The eighteenth-century icon in the altar case features interesting iconography that explores the theme of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary. In the lower part of the painting, St. Anne and St. Joachim stand slightly turned toward each other. From their breasts, shoots grow, merging into a single stem topped with a white flower, on which stands the youthful Mary, surrounded by an engraved radiant mandorla and angelic heads. Above Mary, the Holy Spirit is visible, as well as God the Father, emerging from semicircular clouds, giving a blessing with an open-arm gesture. The icon was created around the mid-18th century, and the dogma of the Immaculate Conception of Mary was not approved until December 8, 1854. This dogma emphasizes that Mary of Nazareth “from the first moment of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege of almighty God […] was preserved immaculate from all stain of original sin.” The painting’s folk style is striking: its primitive forms and limited color palette allow it to be described as the work of an artist from the Rybotyce circle. The icon comes from the church in Babice and was added to the collection in 1966.
