The same reflective smile plays on Mary's lips, and she is dressed in similar royal garb. This time her hands are peeking out from her cascading robe, her face and figure is fuller, and the Child, still solemn, seems slightly more infant-like. In both pictures, he seems more earnest than the mother. Mary is still erect, though slightly more bent by the shoulders than the other. She has the same regal pose, although this position has been slightly relaxed in both images. The throne in the last image too has been replaced in this one by a bench that is decorated with insignias. The Child, here too is perched on Mary's knee.
Both Infant and mother seem to have their hands extended. The gesture may mean various things from inviting the viewer to look at them to inviting a connection between viewer and themselves. I certainly feel an abridgement of distance between this image and that of the other. The other seemed more distancing and authoritarian. This one seems more welcoming and inviting.
Photo 5 (Virgin and Child about...
The virgin, crowned as the other two images, may have likely held a scepter in her right hand and is represented as the Queen of the Heaven. She sits with the child Jesus on her lap (as in the other images) and represents the Throne of Wisdom. As in the two previous statues, you feel as though Mary were a wise and sympathetic confidante. The proportions of this image too -- as of the others -- are elongated, with the face -- particularly that of Child -- small. The long, smooth folds of the drapery project the serenity that emerges from the figure.
In short, all three images portray Mary as the Queenly Mother and in two of them she is sitting on the Throne of Wisdom. All have her accompanied by her dual image of royal Son who is, in each case, portrayed in an adult, solemn manner. The elongation of the figures, their quiet, subdued, solemn repose, and the long, smooth folds of their drapery synchronize to project an authoritative, serene impression.
