The vision of St. Bernard 1493

Pietro Perugino’s "The Vision of St. Bernard" presents a divine visitation rendered on canvas in the late fifteenth century. Here, the Virgin Mary appears before St. Bernard, a pivotal figure in the Cistercian Order, flanked by saints and angels. Observe the open book on the lectern, a Renaissance symbol of knowledge and divine revelation. This motif echoes across centuries, from ancient depictions of scholars to modern-day emblems of learning. But consider the Virgin’s downward gaze and the gesture of her hands clasped near her womb. This mirrors the "Venus Pudica" stance, a posture of modesty. It reminds us how artists often borrow classical forms to convey spiritual humility. Such appropriations reveal the complex layers of cultural memory and how these symbols, charged with emotional power, resurface, evolve, and acquire new meanings in different contexts.