In religious art and Christian tradition, Saint Anne is recognized as the mother of the Virgin Mary and the grandmother of Jesus Christ. She is most famously depicted in the Saint Anne Teaching the Virgin to Read motif, where she is shown as a maternal figure guiding a young Mary through sacred scriptures, symbolizing the passing of wisdom and faith between generations. Though she is not mentioned in the New Testament, her story is detailed in the 2nd-century Gospel of James, which describes her long-awaited miracle of motherhood after years of infertility. Today, she is widely venerated as the patron saint of mothers, grandmothers, educators, and lace-makers, representing family heritage and the nurturing power of education.