Mary has been one of the major subjects ofWestern art for centuries. There is an enormous quantity ofMarian art in the Catholic Church, covering both devotional subjects such as theVirgin and Child and a range of narrative subjects from theLife of the Virgin, often arranged in cycles. Most medieval painters, and from the Reformation to about 1800 most from Catholic countries, have produced works, includingold masters such asMichelangelo andBotticelli.[1]
Marian art forms part of the fabric of Catholic Marian culture through their emotional impact on her veneration. Images such asOur Lady of Guadalupe and the many artistic renditions of it as statues are not simply works of art but are a central element of the daily lives of the Mexican people.[2] BothHidalgo andZapata flew Guadalupan flags and depictions of the Virgin of Guadalupe continue to remain a key unifying element in the Mexican nation.[3] The study of Mary via the field ofMariology is thus inherently intertwined with Marian art.[4]
The body of teachings that constituteCatholic Mariology consist of four basicMarian dogmas:Perpetual virginity,Mother of God,Immaculate Conception andAssumption into Heaven, derived fromBiblical scripture, the writings of theChurch Fathers, and the traditions of the Church. Other influences on Marian art have been theFeast days of the Church,Marian apparitions,writings of the saints and popular devotions such as therosary, theStations of the Cross, or total consecration, and alsopapal initiatives, andMarian papal encyclicals and Apostolic Letters.
Art has been an integral element of Catholic identity sinceLate antiquity.[5] Medieval Catholicism cherished relics and pilgrimages to visit them were common. Churches and specific works of art were commissioned to honor the saints and the Virgin Mary has always been seen as the most powerful intercessor among all saints—her depictions being the subject of veneration among Catholics worldwide.[5]
Catholic Mariology does not simply consist of a set of theological writings, but also relies on the emotional impact of art, music and architecture.Catholic Marian music andCatholic Marian churches interact with Marian art as key components of Mariology, e.g. the construction of major Marian churches gives rise to major pieces of art for the decoration of the church.[6][7][8][9]
In the 16th century,Gabriele Paleotti'sDiscourse on Sacred and Profane Images became known as the "Catechism of images" for Catholics, given that it established key concepts for the use of images as a form of religious instruction and indoctrination viasilent preaching (muta predicatio).[10][11] Paleotti's approach was implemented by his powerful contemporary SaintCharles Borromeo and his focus on "the transformation of Christian life through vision" and the "nonverbalrules of language" shaped the Catholic reinterpretations of the Virgin Mary in the 16th and 17th centuries and fostered and promoted Marian devotions such as the Rosary.[10][11]
An example of the interaction of Marian art, culture and churches isSalus Populi Romani, a key Marian icon in Rome atSanta Maria Maggiore, the earliest Marian church in Rome. The practice of crowning the images of Mary started atSanta Maria Maggiore in Rome by PopeClement VIII in the 17th century.[12] In 1899 Eugenio Pacelli (laterPope Pius XII) said his first Holy Mass in front of it at theSanta Maria Maggiore. Fifty years later, he physically crowned this picture as part of the first Marian year in Church history, as he proclaimed theQueenship of Mary. The image was carried from Santa Maria Maggiore around Rome as part of the celebration of the Marian year and the proclamation of the Queenship of Mary.
Another example isOur Mother of Perpetual Help. Catholics have, for centuries, prayed before this icon, usually in reproductions, to intercede on their behalf to Christ.[13] Over the centuries, several churches dedicated to Our Mother of Perpetual Help have been constructed. PopeJohn Paul II held mass at theNational Shrine of Our Mother of Perpetual Help in the Philippines where the devotion is very popular and many Catholic churches hold a Novena and Mass honoring it every Wednesday using a replica of the icon, which is also widely displayed in houses, buses and public transport in the Philippines.[14][15][16] Devotions to the icon have spread from the Philippines to the United States, and remain popular among Asian-Americans in California.[17][18] As recently as 1992, the songThe Lady Who Wears Blue and Gold was composed in California and then performed at St. Alphonsus Liguori Church in Rome, where the icon resides. This illustrates how a medieval work of art can give rise to feast days, Cathedrals and Marian music.
