Madonna (art)

The figure of the Madonna, or the mother of Jesus Christ, has been included in art for centuries. Madonna comes from the Italian ma donna, which means “my lady.” According to the New Testament of the Christian Bible, Mary became pregnant through divine intervention and gave birth to the son of God. Because she is believed to have been a virgin, the Madonna’s image typically symbolizes purity, innocence, chastity, and everlasting life.

Some of the world’s greatest works of art depict the Madonna. Masters such as Raphael and Michelangelo were often commissioned to create works of the Madonna for wealthy patrons and for the Roman Catholic Church.

Background

Christianity emerged in the first century Common Era (CE). Adherents believe that a young Jewish virgin named Mary was asked by God to give birth to his son. She agreed and raised her son, Jesus, with her husband, Joseph. As a man, Jesus was known as a teacher, healer, and miracle worker who drew huge crowds. For a variety of reasons, he was arrested, sentenced to death, and executed by being nailed to a cross. After his death and entombment, his followers believe he rose from the dead and ascended to heaven. Years later, when Mary died, Christians believe she also ascended to heaven in physical form.

The early Christian Church was organized soon after Jesus’s death and grew out of what began as a sect of Judaism. Most of Jesus’s early followers had been Jewish, but belief in Jesus as the son of God was at odds with the Jewish faith, which held that the son of God, or messiah, had not yet been born. Christians were persecuted by Jewish and Roman authorities, and many Christians were put to death. This changed when Emperor Constantine converted to Christianity in 313 CE. In 380 CE, Emperor Theodosius I declared Christianity the state religion of the Roman Empire under the authority of the Bishop of Rome.

Early Christians recognized Mary as the mother of Jesus and revered her. She was called Theotokos, Greek for “god bearer” or “mother of god.” Many Christians prayed to her, seeking her aid. The earliest known prayer to Mary, asking for protection, dates to the third century, while the oldest known depiction of the Madonna dates to the second century. Leaders of the Catholic Church restated her significance at the Council of Ephesus in 431 CE, declaring Mary the “Queen of Heaven, Spiritual Mother, and Intercessor.” Following this decree and reinforcement of her title of Theotokos, more Christian art began to focus on the Madonna and Child, in particular works such as altarpieces and paintings for churches.

After the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 CE, two main factions of Christianity—Eastern and Western—gradually developed. In 1054 CE, the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox or Byzantine Church officially split into separate churches in what is known as the Great Schism.

Overview

Marion art is a term used to denote art featuring Mary and Jesus. Many of the themes found in Marian art originated with Byzantine artists. These works often take the form of icons, or religious works on panels. Icons are usually triptychs, a central panel flanked on each side by a smaller side panel. Madonna icons were frequently placed on eastern walls of churches below images of Christ. This placement is an indication of her role as a conduit between the faithful and Christ.

Three of the major types of Byzantine art are the nikopoia, or “bringer of victory”; hodēgētria, “she who points the way”; and the blacherniotissa, which depicts Mary as a figure in prayer, interceding for the faithful. Nikopoia images show the Madonna and Child on a throne. Hodēgētria icons depict a standing Madonna holding the Christ Child on her left arm. Blacherniotissa icons are named for an icon from the Church of the Blachernai in Constantinople. These depict the Madonna with a medallion showing Christ in front of her breast. Other less common types are the galaktotrophousa, which depict her nursing the Christ Child, and the glykophilousa, which shows the Child caressing his mother’s cheek. The Madonna wears a sad expression in these icons to indicate she is aware of his destiny. A characteristic of many Byzantine icons is the depiction of Christ looking more like a miniature adult than an infant.

Many Western images of the Madonna are loosely based on the Byzantine types, in part because many Byzantine artists moved to Italy in the thirteenth century. Western religious art was designed to be beautiful and touching so it would inspire the viewer to be pious. The standing Gothic Madonna, which is based on the hodēgētria, depicts a happy mother and her cheerful child. Thirteenth-century sculptures often followed this style. Many fourteenth-century altarpieces, especially those in Italy, follow the nikopoia style, often with angels and saints around the throne.

Favorite styles in Europe were the Madonna of the rose garden and the seven sorrows of Mary. The garden symbolizes her virginity. Seven sorrows images contain seven swords piercing her heart. Other styles include the Madonna of mercy, who shields the faithful with her mantle; the immacolata, a seventeenth-century style showing a young Mary with a crown of stars descending from the heavens on a crescent moon; and the Madonna of the rosary, depicting the Virgin giving a rosary to Saint Dominic, who founded the order that popularized the use of the strung beads in prayer.

Pietàs, a term from Italian and Latin that means “piety,” “pity,” or “compassion,” have been created in many cultures. While most include only the Madonna and Christ, some include figures from the crucifixion, including John the Apostle. The style originated in Germany during the early fourteenth century. Michelangelo’s 1499 marble sculpture, which is located in St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, is regarded as the most accomplished and celebrated. Although the creation of religious art declined after the seventeenth century, pietàs continued to be popular due to the style’s emotional appeal.

Multiple colors and objects in art symbolize Mary and the Christ Child. Jesus is usually depicted wearing red, which symbolizes martyrdom or his blood. Mary’s traditional color, blue, was selected by Byzantine artists, who began using azurite for her robes in icons in the early fifth century. Blue had long been the color of royalty or other important figures. Symbols of the Madonna include a number of flowers, most notably the rose and white lily. Paintings of the Annunciation, when the Archangel Gabriel tells Mary she will bear the Son of God, often depict the angel handing Mary a lily. Roses often represent heavenly joy in art, and garlands of roses given to Mary often represent the rosary.

Marion art is not relegated to the Byzantine Empire or Western European art. Other distinct cultures that practiced Christian traditions also employed images and Mary and Child in their art. The Coptic Orthodox Church of Egypt has a long tradition of Marion art, and Coptic icons of Mary and Jesus can be found throughout religious buildings in Egypt. The Ethiopian Orthodox Church is similar. The art of Egypt and Ethiopia was also known for adding vibrant colors to the images of Mother and Child. Indian Christian traditions also present images of Mary and Jesus, often displaying Christian traditions and indigenous references in the same piece. Contemporary art also employs images of Mary and Jesus. In 2016, artist Kehinde Wiley created "Madonna and Child," which shares many similarities with Renaissance depictions of Mother and Child but depicts Mary and Jesus as contemporary Black figures.  

Bibliography

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Robertson, Bonnie, and John Stokes Jr. “The Herbs and Flowers of the Virgin Mary.” University of Dayton, 1982, udayton.edu/imri/mary/h/herbs-and-flowers-of-the-virgin-mary.php. Accessed 21 May 2024.

Willis, Kiersten. “Black Artist's Stunning Reversal of Christian Art Provides Commentary on Race.” Atlanta Black Star, 28 Oct. 2016, atlantablackstar.com/2016/10/28/black-artists-stunning-reversal-christian-art-provides-commentary-race. Accessed 21 May 2024.

Witte, Rachel. “Byzantine Icons. The Who, What, When, and Where.” Daily Art Magazine, 13 Mar. 2019, www.dailyartmagazine.com/byzantine-icons-the-who-what-when-and-where/. Accessed 13 May 2021.