Julian of Norwich (1342-c.1416), one of the most famous and beloved of the Christian mystics, lived much of her life in seclusion in a church in Norwich, England. At the age of 31, suffering from severe illness, she had a series of intense visions of Christ. Those visions and her reflections on them became “Sixteen Revelations of Divine Love,” the first book written in English by a woman and a work of devotion cherished by Christians ever since. She holds a copy of her Revelations, and in her right hand “a little thing, the size of a hazelnut,” which Christ told her was all that is made. “It exists, both now and forever, because God loves it.”

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Tempera and gold leaf on wood; 9”x12"; 2012. Private collection, Vermont.