The use of Marian art by Catholics worldwide accompanies specific forms ofMarian devotion and spirituality. The widespread Catholic use of replicas of the statue ofOur Lady of Lourdes emphasizes devotions to theImmaculate Conception and theRosary, both reported in the Lourdes messages. To Catholics, the distinctive blue and white Lourdes statues are reminders of the emphasis of Lourdes onRosary devotions and the millions of pilgrimages to theRosary Basilica at Lourdes shows how Churches, devotions and art intertwine withinCatholic culture. The Rosary remains the prayer of choice among Catholics who visit Lourdes or venerate the Lourdes statues worldwide.[19][20][21][22]
Historically, Marian art has not only impacted the image of Mary among Catholics, but that of Jesus. The early "Kyrios image" of Jesus as "the Lord and Master" was specially emphasized in thePauline Epistles.[23][24][25] The 13th century depictions of theNativity of Jesus in art and theFranciscan development of a "tender image of Jesus" via the construction of Nativity scenes changed that perception and was instrumental in portraying a softer image of Jesus that contrasted with the powerful and radiant image at theTransfiguration.[26] The emphasis on the humility of Jesus and the poverty of his birth depicted in Nativity art reinforced the image of God not as severe and punishing, but himself humble at birth and sacrificed at death.[27] As the tender joys of the Nativity were added to the agony ofCrucifixion (as depicted in scenes such asStabat Mater) a whole new range of approved religious emotions were ushered in via Marian art, with wide-ranging cultural impacts for centuries thereafter.[28][29][30]
The spread of devotions to theVirgin of Mercy are another example of the blending of art and devotions among Catholics. In the 12th centuryCîteaux Abbey in France used the motif of theprotective mantle of the Virgin Mary which shielded the kneeling abbots and abbesses. In the 13th centuryCaesarius of Heisterbach was also aware of this motif, which eventually led to the iconography of theVirgin of Mercy and an increased focused on the concept of Marian protection.[31] By the beginning of the 16th century, depictions of theVirgin of Mercy were among the preferred artistic items in households in the Paris area.[32] In the 18th century SaintAlphonsus Liguori attributed his own recovery from near death to a statue of the Virgin of Mercy brought to his bedside.[33]
In his apostolic letterArchicoenobium Casinense in 1913,Pope Pius X echoed the same sentiment regarding the blending of art, music and religion by comparing the artistic efforts of theBenedictine monks of theBeuron Art School (who had previously produced the "Life of the Virgin" series), to the revival of theGregorian chant by the Benedictines ofSolesmes Abbey and wrote, "...together with sacred music, this art proves itself to be a powerful aid to the liturgy".[34]
Catholic Marian art has expressed a wide range of theological topics that relate to Mary, often in ways that are far from obvious, and whose meaning can only be recovered by detailed scholarly analysis. Entire books, academic theses or lengthy scholarly works have been written on various aspects of Marian art in general and on specific topics such as theBlack Madonna,Our Lady of San Juan de los Lagos,Virgin of Mercy,Virgin of Ocotlán, or theHortus conclusus and their doctrinal implications.[36][37][38][39][40]
Some of the leading Marian subjects include:
The tradition of Catholic Marian art has continued in the 21st century by artists such asMiguel Bejarano Moreno andFrancisco Cárdenas Martínez.
Early veneration of Mary is documented in theCatacombs of Rome. In the catacombs paintings show Mary with Jesus. More unusual and indicating the burial ground of Saint Peter, was that excavations in thecrypt of Saint Peter discovered a very early fresco of Mary together with Saint Peter.[41] The Roman Priscilla catacombs contain the known oldest Marian paintings, dating from the middle of the second century.[42] In one, Mary is shown with the infantJesus on her lap. The Priscilla catacomb also includes the oldest known fresco of theAnnunciation, dating to the 4th century.[43]
After theEdict of Milan in 313 Christians were permitted to worship and build churches openly. The generous and systematic patronage ofRoman EmperorConstantine I changed the fortunes of the Christian church, and resulted in both architectural and artistic development.[44] The veneration of Mary became public and Marian art flourished. Some of the earliest Marian churches in Rome date to the 5th century, such asSanta Maria in Trastevere,Santa Maria Antiqua and Santa Maria Maggiore, and these churches were in turn decorated with significant works of art through the centuries.[45][46] The interaction of Marian art and church construction thus influenced the development of Marian art.[47]
The Virgin Mary has since become a major subject of Western Art. Masters such asMichelangelo,Botticelli,Leonardo da Vinci,Giotto,Duccio and others produced masterpieces with Marian themes.
