Anonymous

Virgin and Child

illumination (24 × 18 cm) — c. 800 Trinity College Library, Dublin

The Virgin Mary and Child surrounded by angels. The image is on folio 7v of the Book of Kells, a manuscript made c. 800 by Celtic monks, probably in Ireland. The Book holds the four Gospels and some other texts.

As far as we know today, this is the oldest extant image of the Virgin in a Western manuscript. The size of the full folio is 33 x 25 cm.

Rate this work of art: