The earliest depictions of Mary date to
Early Christian art of the (2nd to 3rd centuries, found in the
Catacombs of Rome. These are in a narrative context. The earliest representation may be the wall painting in the Catacomb of Priscilla (2nd century), in which the seated Madonna suckles the Child, who turns his head to gaze at the spectator. The earliest consistent representations of Mother and Child were developed in the
Byzantine Empire, where despite an
iconoclastic strain in culture that rejected physical representations, considering it as
idolatry, respected a narrow range of highly conventionalized religious image types or
icons (from the Greek eikōn (εἰκών) meaning "image," "likeness," or "portrait"). This tradition of the
Eastern Christian Church was so important that during a visit to Constantinople in 536,
Pope Agapetus I was accused of being opposed to the veneration of the
theotokos and to the portrayal of her image in churches. Eastern Christian Church depictions show the Madonna enthroned, even wearing the closed Byzantine pearl-encrusted crown with pendants, with the Christ Child on her lap. In the West, the formalized Byzantine depictions of the Virgin and Chils were closely followed during the Early Middle Ages. Starting in the 15th century, Florentine painters started to humanize her and making her look more real. representation of the Virgin, and the Child may be fully aware, raising his hand to offer his blessing. With the increased importance of the cult of the Virgin in the 12th and 13th centuries, a wide variety of types developed to satisfy a flood of more intensely personal forms of piety. In the usual Gothic and Renaissance formulas the
Virgin Mary sits with the
Infant Jesus on her lap, or enfolded in her arms. In the admired
Madonna della Seggiolsa (chair), painted by Raphael in 1532–1534, she looks very much like a real person, but at the same time, Raphael masterfully transmits her purity and saintliness. Late Gothic sculptures of the Virgin and Child may show a standing virgin with the child in her arms.
Iconography varies between public images and private images supplied on a smaller scale and meant for personal devotion in the chamber: the Virgin
suckling the Child (such as the
Madonna Litta) is an image largely confined to private devotional icons.
Early images of the enthroned
Virgin and Child with saints and angels, and the
Hand of God above, 6th century,
Saint Catherine's Monastery, perhaps the earliest iconic image of the subject to survive There was a great expansion of the
cult of Mary after the
Council of Ephesus in 431, when her status as
Theotokos ("God-bearer") was confirmed; this had been a subject of some controversy until then, though mainly for reasons to do with
arguments over the nature of Christ. In
mosaics in
Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome, dating from 432 to 440, just after the council, she is not yet shown with a
halo, and she is also not shown in Nativity scenes at this date, though she is included in the
Adoration of the Magi. 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, at
Saint Catherine's Monastery in
Egypt. 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 the
Magnificat, her
humility and her
exaltation above other humans, and has the
Hand of God above, up to which the archangels look. An early icon of the Virgin as queen is in the church of
Santa Maria in Trastevere in Rome, datable to 705–707 by the kneeling figure of
Pope John VII, a notable promoter of the cult of the Virgin, to whom the infant Christ reaches his hand. This type was long confined to Rome. The roughly half-dozen varied icons of the Virgin and Child in Rome from the 6th–8th century form the majority of the representations surviving from this period; "isolated images of the Madonna and Child ... are so common ... to the present day in Catholic and Orthodox tradition, that it is difficult to recover a sense of the novelty of such images in the early Middle Ages, at least in western Europe". At this period the
iconography of the Nativity was taking
the form, centred on Mary that it has retained up to the present day in
Eastern Orthodoxy, and on which Western depictions remained based until the
High Middle Ages. Other narrative scenes for Byzantine cycles on the
Life of the Virgin were being evolved, relying on
apocyphal sources to fill in her life before the
Annunciation to Mary. By this time the political and economic collapse of the
Western Roman Empire meant that the Western Church based in Rome was unable to compete in the development of such sophisticated
iconography, and relied heavily on Byzantine developments. The earliest surviving image in a Western
illuminated manuscript of the
Madonna and Child comes from the
Book of Kells of about 800 CE (there is a similar carved image on the lid of
St Cuthbert's coffin of 698) and though magnificently decorated in the style of
Insular 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 a
Gospel book, and images of the Virgin were slow to appear in large numbers in manuscript art until the
Book of Hours was created in the 13th century. The
Madonna of humility by
Domenico di Bartolo, 1433, is considered one of the most innovative devotional images from the early
Renaissance.