Mary's status as theMother of God was not made clear in the Gospels and Pauline Epistles but the theological implications of this were defined and confirmed by theCouncil of Ephesus (431). Different aspects of Mary's position as mother have been the subject of a large number of works of Catholic art.
There was a great expansion of thecult of Mary after the Council of Ephesus in 431, when her status asTheotokos was confirmed; this had been a subject of some controversy until then, though mainly for reasons to do witharguments over the nature of Christ. Inmosaics inSanta Maria Maggiore in Rome, dating from 432 to 40, just after the council, she is not yet shown with ahalo, and she is also not shown in Nativity scenes at this date, though she is included in theAdoration of the Magi.[46][48]
By the next century the iconic depiction of the Virgin enthroned carrying the infant Christ was established, as in the example from the only group of icons surviving from this period, atSaint Catherine's Monastery inEgypt. This type of depiction, with subtly changing differences of emphasis, has remained the mainstay of depictions of Mary to the present day. The image at Mount Sinai succeeds in combining two aspects of Mary described in theMagnificat, herhumility and herexaltation above other humans.
At this period theiconography of the Nativity was takingthe form, centred on Mary, that it has retained up to the present day inEastern Orthodoxy, and on which Western depictions remained based until theHigh Middle Ages. Other narrative scenes for Byzantine cycles on theLife of the Virgin were being evolved, relying onapocryphal sources to fill in her life before theAnnunciation to Mary. By this time the political and economic collapse of theWestern Roman Empire meant that the Western, Latin, church was unable to compete in the development of such sophisticatediconography, and relied heavily on Byzantine developments.
The earliest surviving image in a Westernilluminated manuscript of theMadonna and Child comes from theBook of Kells of about 800 and, though magnificently decorated in the style ofInsular art, the drawing of the figures can only be described as rather crude compared to Byzantine work of the period. This was in fact an unusual inclusion in aGospel book, and images of the Virgin were slow to appear in large numbers in manuscript art until thebook of hours was devised in the 13th century.
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TheNativity of Jesus has been a major subject of Christian art since the early 4th century. It has been depicted in many different media, both pictorial and sculptural. Pictorial forms include murals, panel paintings, manuscript illuminations, stained glass windows and oil paintings.The earliest representations of the Nativity itself are very simple, just showing the infant, tightly wrapped, lying near the ground in a trough or wicker basket.
A new form of the image, which from the rare early versions seems to have been formulated in 6th-century Palestine, was to set the essential form of Eastern Orthodox images down to the present day. The setting is now a cave – or rather the specific Cave of the Nativity in Bethlehem, already underneath the Church of the Nativity, and well-established as a place of pilgrimage, with the approval of the Church.
Western artists adopted many of the Byzantine iconographic elements, but preferred the scriptural stable to the cave, thoughDuccio's Byzantine-influenced Maestà version tries to have both. During the Gothic period, in the North earlier than in Italy, increasing closeness between mother and child develops, and Mary begins to hold her baby, or he looks over to her. Suckling is very unusual, but is sometimes shown.
The image in later medieval Northern Europe was often influenced by the vision of the Nativity ofSaint Bridget of Sweden (1303–1373), a very popular mystic. Shortly before her death, she described a vision of the infant Jesus as lying on the ground, and emitting light himself.
From the 15th century onwards, theAdoration of the Magi increasingly became a more common depiction than the Nativity proper. From the 16th century plain Nativities with just the Holy Family, become a clear minority, althoughCaravaggio led a return to a more realistic treatment of theAdoration of the Shepherds.
The perpetual character of Mary's virginity, namely that she was a virgin all her life and not only at hervirginal conception ofJesus Christ at the Annunciation (that she was a virgin before, during and after giving birth to him) is alluded to in some forms of Nativity art:Salome, who according to the story in the 2nd-centuryNativity of Mary[49] received physical proof that Mary remained a virgin even in giving birth to Jesus, is found in many depictions of theNativity of Jesus in art.[50]
The depiction of theMadonna has roots in ancient pictorial and sculptural traditions that informed the earliest Christian communities throughout Europe, Northern Africa and the Middle East. Important to Italian tradition are Byzantine icons, especially those created in Constantinople (Istanbul), the capital of the longest, enduring medieval civilization whose icons, such as theHodegetria, participated in civic life and were celebrated for their miraculous properties. Western depictions remained heavily dependent on Byzantine types until at least the 13th century. In the late Middle Ages, theCretan school, underVenetian rule, was the source of great numbers of icons exported to the West, and the artists there could adapt their style to Western iconography when required.
