Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris

The Portal of St. Anne was the first of the three west portals to be installed (c.1200). Its tympanum is an earlier Romanesque work, taken from the former St. Stephen's Cathedral and dating from about 1150. Anne is the Virgin Mary's mother, who is mentioned in early Christian stories but not in the Bible. In the center are the Virgin and Child. Mary is enthroned under a canopy, wearing a crown and holding a sceptre; the Christ Child holds the Book of the Law and raises one hand in blessing. On either side of the throne and above are angels with censers. On the left is the bishop of Paris (possibly Saint Germain) and perhaps his treasurer. On the right is a king of France kneeling and holding a scroll, perhaps Childebert.

Below the tympanum is a lintel with scenes from the arrival of Christ on earth, from the Annunciation to the Epiphany. The lowest lintel (above the doors) depicts the marriages of Anne and Joachim and Mary and Joseph.

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