Église des Dominicains (Dominican Church)

Église des Dominicains (Dominican Church) Review

The Église des Dominicains houses the Flemish-influenced Madonna of the Rosebush (1473), by Martin Schongauer (1445-91), the most celebrated painting by the noted 15th-century German artist. Stolen from St-Martin's in 1972 and later recovered, the work has almost certainly been reduced in size from its original state but retains enormous impact. The grace and intensity of the Virgin match that of the Christ Child; yet her slender fingers dent the child's soft flesh (and his fingers entwine her curls) with immediate intimacy. Schongauer's text for her crown is: Me carpes genito tuo o santissima virgo ("Choose me also for your child, O holiest Virgin").