In theRomanesque period free-standing statues, typically about half life-size, of the enthroned Madonna and Child were an original Western development, since monumental sculpture was forbidden by Orthodoxy. TheGolden Madonna of Essen of c. 980 is one of the earliest of these, made of gold applied to a wooden core, and still the subject of considerable local veneration, as is the 12th centuryVirgin of Montserrat inCatalonia, a more developed treatment.
With the growth of monumental panel painting in Italy during the 12th and 13th centuries, this type was frequently painted at the image of the Madonna gains prominence outside of Rome, especially throughout Tuscany. While members of the mendicant orders of the Franciscan and Dominican Orders are some of the first to commission panels representing this subject matter, such works quickly became popular in monasteries, parish churches, and later homes. Some images of the Madonna were paid for by lay organizations called confraternities, who met to sing praises of the Virgin in chapels found within the newly reconstructed, spacious churches that were sometimes dedicated to her.
A number of Madonna paintings and statues have gathered a following as important religious icons and noteworthy works of art in various regions of the world.
Some Madonnas are known by a general name and concept rendered or depicted by various artists. For instance,Our Lady of Sorrows is the patron saint of several countries such asSlovakia andPhilippines. It is represented as the Virgin Mary wounded by seven swords in her heart, a reference to the prophecy of Simeon at thePresentation of Jesus.Our Lady of Sorrows, Queen of Poland located in theSanctuary of Our Lady of Licheń (Poland's largest church) is an important icon in Poland. The termOur Lady of Sorrows is also used in other contexts, without a Madonna, e.g. forOur Lady of Kibeho apparitions.
Some Madonnas become the subject of widespread devotion, and the Marian shrines dedicated to them attract millions of pilgrims per year. An example isOur Lady of Aparecida in Brazil, whose shrine is surpassed in size only bySaint Peter's Basilica inVatican City, and receives more pilgrims per year than any other Catholic Marian church in the world.[51]
There is a rich tradition of building statues of the Madonna in South America, a sampling of which is shown in the galleries section of this article. The South American tradition of Marian art dates back to the 16th century, with theVirgin of Copacabana gaining fame in 1582.[52] Some noteworthy examples are:
Images of, and devotions to, Madonnas such as Our Lady of San Juan de los Lagos have spread from Mexico to the United States.[53][54]
Scenes of Mary and Jesus together fall into two main groups: those with an infant Jesus, and those from the last period of his life. After the episodes of the Nativity, there are a number of further narrative scenes of Mary and the infant Jesus together which are often depicted: theCircumcision of Christ,Presentation of Jesus at the Temple,Flight into Egypt, and less specific scenes of Mary and Jesus with his cousinJohn the Baptist, sometimes with John's motherElizabeth.Leonardo da Vinci'sVirgin of the Rocks is a famous example. Gatherings of the whole extended family of Jesus form a subject known as theHoly Kinship, popular in theNorthern Renaissance. Mary appears in the background of the only incident in theGospels from the later childhood of Jesus, theFinding in the Temple.
Mary is then usually absent from scenes of the period of Christ's life between hisBaptism and his Passion, except for theWedding at Cana, where she is placed in the Gospels. A non-scriptural subject ofChrist taking leave of his Mother (before going toJerusalem at the start of his Passion) was often painted in 15th- and early 16th-century Germany. Mary is placed at theCrucifixion of Jesus by the Gospels, and is almost invariably shown, with SaintJohn the Evangelist, in fully depicted works, as well as often being shown in the background of earlier scenes of thePassion of Christ. Therood cross common in medieval Western churches had statues of Mary and John flanking a centralcrucifix. Mary is shown as present at theDeposition of Christ and his Entombment; in the late Middle Ages thePietà emerged in Germany as a separate subject, especially in sculpture. Mary is also included, though this is not mentioned in any of the scriptural accounts, in depictions of theAscension of Jesus. After the Ascension, she is the centrally-placed figure in depictions ofPentecost, which is her latest appearance in the Gospels.
The main scenes above, showing incidents celebrated asfeast days by the church, formed part of cycles of theLife of the Virgin (though the selection of scenes in these varied considerably), as well as theLife of Christ.
