Virgin and Child with an Apple

This engraving shows the Virgin and Child on a little mound of earth, resembling a sculpture on a pedestal. The apple held by the infant alludes to the Virgin's status in Catholic theology as the "New Eve," who, by birthing the son of God participated in the possibility of the redemption of humankind from the stain of Eve's original sin. This print, alongside the one of Saint Martin (1924.509) and Saint John the Baptist (1924.510), belong to a series of standing holy figures, never completed by Martin Schongauer, and characterized by isolation of the subject against a blank background.