Aeiparthenos. Metaphors and Symbols of Virginity in Italian, Dutch and Byzantine Representations of the Annunciation around 1400

Western artists of the 14^th and the early 15^th centuries used a verse from medieval hymn literature that compared Mary’s virginity to the glass of a window in order to illustrate how she was able to conceive and still remain a virgin. While much is known about how this metaphor is visualized in the art of Dutch masters, its use in the works of their Italian colleagues has been studied less. Byzantine artists had totally different ways of illustrating the virginity of the Mother of God, although the hymn Dies est laetitiae includes words that may explain both the Eastern and the Western modes. This article examines the differences and similarities between these traditions and highlights one painting that may be considered as a synthesis between Eastern and Western iconographies with regard to this particular topic.