Thedogma of theperpetual virginity of Mary is the earliest of the four Marian dogmas andCatholic liturgy has repeatedly referred to Mary as "ever virgin" for centuries.[58][59] The dogma means that Mary was a virgin before, during and after giving birth toJesus Christ. The 2nd-century work originally known as theNativity of Mary pays special attention to Mary's virginity.[60]
This dogma is often represented in Catholic art in terms of theannunciation to Mary by theArchangel Gabriel that she would conceive a child to be born the Son of God, and in Nativity scenes that include the figure ofSalome. The Annunciation is one of the most frequently depicted scenes in Western art.[61] Annunciation scenes also amount to the most frequent appearances of Gabriel in medieval art.[62] The depiction of Joseph turning away in someNativity scenes is a discreet reference to the fatherhood of the Holy Spirit, and the doctrine of Virgin Birth.[63]
Frescos depicting this scene have appeared in Catholic Marian churches for centuries and it has been a topic addressed by many artists in multiple media, ranging fromstained glass tomosaic, torelief, tosculpture to oil painting.[64] The oldest fresco of the annunciation is a 4th-century depiction in theCatacomb of Priscilla in Rome.[65] In most (but not all) Catholic, and indeed Western, depictions Gabriel is shown on the left, while in the Eastern Church he is more often depicted on the right.[66]
It has been one of the most frequent subjects of Christian art particularly during theMiddle Ages and Renaissance. The figures of the Virgin Mary and the Archangel Gabriel, being emblematic of purity and grace, were favorite subjects of many painters such asSandro Botticelli,Leonardo da Vinci,Caravaggio,Duccio andMurillo among others. In many depictions the angel may be holding alily, symbolic of Mary's virginity.[67] The mosaics ofPietro Cavallini inSanta Maria in Trastevere in Rome (1291), thefrescos ofGiotto in theScrovegni Chapel inPadua (1303),Domenico Ghirlandaio's fresco at the church ofSanta Maria Novella inFlorence (1486) andDonatello's gilded sculpture at the church ofSanta Croce, Florence (1435) are famous examples.
The natural composition of the scene, consisting of two figures facing each other, also made it suitable for decorated arches above doorways.
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Given that up to the 13th century a series of saints includingBernard of Clairvaux,Bonaventure,Thomas Aquinas, and theDominicans in general had either opposed or questioned this doctrine, Catholic art on the subject mostly dates to periods after the 15th century and is absent fromRenaissance art. But with support from popular opinion, theFranciscans and theologians such asDuns Scotus, the popularity of the doctrine increased and a feast-day for it was promoted.
Pope Pius V, the Dominican Pope who in 1570 established theTridentine Mass, included the feast (but without the adjective "Immaculate") in theTridentine calendar, but suppressed the existing special Mass for the feast, directing that the Mass for the Nativity of Mary (with the word "Nativity" replaced by "Conception") be used instead.[68] Part of that earlier Mass was revived in the Mass thatPope Pius IX ordered to be used on the feast and that is still in use.[69]
In the 16th century there was a widespread intellectual fashion foremblems in both religious and secular contexts. These consisted of a visual representation of the symbol (pictura) and usually a Latinmotto; frequently an explanatory epigram was added.Emblem books were very popular.[70]
Drawing on the emblem tradition,Francisco Pacheco established an iconography that Spanish artists such asBartolomé Murillo (especially),Diego Velázquez (Pacheco's son-in-law) and others adopted, with variations, and then spread to the rest of Europe, since when it has remained the usual depiction. Additional imagery may include clouds, a golden light, andcherubs. In some paintings the cherubim are holdinglilies androses, flowers often associated with Mary.
Thedogmatic definition of Immaculate Conception was performed byPope Pius IX in hisApostolic ConstitutionIneffabilis Deus, in 1854.
Many artists in the 15th century faced the problem of how to depict an abstract idea such as theImmaculate Conception, and the problem was not fully solved for 150 years.
Since a key Scriptural text pointed to in support of the doctrine was "Tota pulchra es...", "Thou art all fair, my love; there is no spot in thee", verse 4.7 from theSong of Solomon,[71] a number of symbolic objects drawn from the imagery of theSong, and often already associated with the Annunciation and the Perpetual Virginity, were combined in versions of theHortus conclusus ("enclosed garden") subject. This gave a rather cluttered subject, and usually was impossible to combine with correct perspective, so never caught on outside Germany and theLow Countries.Piero di Cosimo was among those artists who tried new solutions, but none of these became generally adopted so that the subject would be immediately recognisable to the faithful.