Byzantine influence on the West style Very few early images of the Virgin Mary survive, though the depiction of the Madonna 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 participated in civic life and were celebrated for their miraculous properties. Byzantium (324–1453) saw itself as the true
Rome, if
Greek-speaking, Christian empire with colonies of Italians living among its citizens, participating in
Crusades at the borders of its land, and ultimately, plundering its churches, palaces and monasteries of many of its treasures. Later in the
Middle Ages, the
Cretan school was the main source of icons for the West, and the artists there could adapt their style to Western
iconography when required. While theft is one way that Byzantine images made their way West to Italy, the relationship between Byzantine icons and Italian images of the Madonna is far more rich and complicated. Byzantine art played a long, critical role in Western Europe, especially when Byzantine territories included parts of Eastern Europe, Greece and much of Italy itself. Byzantine manuscripts, ivories, gold, silver and
luxurious textiles were distributed throughout the West. In Byzantium, Mary's usual title was the
Theotokos or Mother of God, rather than the Virgin Mary and it was believed that
salvation was delivered to the faithful at the moment of God's
incarnation. That
theological concept takes pictorial form in the image of Mary holding her infant son. However, what is most relevant to the Byzantine heritage of the Madonna is twofold. First, the earliest surviving independent images of the Virgin Mary are found in Rome, the center of Christianity in the medieval West. One is a valued possession of
Santa Maria in Trastevere, one of the many Roman churches dedicated to the Virgin Mary. Another, a splintered, repainted ghost of its former self, is venerated at the
Pantheon, that great architectural wonder of the Ancient
Roman Empire, that was rededicated to Mary as an expression of the Church's triumph. Both evoke Byzantine tradition in terms of their medium, that is, the technique and materials of the paintings, in that they were originally painted in
tempera (egg yolk and ground pigments) on wooden panels. In this respect, they share the Ancient Roman heritage of Byzantine icons. Second, they share
iconography, or subject matter. Each image stresses the maternal role that Mary plays, representing her in relationship to her infant son. It is difficult to gauge the dates of the cluster of these earlier images, however, they seem to be primarily works of the 7th and 8th centuries.
Later medieval period It was not until the revival of monumental
panel painting in Italy during the 12th and 13th centuries, that 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 homes. The ubiquity of the Marian devotion was because she was considered as an intermediary to the mercy of Christ. 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. Paying for such a work might also be seen as a form of devotion. Its expense is because of the use of very expensive materials. The most expensive was
gold leaf, thin sheets gold applied in all parts of the panel that are not covered with paint, a visual analogue not only to the costly sheaths that medieval
goldsmiths used to decorate altars, but also a means of surrounding the image of the Madonna with illumination from oil lamps and candles. Even more precious is the bright blue mantle colored with
lapis lazuli; its cost by weight being only second to gold. But because gold leaf is very thin, by weight, more lapis lazuli paint than gold was required to cover large areas. The lapis lazuli pigment was made from the precious stone of the same name, at the time only found in mines in Afghanistan that were very hard to access. Furthermore, the process to obtain the pure pigment requires a laborious process. When a patron wanted this pigment to be used, he explicitly specified it in the commission contract. The combined use of gold leaf and lapis lazuli blue paint can be seen in one of the most famous, innovative and monumental works that Duccio executed for the Laudesi at Santa Maria Novella in Florence, referred to as the
Rucellai Madonna (c. 1285). This monumental painting towers over the spectator, offering a visual focus for members of the Laudesi confraternity to gather before it as they sang praises to the image. Duccio made an even grander image of the Madonna enthroned for the high altar of the cathedral of Siena, his home town. Known as the
Maesta (1308–1311), the image represents the pair as the center of a densely populated court in the central part of a complexly carpentered work that lifts the court upon a predella (pedestal of altarpiece) of narrative scenes and standing figures of prophets and saints. In turn, a modestly scaled image of the Madonna as a half-length figure holding her son in a memorably intimate depiction, is to be found in the National Gallery of London. This is clearly made for the private devotion of a Christian wealthy enough to hire one of the most important Italian artists of his day. The privileged owner need not go to Church to say his prayers or plead for salvation; all he or she had to do was open the shutters of the tabernacle in an act of private revelation. Duccio and his contemporaries inherited early pictorial conventions that were maintained in part, to tie their own works to the authority of tradition. Despite all of the innovations of painters of the Madonna during the 13th and 14th centuries, Mary can usually be recognized by virtue of her attire. Customarily when she is represented as a youthful mother of her newborn child, she wears a deeply saturated blue mantle over a red garment. This mantle typically covers her head, where sometimes, one might see a linen, or later, transparent silk veil. She holds the Christ Child, or Baby Jesus, who shares her halo as well as her regal bearing. Often her gaze is directed out at the viewer, serving as an intercessor, or
