Saint Anne Teaching The Virgin Mary To Read, 16th Century Carved Oak Altarpiece Element

Superb large altarpiece element in carved oak, height 61 cm, very eroded wood. Represents the scene very fashionable in the 16th century, St. Anne teaching her daughter Mary to read. A slightly naive work, surely from a country chapel, a beautiful object of popular art. This statue was presented outdoors in the courtyard of a Breton manor, in a niche which explains its very eroded face as well as the underside, the protected back is much less so. It has a gray and greenish patina in small places (remains of lichen). The altarpieces in the 16th century were the book of the people, because very few people knew how to read, so it was the way to teach them the Bible through these sculpted scenes. We can see under the folds remains of plaster and paint, it must have been polychrome. From my personal collection.