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The definitive iconography for the Immaculate Conception, drawing on the emblem tradition, seems to have been established by the master and then father-in-law ofDiego Velázquez, the painter and theoristFrancisco Pacheco (1564–1644), to whom the Inquisition inSeville also contracted the approval of new images. He described his iconography in hisArt of Painting (Arte de la Pintura, published posthumously in 1649):
"The version that I follow is the one that is closest to the holy revelation of the Evangelist and approved by the Catholic Church on the authority of the sacred and holy interpreters... In this loveliest of mysteries Our Lady should be painted as a beautiful young girl, 12 or 13 years old, in the flower of her youth... And thus she is praised by the Husband:tota pulchra es amica mea, a text that is always written in this painting. She should be painted wearing a white tunic and a blue mantle... She is surrounded by the sun, an oval sun of white and ochre, which sweetly blends into the sky. Rays of light emanate from her head, around which is aring of twelve stars. An imperial crown adorns her head, without, however, hiding the stars. Under her feet is the moon. Although it is a solid globe, I take the liberty of making it transparent so that the landscape shows through."[72][73]
The Catholic doctrine of theAssumption of Mary into Heaven states that Mary was transported into Heaven with her body and soul united. Although the Assumption was only officially declared adogma byPope Pius XII in hisApostolic ConstitutionMunificentissimus Deus in 1950, its roots in Catholic culture and art go back many centuries. While PopePius XII deliberately left open the question of whether Mary died before her Assumption, the more common teaching of the early Fathers is that she did.[74][75]
An early supporter of the Assumption was SaintJohn of Damascus (676–794), aDoctor of the Church who is often called theDoctor of the Assumption.[76] Saint John was not only interested in the Assumption, but also supported the use of holy images in response to the edict by the Byzantine EmperorLeo III, banning the worship or exhibition of holy images.[77] He wrote: "On this day the sacred and life-filled ark of the living God, she who conceived her Creator in her womb, rests in the Temple of the Lord that is not made with hands. David, her ancestor, leaps, and with him the angels lead the dance."
The Eastern Church held the feast of the Assumption as early as the second half of the 6th century, andPope Sergius I (687–701) ordered its observance in Rome.[78]
The Orthodox tradition is clear that Mary died normally, before being bodily assumed. The Orthodox term for the death is theDormition of the Virgin. Byzantine depictions of this were the basis for Western images, the subject being known as theDeath of the Virgin in the West. As the nature of the Assumption became controversial during the High Middle Ages, the subject was often avoided, but depiction continued to be common until the Reformation. The last major Catholic depiction isCaravaggio'sDeath of the Virgin of 1606.
Meanwhile, depictions of the Assumption had been becoming more frequent during the late Middle Ages, with the GothicSiennese school a particular source. By the 16th century they had become the norm, initially in Italy, and then elsewhere. They were sometimes combined with theCoronation of the Virgin, as theTrinity waited in the clouds. The subject was very suited to Baroque treatment.
The Catholic teaching that Mary is far above all other creatures in dignity, and afterJesus Christ possesses primacy over all goes back to the early church. SaintSophronius said: "You have surpassed every creature" and SaintGermain of Paris (496–576) stated: "Your honor and dignity surpass the whole of creation; your greatness places you above the angels." SaintJohn of Damascus went further: "Limitless is the difference between God's servants and His Mother."[79][80]
The feast of theQueenship of Mary was only formally established in 1954 byPope Pius XII in hisencyclicalAd Caeli Reginam. Pius XII also declared the first Marian year and a number ofCatholic Church rededications took place, e.g. the 1955 rededication of the church ofSaint James the Great inMontreal with the new titleMary, Queen of the World Cathedral a title proclaimed by Pius XII.
Yet, long before 1954 theCoronation of the Virgin had been the subject of a good number of artistic works. Some of these paintings built on the third phase of the Assumption of Mary in which following her Assumption, she is crowned as theQueen of Heaven.
