�

Art and the

Virgin Mary

“I ask blessed Mary, ever virgin,

to pray for me to the Lord, our God.”

—Order of the Mass

Lindsay Hymas. Brother Andersen. Hum 385. Spring 2009.

2

CONTENTSInitial Interest 3Question. 4Mary’s Eyes 6The Annunciation 7Nativity 9Mary and the Passion ��Conclusion �2Works Cited �3

3

CONTENTSInitial Interest 3Question. 4Mary’s Eyes 6The Annunciation 7Nativity 9Mary and the Passion ��Conclusion �2Works Cited �3

INITIAL INTEREST Myinterestinunderstanding

anddevelopinganappreciationforthe

CatholicadorationoftheVirginMary

beganonmymissiontoParaguay.

Thereshrinesstillguardtheirhomes,

evenmembersoftheChurchhavekept

theirVirginMaryinthefrontyardfor

protection.Therewereinvestigators

whostruggledacceptingusintotheir

homesbecausetheirbeliefinMarywas

sostrong.Iadmiredtheirfaithandwas

interestedtoexploreitfurther.Then,

asazoneweventuredtwohoursout

ofourareatoseetheCathedraltotherightinCa’acupe.ItisabasilicacenteredintheCa’acupe

diocese.ThreehundredthousandpeoplemakeapilgrimagetothisCathedraleveryDecember8to

prayandworshipthe“LadyofMiracles.”Theentirechapelisdesignedtogivemostemphasison

whatstandsbehindthealtar—aVirginMarydoll,pulledoutoftheriverbyapriestwhobelieved

a Guarani Indian had carved the wonder centuries before for him to find. The architecture and

artpayshomagetotheLadyofMiracles.Inthispaper,IplantoexplorehowtheartinEuropeis

influenced by the Catholic idea of the Virgin Mary. While it will be impossible to cover everything

aboutthisexpansivetopic,Ihaveorganizedmypaperaccordingtosomeofmyfavoriteobserva-

tionsandresearchthatIhaveponderedaboutbefore,during,andafterthetour.

4

QUESTION. IbeganthisstudyoftheVirginMarybyaskingaquestion.HowdoimagesofMaryinart

andarchitecturerepresenttheCatholicideaoftheVirginMary?BeforeIcananswerthatquestion,

however, I need to define what the Catholic idea of the Virgin Mary is. The Nicene Creed states, “He

wasconceivedbythepoweroftheHolySpiritandbornoftheVirginMary.”TheRomanCatholic

religion believes in the Immaculate Conception, which was defined and agreed upon in the Consti-

tution Ineffabilis Deus of 1854. The Constitution states, “In the first instance of her conception, by a

singularprivilegeandgracegrantedbyGod,inviewofthemeritsofJesusChrist,theSaviourofthe

humanrace,waspreservedexemptfromallstainoforiginalsin”(“ImmaculateConception”).Thisis

importanttounderstandbecause,asstated

above,theVirginMarywasnotonlyapart

ofagreatmiracle,but,accordingtoCatholic

Religionisexemptfromoriginalsin.

Originalsinistheinherentunrighteous-

nesswhichhumankindinheritedfrom

Adam.AccordingtotheCatholicEncy-

clopedia,“Originalsinistheprivationof

sanctifyinggraceinconsequenceofthesin

ofAdam”(“OriginalSin”).Thissincanonly

becleansedthroughbaptism,butitisMary

who no longer has this stain. While at the

GalleriadelArteinFlorence,Itookthetime

tostudytheimagesofMarythatlinedthe

walls.Theinformationprovidedbelowwas

fascinatingandsurprisinglyin-depth.There

wasonesentencethatcaughtmyattention,

whichhelpedmetounderstandthisidea

better.Itwasfoundunderapaintingby

PortellientitledThe Immaculate Conception.

“Mary,thewomanwhoredeemsmankind,

5

andEve,thewomanwhoinducesmantosin,athemecherishedbytheChurchoftheCounter-Refor-

mation”(DisplayInformationGalleriadelArte).Thispaintingwasafascinatingoneformetostudy

becausethereissomuchhappeningastheImmaculateConceptionoccurs.

EveisbeneathMary;wearingacoatofskins,whereshewasoncenude(theartistwasforced

topaintclothesonher).Maryiswearingaredgown,completelymodest,asshealmostalwaysis,

withonlyherfoot,hand,andfacebaringanyskin.Thisisagreatexampleofthedifferingopinionof

MaryandEve.

