Madonna (art)

When Marie portrait, portrait of the Madonna ( Virgin's image ) is called in Christian iconography the representation of Mary alone or jointly with the Child Jesus. The popular notion Madonna is mainly used for single representations of the Virgin Mary with her child. Since the 3rd century, the image of Mary is the most common subject in Christian art, which presents itself on countless media and image content in multiple contexts and Marian devotion gives pictorial expression.

Marienbildnisse often resort scenes from the apocryphal Gospel of James, the life of Mary or the life of Jesus Christ. There are also a number of image cycles and individual representations, in which self- image types have emerged, as well as those that depict certain theological ideas and relationships.

Historical Development

The story of Marie -portrait is at once a history of representation types, a history of events depictions of Mary, but also a history of Marian shrines and pilgrimage and, not least, a history of Marian piety, their changing attitudes also brought a change of meaning of the pictorial representations with him. In addition, the portrait Marie also plays an important role in the work of individual artists. These various strands of the story of Mary's image overlap in many cases, the iconography of Mary and therefore can hardly systematize also because of countless regional or local characteristics.

Early Christian Art

Early images of Mary date back to the 2nd century. They can be seen for example in the Catacomb of Priscilla in Rome. Mostly, however, Maria was here not self- represented in thematically the life of Jesus or the theology of Christ -oriented scenes. The number of images of the Virgin increased after Mary was a dogma at the Council of Ephesus in 431, the mother goddess. From this point alone Marienbild types developed. Programmatically, the new holding since the Council of Ephesus is the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome.

Byzantine Art after Iconoclasm

Byzantine Madonna and the Russian icon use a different and sometimes very uniform representation form, compared with the modes of representation of the Western European Marie images, even when the Byzantine representations for the European image representations were pioneering.

Unlike in the Western European Madonnas certain types have in Byzantine art developed, which can be clearly identified:

• Hodegetria - Virgin Mary carrying the child on her left arm and right hand points to this; rarely as Dexiokratusa with the child on the right arm or Tricherusa ( Church Slavonic: Troeručica ) with three hands
• Nikopoia or Kyriotissa - the viewer frontally confronting Mary with child.
• Blacherniotissa, Maria orans - Presentation of Mary without a child. Maria has her arms raised in prayer.
• Platytera - Praying Mary, before the Christ Child is shown on a Clipeus. Both are frontally facing the viewer.
• Eleusa or Glykophilusa - representation of Mary with the child, where the child clings to the mother's face
• Psychosostria - Soul Savior
• Galaktotrophousa, Maria lactans - lactating Maria, who is usually depicted as a half-length figure
• Paraklesis - Presentation of Mary without a child; Maria has as an attribute a scroll

Representational forms of Western European art until the Council of Trent

The Western European art developed less severe forms of representation. However, here, too, patterns formed.

Central forms are:

• The Madonna enthroned as Mother of God with child
• Portraits of Maria standing, with or without children

In the Romanesque Madonna was mostly solemn and presented strictly sapientiae with child as Maestà or Sedes.

In the Gothic period produced numerous types of images for the representation of Mary. Not every picture of Mary, however, can be clearly assigned to a specific type of image. Typical of the Madonna of the Gothic is the growing emphasis on her maternal side. Most Gothic Madonnas are shown standing and contact the child.

Since the 12th century also were shown scenes from the life of Mary preferred. Typical image issues were Anne with Two Others, The English greeting, the Coronation of the Virgin, the Assumption and the representation of Sorrows than Pietà or the Lamentation of Christ.

The Alps Typical of the Italian Renaissance, the Sacra conversazione ( Mary in the small circles) is north the Virgo inter virgins ( Virgin among virgins ), and Maria in the rose or Mary in the Garden of Eden.

With the revival of the cult of Mary in the Counter- Reformation, Mary is especially common as a majestic ruler (Regina Coeli ) or - without children - as Immaculata, the Immaculate shown. When a picture of Mary with a crown adorned, this can be done in the liturgical form of the coronation of Marie image.

In addition, certain special forms of Marian representation have emerged. These include:

• Maria Knots
• Life of the Virgin
• Crescent Madonna
• Mother of God of the Sign
• Beautiful Madonna
• Schutzmantelmadonna
• Black Madonna
• Mater Dolorosa
• Pietà