages of the Magi.

The upper level opens with the Visitation Narrative, where Elizabeth goes out to meet her cousin, in the company of Zacharias and an angel with a picturesque landscape in the background dotted with buildings. In the centre, the Adoration of the shepherds is shown, with the ox and the ass, and the villagers who play their bagpipes. The cycle concludes with the Circumcision, the episode where the priest prepares the ritual in which, for the first time, the blood of Jesus is spilled.