Catholic devotion to Mary has at times been driven byreligious experiences and visions of simple and modest individuals (in many cases children) on remote hilltops which in time have created strong emotions among large numbers of Catholics. Examples include SaintJuan Diego in 1531 asOur Lady of Guadalupe, SaintBernadette Soubirous asOur Lady of Lourdes in 1858 andLucia dos Santos,Jacinta Marto andFrancisco Marto asOur Lady of Fatima in 1917.[82]
Although every year over five million pilgrims visit Lourdes and Guadalupe each, the volume of Catholic art to accompany this enthusiasm has been essentially restricted to popular images. Hence although apparitions have resulted in the construction of very large Marian churches atLourdes andGuadalupe they have not so far had a similar impact on Marian art. Yet images such asOur Lady of Guadalupe and the artistic renditions of it as statues are not simply works of art but are a central elements of the daily lives of the Mexican people.[2] BothMiguel Hidalgo andEmiliano Zapata flew Guadalupan flags as their protector, and Zapata's men wore the Guadalupan image around their necks and on theirsombreros.[83][84] Depictions of the Virgin of Guadalupe continue to remain a key unifying element in the Mexican nation, and as the main national symbol of Mexico.[3]
Apparition-based art is at times considered miraculous by Catholics. Replicas of the distinctive blue and white statue ofOur Lady of Lourdes are widely used by Catholics in devotions, and small grottos with it are built in houses and Catholic neighborhoods worldwide and are the subject of prayers and petitions.[85] InAd Caeli Reginam, PopePius XII called the statue ofOur Lady of Fatima "miraculous" and Pope John Paul II attributed his survival after the 1981 assassination attempt to its intercession, donating one of the bullets that wounded him to the Sanctuary in Fatima.[81][86]
The Catholic approach to Marian art is quite distinct from the way other Christians (such as the Protestant and theEastern Orthodox) treat the depictions of the Virgin Mary. From the very beginning of theProtestant Reformation its leaders expressed their discomfort with the depictions of saints in general. While over time a Protestant tradition of art developed, the depictions of the Virgin Mary within it have remained minimal, given that most Protestants reject Marian veneration and view it as a Catholic excess.[87][88][89]
Unlike the majority of the Protestants, the Eastern Orthodox Church venerates Marian images, but in a different manner and with a different emphasis from the Catholic tradition. While statues of the Virgin Mary abound in Catholic churches, there are specific prohibitions against all three-dimensional representations (of Mary or any other any saints) within the Orthodox Church, for they are regarded as remnants of pagan idolatry. Hence the Orthodox only produce and venerate two-dimensional images.[90][91][92][93]
Catholic Marian images are almost entirelydevotional depictions and do not have an official standing within liturgy, but Eastern icons are an inherent part of Orthodox liturgy. In fact, there is a three way, carefully coordinated interplay of prayers, icons andhymns to Mary within Orthodox liturgy, at times with specific feasts that relate to the Theotokos icons and theAkathists.[90][93][94]
While there is a tradition for the best known Western artists fromDuccio toTitian to depict the Virgin Mary, most painters of Eastern Orthodox icons have remained anonymous for the production of an icon is not viewed as a "work of art" but as a "sacred craft" practiced and perfected in monasteries.[90] To some Eastern Orthodox the natural looking Renaissance depictions used in Catholic art are not conducive to meditation, for they lack thekenosis needed for Orthodox contemplation. The rich background representation of flowers or gardens found in Catholic art are not present in Orthodox depictions whose primary focus is the Theotokos, often with theChild Jesus.[95][96] Apparition-based images such as the statues of theOur Lady of Lourdes accentuate the differences in that they are based on apparitions that are purely Catholic, as well as being three-dimensional representations. And the presence ofSacramentals such as theRosary and theBrown Scapular on the statues ofOur Lady of Fatima emphasize a totally Catholic form of Marian art.
Apart from stylistic issues, significant doctrinal differences separate Catholic Marian art from other Christian approaches. Three examples are the depictions that involve theImmaculate Conception,Queen of Heaven and theAssumption of Mary. Given that the Immaculate Conception is a mostly Catholic doctrine, its depictions within other Christian traditions remain rare.[97] The same applies toQueen of Heaven, for long an element of Catholic tradition (and eventually the subject of the encyclicalAd Caeli Reginam) but its representation within themes such as theCoronation of the Virgin continue to remain mostly Catholic.[86] While the Eastern Orthodox support theDormition of the Theotokos, they do not support the Catholic doctrines of theAssumption of Mary and hence their depictions of the dormition are distinct and the Virgin Mary is usually shown sleeping surrounded by saints, while Catholic depictions often show Mary rising to Heaven.[93][98]
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| Denominations (list,members) |
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| Theology |
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| Philosophy | |||||||||
| Other features |
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