Alongwiththat,MaryisalsoseenasanintercessorbetweenmanandChrist.RachelFulton,

writerofFrom Judgment to Passion,states: “[Theprayers]spokeimmediatelytothecontemporaryanxietyoverthecomingof ChristinJudgmentthroughanimpassionedappealtotheimageofMaryasthe Intercessor…Theytransmutedthisanxietythroughanunambiguousinsistenceon Mary’sdoctrinalroleasCo-authoroftheRedemption…aroleevidencednotonlyby hermaternitybutalsobyhersympathy—byherstandingundertheCross”(204).

ThisstatementfallsinaccordancewithmanyofmyobservationsduringthetriptoEurope.There

wereveryfewpaintingsthatportrayedChristwithoutHismotherpresent,andamajorityofthe

paintings were of the Nativity or the Christ Child being held by His mother. Statues found in most

cathedralsandchurcheswerethesame.ThefactthatMaryisalmostalwaysinanimagewithChrist

conveys the idea of Mary as an intercessor, a maternal figure to turn to when Christ seems too daunt-

ing.

Insummary,theCatholicideaoftheVirginMaryinvolvesherbeingapureandvirtuousves-

sel,theoppositeoftheseductressEve,andtheintercessorbetweenmanandGod.Iwillusethese

ideasasthebasisfortherestofthispaperasIexploremyobservationsandresearchevenfurtherto

developaclearerunderstandingoftheCatholicideaoftheVirginMaryanditsaffectonart.

6

MARY’S EYES Themoststrikingandcompellingaspect

InoticedaboutmanyportrayalsoftheVirgin

Marywashereyes.Hereyesarealmostalways

pointeddownwardinastateofhumilityand

sorrow. The first time I noticed this was in

the National Gallery. I spent most of my time

exploringtheMedievalandRenaissancetime

periodsbecausetherewassuchanenormous

amountofpaintingswithMaryandtheChrist

child.

AsIhavereadinformationconcerning

Marybeforeandafterthetrip,Ihavenoticed

atrendofrespectandadmirationforthepu-

rityandsanctityofMaryemanatingfromthe

religion.Mary’seyesareoneexampleofhow

herpurityandhumilitycanbeportrayed.Her

expressionissoftandmotherly,givinghopeto

thoselookingformercyasshetakestheplaceof

intercessor.

HerdownwardgazeisusuallydirectedatherinfantSon,remindingtheadorerswhotheir

Godis.Thedowncastglancewasextremelycommon,evenMichelangelo’sPietashowsherwithher

eyeslookinguponhermurderedchild,whoissomuchsmallerthansheis.Shesitslikeagiant,cra-

dling her infant. Even after his death, Mary is still holding her Son as if they were in the Nativity, but

theexpressiononherfaceismuchdifferent.Thesoftmotheringgazebecomesagrievingone.

AsIhaveconsideredtheideathatMary’seyeswereusuallydowncast,oftenlookingasifthey

wereclosed,IrememberthewordsconcerningAdamandEvewhentheypartookofthefruit.”Im-

mediatelytheireyesareopened,”(“Eve”).AsEve’seyeswereopen,hercounterpart’seyesarevery

oftenshownasbeingdowncast,barelyabletoseeanythingthatwouldharmherpureandsancti-

fied soul. Here again, there is a connection between the two who stand as foils for one another. Eve

Alessandro Filipeppi de BoticelliLa Vierge et l’Enfant avec le Jeune Saint Jeane Baptiste

7

hastheburdenoftheoriginalsin,andMarygavebirthtotheonlyManwhocandelivermankind

fromthatsin.AccordingtotheConstitutionIcitedonpage3,Marydoesnothaveoriginalsin,and

therefore,hereyeshavenotbeenopened.Sheisacleanvessel,foiltoEve,andpureenoughtobeap-

proachableasanintercessorwithGod.

THE ANNUNCIATION Onceagain,someofthemostinterestinginformationabouttheVirginMarywasfoundatthe

GalleriadelArteinFlorence,Italy.InthepaintingbyAllorientitledAnnunciation, flowers hold an

important symbolic meaning for the Virgin Mary. I would like to explore the flowers in the Annun-

ciationandshowhowtheyrepresenttheCatholicideaoftheVirginMary.Firstofall,Maryisbeing

presentedwithlilies.AccordingtotheextremelyinformativeplaqueattheGalleriadelArte,thelily

isasymbolofchastityandvirginityandisalwayspresentinannunciationscenes.AfterIreadthis,I

looked at Annunciation scenes very closely to find out if that was true or not. Surprisingly, lilies were

presentinalmosteveryAnnunciationsceneIexamined.FollowingthevisittotheGalleriadelArte,I

wenttoSanMarcoandexaminedthefrescoesthere.Sureenough,wheretherewasanAnnunciation

scene,therewereliliesbeingpresentedtotheVirginMary.ThisisarepresentationoftheCatholic

ideaoftheVirginMary’spurityandvirtue.ShecannotbeanintercessororbeafoilforEveifsheis

impure.Forthatreason,theliliescommunicatethisCatholicideaofthevirtuousMotherthroughart.

