ABSTRACT
T HE WOMAN-DRESSED IN THE common mode of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries-stands with her right, or sometimes left, hand extended forward, the second finger raised and stretched forth. The man, dressed similarly, confronts her, ring in hand, to place on her outstretched finger. There are others in attendance, principally a figure of dignity close to the pair and perhaps as many as ten or more spectators. The description is that of a wedding, in fact, a Jewish one. The action takes place exclusively between the bride and the groom, although in one version of this picture (there are many), the dignified third figure raises a cup in hand; in others, he is reciting words of blessing. What differentiates one version from the other is the identity of the spouses: those depicted in Hebrew manuscript collections are the "typical" Jewish couple, those in various Christian paintings, notably in the works ofFra Angelico and Lorenzo Costa, are the Virgin and (an increasingly younger) Saint Joseph. The dignified third figure is either a rabbi (apparently) or the Jewish High Priest, prefiguring the Catholic clergy.' In a
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FrG. 2. Lorenzo Costa, "Marriage of the Virgin." Pinacoteca, Bologna.
