Sensing the Eternal Birth: Mystical Vision “Inside” The Visitation in the Met

A carved wooden Visitation group (1310–1320) from the Dominican convent of St. Katherinental originally included two rock crystal cabochons embedded in the wombs of Mary and Elizabeth. The crystals, symbols of purity and divine illumination, were integral to the artwork's design and function. The sculpture was conceived in connection with Meister Eckhart's mystical doctrine of inner vision and the Eternal Birth of God within the soul. For the Katherinental nuns, the crystals served as tools fostering spiritual connection with the divine. The analysis draws on sensory studies and visual and material culture methods to interpret the iconological essence of the piece.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Much scholarly attention has been paid to The Visitation group housed at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. The sculpture, dated between 1310 and 1320 and attributed to Master Heinrich of Constance, comes from the Dominican convent of St. Katherinental, in present-day Switzerland, and is notable for its two rock crystal cabochons embedded in the wombs of the Virgin Mary and Elizabeth. In this paper, I support and substantiate the original inclusion of the two stones in the artwork, arguing that it was conceived in close connection with the mystical doctrine on inner vision and the Eternal Birth of God within the soul, as theorized by the Dominican theologian Meister Eckhart (1260–1328). Considering the role of vision in medieval spirituality, the rock crystals, as symbols of purity and divine illumination, functioned as pivotal tools in the mystical experience of Katherinental nuns, fostering their profound spiritual connection with the divine. This article provides a fresh and in-depth analysis of the iconological essence of The Visitation in the Met, incorporating notions established in the field of sensory studies together with methods developed in visual and material culture studies.