8

While I feel that lilies are the most

important of the following flowers, I believe

other flowers that Allori paints each repre-

sentanimportantideaoftheVirginMary.I

willrunthroughthemquickly:

Cornflower: The blue is a symbol of para-

dise and fields of grain, which are sym-

bolicofChristwhoMarywouldbring

intotheworld.

Jasmine: These flowers bloom in the

monthofMay,themonthofMary’scoro-

nation,andarededicatedtotheMadon-

na.Theyarerepresentativeofhergrace

andelegance.

Broom:ThisisasymbolofChrist’sin-

carnationbecausetheyemitascentonly

whenthesunshinesonthem.Theyalso

representtheImmaculateConception.

Tulip:Atulipdiesfromthesun,whichis

symbolicoftheVirgin’ssufferingatthe

Crucifixion (Plaque from the Galleria del Arte).

Ofallthese,thetulipismostinterestingformebecauseIhadnotconsideredtheVirgin’ssufferingat

the Crucifixion of any relevance, which may sound silly, but it had never occurred to me. This helped

me to recognize the pain in Mary’s face at the Crucifixion and when she is holding her Son. If Mary is

theintercessor,sheunderstandspain,andbecauseshetoosufferedwhileChristwasonthecross,it

onlymakessensethatshewouldreceivethatrole,notmanyothersaintscouldsaythattheyhadbeen

thereandsufferedwithChristattheprecisetimeHewaskilled.

•

•

•

•

9

NATIVITY AsIstatedbeforethemostcommonposeandhistoricalcontextIfoundofMaryandChrist

wasofChristasaninfantinHisMother’sarms,especiallyonherhip.Infact,thiswasthewayto

portraythePatronSaintandherSon,especiallyatanentrancetoacathedralorinside.AttheAmiens

Cathedral,IwascaptivatedbytheMotherofthe

Christchildabovetheenormousentrancetothe

church. Not only because she has her hand reached

out,preparedtowelcomeguestswithChristinher

armsittingproudlyalmostasifheisshowingthat

Maryhashispermissiontowelcomeotherstothe

Church,butalsobecauseoftheserpentbeneathher

feet.Itwasn’tuntilIdidsomeresearchuponreturn-

inghomethatIlearnedtheserpentdidnothavea

man’shead,butawoman’s,symbolicofherSon’s

victoryoveroriginalsin.Interestingalsoisthefact

that“MaryiscrownedQueenofHeaven”(“Images

ofarchitecture”).Hereisoneexampleofthepopu-

larhistoricalcontextoftheMotherMaryholding

theChristChildismademanifestinarchitecture,

conveyingtheCatholicideathattheVirginMary,

throughherSon,wasabletoconqueroriginalsin.

Another popular subject involved the Nativ-

ity with Saints. I found this painting at the National

Gallery in London. What struck me most was the

statementintheinformationplaquebesidethepaintingThe Nativity with Saints Allessandro of Brescia,

Jerome, Gaudioso, and FilippobyRomanino.TheinformationplaquereadthatSaintAllessandrowas

atthe“positionofhonorattherightoftheVirgin.”TheplaquedidnotreadattherightoftheChrist

Child,insteaditwasattherightoftheChristChild.IntheCatholicmindset,Marywasimportant

enoughtodetermineapositionofhonorforaSaint.ThisconveystheCatholicideathatMaryismore

thanjustaPatronSaint,butanIntercessorwherethepositionofhonorisatherright.Again,Mary’s

�0

eyesaredowncastandsheisinaveryprayerfulposition,sheseemstobeprayingtoChrist,butthe

focusisnotontheChristChild,itisonMary.EventheChrist’sfeetandtoesarepointingtowardHis

mother.Thisisnotonlyanexampleofthenativityscene,butalsooftheintercessionofMarywith

Christ.ThefocusisonMaryasshepraystoChrist;eventhesaintsseemtobelookingather,thein-

tercessorbetweenGodandman.

��

MARY AND THE PASSION In the National Gallery, I found

apaintingentitledChrist Taking

Leave of His MotherbyAltdorfer.The

paintingisextremelypainfultosee

andtellsthestoryofMary’ssuffer-

ingquitewell.Inthepainting,Mary

iscollapsed,wearinganenormous

greendresswithawhitewimple

aroundherhead.Thewomanhold-

ingherisinanawkwardposition.

