Description
The Interceding Virgin completes the great apse mosaic of Pisa Cathedral and represents Vincino da Pistoia's contribution to an ensemble begun almost two decades earlier. Mary stands beside the monumental Christ Pantocrator and opposite Saint John the Evangelist, forming the traditional Deesis. The Virgin assumes an intercessory attitude. Her body and gestures turn toward Christ, emphasizing her role as mediator between humanity and her Son.
She is not represented as the mother holding the infant Christ but as a celestial figure pleading before the enthroned Saviour. A broad blue veil covers her head and body, strengthening the monumentality of the figure. The gold background removes her from ordinary earthly space and integrates her into the supernatural realm ruled by Christ.
