INCONSPICUOUS AND EXPRESSIVE
How the early-15th-century wooden sculpture made it to Hirsau remains a mystery. She stands in one of Württemberg's most impressive structures and is easily missed by visitors. This Spanish Madonna is unassumingly enthroned on a ledge in the left aisle of the Church of St. Aurelius. Those lucky enough to discover her quickly fall under the spell of her expressively carved face. The depiction of Mary as "sedes sapientiae," or "seat of wisdom," became iconic in the 12th century: Mary holds the Christ child in her lap, thus herself becoming a throne, upon which sits Jesus, the embodiment of God's wisdom.