SheisweakandlookingupatChrist

asHepreparestotakeleaveofher

and finish what He came to earth to

do. While Mary’s eyes are looking

upatherson,theeyelidsarestill

heavyandalmostclosed.Theheads

inthispaintingaredisproportion-

atelysmallcomparedtothebodies.

Thesesmallimpressionshelpedme

tounderstandalittlebitmoreaboutMary’ssufferingandhowitaffectedherandhowthatsuffering

portrayedinartconveystheCatholicideathatMary,havingsufferedthelossofherSon,isanap-

proachable, human intercessor. Christ, being half-God, is more frightening and difficult to relate to,

atleastfortheCatholicaudience,butMaryisfullyhuman.Heremotionsarereal,andwhilesheisa

pureandvirtuouswoman,hermaternalinstinctsgiveherahuman-likequalitythatmakesitpossible

for people to find hope for mercy through the Mother of God.

TherearehundredsmorelikethispaintingthatexpressestheanguishoftheMotherasherSon

giveshislifeforallmankind.SomegreatexamplesofthesecanbefoundinStationsoftheCross.The

fourthStationoftheCrossisentitled,“Hemeetshisblessedmother,”andotherscenesofthePas-

sioninwhichHismotherispresent.Inalmosteverycathedral,thisisportrayedtoremindpeopleof

�2

Christ’ssufferingduringthePassion,nottomentionthesufferingofHismother.Uponmorestudy

about the Stations of the Cross, I found the prayers that accompany them. The first prayer is directed

totheSavior,butthencomethehymnstotheVirginMarythataskforherintercessoryassistance.

Thelyricsare: Atthecrossherstationkeeping, StoodthemournfulMotherweeping, ClosetoJesustothelast.

Throughherheart,Hissorrowsharing, AllHisbitteranguishbearing, Now at length the sword had pass’d (“Stations of the Cross, Initial Prayers”).After a few more prayers, and then the song is finished: Oh,howsadandsoredistress’d Was that Mother highly blest Ofthesole-begottenOne!

Christaboveintormenthangs; Shebeneathbeholdsthepangs OfherdyinggloriousSon(“StationsoftheCross,InitialPrayers”).

ThissongportrayswhatisshownintheStationsoftheCrossandhowtheVirginMaryisbelieved

tohavesufferedalongwithherSon,nottothesamedegree,butenoughtomakeherhigherthana

Patron Saint and place her as an intermediary figure between human beings and God.

CONCLUSION ThemoreIexploredandobservedthehundredsofpaintingsandstatuesofMary,Ihavecome

tounderstandtheimportantrolethatMaryhastoplayintheCatholicreligion.Sheisthehumble,

penitentservantoftheLord,thewomanwhogavebirthtoDeity.Thus,shehasbecometheobject

ofadorationandworshipforcenturies.Ephraem,speakingfromthepointofviewoftheVirgin

said,“ThebabethatIcarrycarriesme”(“VirginMary”).MarytoorecognizestheroletheSaviorhas

playedinherlife,thatwithoutHimshewouldbenothing.Becauseofthishumility,Maryhasthe

abilitytotranscendtheGod-likestateandbecomeamotherfortheCatholicChurchmemberswho

prayformercy.IunderstandmorenowthanIdidbeforethatMarygiveshopeandfaithtomembers

whootherwisewouldn’tknowwhattohopein,andwhileIdonotsharethesamebeliefs,Iappreci-

atethefaithandbeliefoftheCatholicfaithmorenowthanever.

�3

WORkS CITEd “Eve - Catholic Encyclopedia - Catholic Online.” Catholic Online - Breaking News, World, U.S.,

Catholic, Diocese & Video News. 05 June 2009

<http://www.catholic.org/encyclopedia/view.php?id=4466>.

Fulton, Rachel. From Judgment to Passion. New York: Columbia UP, 2003.

“Images of architectural sculpture, Amiens Cathedral, France.” Bluffton University. 03 June 2009

<http://www.bluffton.edu/~sullivanm/amiens/amienswest.html>.

“ImmaculateConception-CatholicEncyclopedia-CatholicOnline.”CatholicOnline-Breaking

News, World, U.S., Catholic, Diocese & Video News. 22 April 2009

<http://www.catholic.org/encyclopedia/view.php?id=6056>.

“Original Sin - Catholic Encyclopedia - Catholic Online.” Catholic Online - Breaking News, World,

U.S., Catholic, Diocese & Video News. 2 June 2009

<http://www.catholic.org/encyclopedia/view.php?id=8782>.

“STATIONS OF THE CROSS, Initial Prayers.” Ixeh.net Home Page. 05 June 2009

<http://www.ixeh.net/faith/Stations/via-00.html>.

�4

La Naissance du ChristPaul Gauguin