Madonna of the Rabbit

This painting is named after the white rabbit held in Mary's left hand. The rabbit is a symbol of fertility and - due to its whiteness - of Mary's purity and the mystery of the Incarnation. It is also a symbol of her virginity as female rabbits and hares can conceive a second litter of offspring while still pregnant with the first, resulting in them being able to give birth seemingly without having been impregnated. The second woman presented here is Catherine, dressed as a maid of honor and shown with her traditional attribute of a broken wheel at her feet. The two women are sitting in a meadow beside a basket of apples representing original sin and grapes representing the Eucharist and the redemption of sins. In the background a shepherd looks on - a motif drawn from Giorgione.