conduit for prayers that flow from the Christian, to her, and only then, to her son. However, late medieval Italian artists also followed the trends of Byzantine icon painting, developing their own methods of depicting the Madonna. Sometimes, the Madonna's complex bond with her tiny child takes the form of a close, intimate moment of tenderness steeped in sorrow where she only has eyes for him. While the focus of this entry currently stresses the depiction of the Madonna in panel painting, her image also appears in mural decoration, whether mosaics or fresco painting on the exteriors and interior of sacred buildings. She is found high above the apse, or east end of the church where the liturgy is celebrated in the West. She is also found in sculpted form, whether small ivories for private devotion, or large sculptural reliefs and free-standing sculpture. As a participant in sacred drama, her image inspires one of the most important fresco cycles in all of Italian painting: Giotto's narrative cycle in the Arena Chapel, next to the Scrovegni family's palace in Padua. This program dates to the first decade of the 14th century. Italian artists of the 15th century onward are indebted to traditions established in the 13th and 14th centuries in their representation of the Madonna. File:Gerard David - The rest on the flight into Egypt (National Gallery of Art).jpg|alt=Rest on The Flight into Egypt, c. 1510, by Gerard David depicts a close, intimate moment of tenderness where she only has eyes for the Child.|
Rest on The Flight into Egypt, c. 1510, by
Gerard David, depicts a close, intimate moment of tenderness where she only has eyes for the Child. File:Don Lorenzo Monaco 013.jpg|
Lorenzo Monaco,
Florence, c. 1410
Renaissance While the 15th and 16th centuries were a time when Italian painters expanded their repertoire to include historical events, independent portraits and mythological subject matter, Christianity retained a strong hold on their careers. Most works of art from this era are sacred. While the range of religious subject matter included subjects from the Old Testament and images of saints whose cults date after the codification of the Bible, the Madonna remained a dominant subject in the iconography of the Renaissance. Some of the most eminent 16th-century Italian painters to turn to this subject were
Leonardo da Vinci,
Michelangelo,
Raphael,
Giorgione,
Giovanni Bellini and
Titian. They developed on the foundations of 15th-century Marian images by
Fra Angelico,
Fra Filippo Lippi,
Mantegna and
Piero della Francesca in particular, among countless others. The subject was equally popular in
Early Netherlandish painting and that of the rest of Northern Europe. The subject retaining the greatest power on all of these men remained the maternal bond, even though other subjects, especially the
Annunciation, and later the
Immaculate Conception, led to a greater number of paintings that represented Mary alone, without her son. As a commemorative image, the
Pietà became an important subject, newly freed from its former role in narrative cycles, in part, an outgrowth of popular devotional statues in Northern Europe. Traditionally, Mary is depicted expressing compassion, grief and love, usually in highly charged, emotional works of art even though the most famous, early work by Michelangelo stifles signs of mourning. The tenderness an ordinary mother might feel towards her beloved child is captured, evoking the moment when she first held her infant son
Christ. The spectator, after all, is meant to sympathize, to share in the despair of the mother who holds the body of her crucified son. File:15th-century unknown painters - Madonna on a Crescent Moon in Hortus Conclusus - WGA23736.jpg|The
Madonna on a Crescent Moon in Hortus Conclusus by an
anonymous painter File:Leonardo da Vinci - study of a woman's head.jpg|
Leonardo da Vinci, a study of the Head of
Madonna, c. 1484
Modern images In some European countries, such as Germany, Italy and Poland sculptures of the Madonna are found on the outside of city houses and buildings, or along the roads in small enclosures. Statues of the Maddona are found in Roman Catholic and Evangelical-Lutheran churches; icons of the Madonna and child are found in Eastern Orthodox, Eastern Lutheran and Eastern Catholic churches, with their Western counterparts sometimes having them as well. In Germany, such a statue placed on the outside of a building is called a
Hausmadonna. Some date back to the Middle Ages, while some are still being made today. Usually found on the level of the second floor or higher, and often on the corner of a house, such sculptures were found in great numbers in many cities;
Mainz, for instance, was supposed to have had more than 200 of them
before World War II. The variety in such statues is as great as in other Madonna images; one finds Madonnas holding grapes (in reference to the
Song of Songs 1:14, translated as "My lover is to me a cluster of henna blossoms" in the
NIV), "immaculate" Madonnas in pure, perfect white without child or accessories, and Madonnas with roses symbolizing her life determined by the mysteries of faith. In Italy, the
roadside Madonna is a common sight both on the side of buildings and along roads in small enclosures. These are expected to bring spiritual relief to people who pass them. Some Madonnas statues are placed around Italian towns and villages as a matter of protection, or as a commemoration of a reported miracle. In the 1920s, the
Daughters of the American Revolution placed statues called the
Madonna of the Trail from coast to coast, marking the path of the
old National Road and the
Santa Fe Trail. Throughout his life, the painter
Ray Martìn Abeyta created works inspired by the Cusco School style of Madonna painting, creating a hybrid of traditional and contemporary Latino subject matter representing the colonialist encounters between Europeans and Mesoamericans. In 2015 iconographer Mark Dukes created the icon
Our Lady of Ferguson, depicting the Madonna and child, in relation to the
Shooting of Michael Brown in
Ferguson, Missouri. File:La Vierge au lys.jpg|
Virgin of the Lilies,
Bouguereau, 1899 File:Mariastatyett Enskede Kyrka.jpg|A statue of the
Madonna with Christ Child (1915) at Enskede Evangelical-Lutheran Church in
Stockholm, Sweden ==Islamic view==