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The image ofLa Madonna del Parto (English:Our Lady of Parturition) is a religious depiction of theBlessed Virgin Mary aspregnant which was popularised inTuscany, Italy during the 14th—century.
Notable examples include works byTaddeo Gaddi,Bernardo Daddi andNardo di Cione, but the fresco byPiero della Francesca in the Museum of Monterchi, in the province of Arezzo, is considered the most famous one. The Madonna was portrayed standing, alone, often with a closed book on her stomach, an allusion to the Incarnate Word. These works were associated with the devotions of pregnant women, praying for a safe delivery.[1]
Sometimes, as with a statue bySansovino in theBasilica of Sant'Agostino in Rome, the depiction is of aVirgin and Child, which was however known as a Madonna del Parto, because it was especially associated with devotions related to pregnancy.
Herein theVirgin Mary wears theGirdle of Thomas, a belt of knotted cloth cord that was arelic held inPrato Cathedral, which many versions show her wearing.
| Madonna del Parto | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Artist | Piero della Francesca |
| Year | after 1457 |
| Type | detached fresco |
| Dimensions | 260 cm × 203 cm (100 in × 80 in) |
| Location | Musei Civici Madonna del Parto,Monterchi |
The most famous work showing this subject is a fresco painting by the Italian Renaissance masterPiero della Francesca, finished around 1460. It is housed in the Museo della Madonna del Parto ofMonterchi,Tuscany, Italy.
Piero della Francesca finished it in seven days, using high quality colors, including a large quantity ofblu oltremare obtained usinglapis lazuli imported fromAfghanistan by theRepublic of Venice.
The fresco was at one time located in Santa Maria di Momentana, (formerlySanta Maria in Silvis), an old country church in the hill town ofMonterchi. That building was destroyed in 1785 by an earthquake and this work was detached from the walls and placed over the high altar of a new cemetery chapel; in 1992 it was moved to the Museo della Madonna del Parto in Monterchi. It was only in 1889 that the work was attributed to Piero della Francesca. Its dating has been the subject of debate, with estimates ranging from 1450 to 1475. The 16th century artist and writerGiorgio Vasari wrote that it was completed in 1459, when Piero della Francesca was inSansepolcro because of his mother's death.
The fresco also plays an important role in Richard Hayer's novelVisus, in Andrei Tarkovsky's 1983 filmNostalghia, and in the poem "San Sepolcro" byJorie Graham.Gérard Grisey wrote a musical pieceL'Icône paradoxale as a tribute to Piero della Francesca and this work, borrowing the title from an essay byYves Bonnefoy on the same subject.[2]
Piero della Francesca's Madonna has neither books nor royal attributes as in most previous versions of the image, nor does she wear the girdle. She is portrayed with a hand against her side to support her prominent belly. She is flanked by two angels, who are holding open the curtains of a pavilion decorated withpomegranates, a symbol of Christ's Passion. The upper part of the painting has been lost. The two angels are specular, as they were executed by the artist using the same perforated cartoons to copy them.
The theological symbolism behind the representation is complex. Maurizio Calvesi[3] has suggested that the tent represents theArk of the Covenant. Mary would be thus the new Ark of Alliance in her role as Mother of Christ. For other scholars the tent is a symbol of the Catholic Church, and the Madonna would symbolize the tabernacle, as she is portrayed containingJesus' body.
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