Mother, Empress, Virgin, Faith: 'Picturing Mary' And Her Many Meanings
This Christmas, images of the Virgin Mary created over five centuries glow on the walls of the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C. Mary's role as Woman, Mother and Idea is portrayed by Michelangelo, Botticelli, Caravaggio, Rembrandt as well as other major and lesser-known artists from the 1400s through the 1900s.
"I think of Mary as being brave and strong," says chief curator Kathryn Wat. "I think sometimes people see meekness and humility. I see that, too, but under-girding all of that I see strength."
Monsignor Timothy Verdon, canon of the Florence Cathedral, is guest curator of the exhibition. "Mary is one of the main themes in Western art for more than 1,000 years," Verdon explains. "Not only are there more images of her than of anyone else — including her son — her son is often part of the image, but the interest of the image is normally more focused on Mary, who is the adult, than on the Christ child."
In the 1460s, Fra Filippo Lippi of Florence saw the Madonna as regal and queenly — a kind of Byzantine empress. "Mary is unexpectedly fashionable," Verdon describes, "in a splendid crimson underdress and a rich mantel and — my goodness — pearls adorning the hem of her diaphanous veil — a kind of very delicate fabric [that] was immediately recognized at the period as a luxury fabric."
Her filigreed halo is made of gold and her face is serene. But there's a sadness there — a premonition that the big-bellied baby she hugs will meet suffering and death.
"This — and other similar works in which we feel that aura of sadness — were made in an age when one of the most common facts in society was infant mortality," Verdon says. "So for people to see the Madonna and the child veiled with this premonition of suffering really fit into a very important part of their lives."
Sandro Botticelli's Madonna, from 1480, is also reflective — and exquisite, in her deep blue robe and delicate golden halo. A century later, in 1570, Federico Barocci's Mary is very human. She's picnicking on the flight into Egypt. Her head is bare (she's put her straw hat on the ground), she's barefoot, and as her baby reaches happily for some cherries Joseph offers, Mary is catching stream water into a silver bowl.
"This becomes a wonderful symbol of what womanhood and especially motherhood is — it's a source of life for the families," Verdon says. "It's a wonderfully simple, charming, [but] at the same time, deep picture."
Another bare-headed Mary, chalked in red by Michelangelo around 1525, shows her as powerful. "Not only is her head uncovered, her arms are uncovered, and it looks as if she spends all her time at the gym," Verdon says.
She has muscles — which Verdon says symbolized the strength of human desire for God. Each work in this "Picturing Mary" exhibition is layered with meaning. A bowl of fruit symbolizes fecundity. A closed book moves God's word to her womb. A thorn bracelet foreshadows Jesus' agony on the cross.
In the 17th century, Artemisia Gentileschi broke from traditions that kept women painting still lifes and portraits, to show a theological topic in a way no man had done — Mary nursing her child.
"The idea here is that it's quite forthright," says Wat. "She's revealed her breast, the baby's getting ready to nurse. .... It's very frank, and this is not the way male artists typically treated the subject. They were a little more roundabout, and things were sort of more unnatural-looking or shaded somehow with fabric, or the position was a little different. This is just all right there."
Gentileschi's Mary is monumental — she fills the canvas. An earthy, natural woman, she holds her breast to her eager child with no trace of false modesty or shame.
Society — and the church — wanted different Marys as the centuries passed, and artists reflected those shifts. By 1884, Nicolò Barabino designed a mural with the basic Marian elements: blue robe, halo, book of God's words. But her face is veiled, and there's no baby. Here she's become an abstract idea rather than a specific mother or queen or virgin — this is a work about faith.
"So faith suddenly is impersonated by Mary," Verdon says. "Mary becomes the most emblematic figure of what it means to be a believer." He believes this shift in emphasis is the 1880s version of keeping up with the times. "The world had already become much less Christian than it had [been] in earlier periods," he explains. "The church, knowing that, looks for a neutral and almost philosophical language in which to re-propose some of the traditional beliefs. Since everyone would agree that faith — which may not necessarily be religious faith; it could be political faith, it could be a faith in ethical principles — that faith is a good thing."
Faith, belief, worship, holiness, mother of God — the Blessed Mother means many different things to Christians around the globe.
Standing amid the 60 artworks, many of them masterpieces, I ask curator Timothy Verdon who Mary is to him. He answers: "She's my mother."
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Transcript
DAVID GREENE, HOST:
This holiday season, images of the Virgin Mary created over five centuries glow on the walls of the National Museum of Women in the Arts here in Washington, D.C. Mary's role as woman, mother and idea is portrayed by the likes of Michael Angelo, Botticelli, Rembrandt and other artists from the 14th through 19th centuries. NPR special correspondent Susan Stamberg says through the ages, the virgin has played many parts.
KATHERINE WATT: Holy Mary, holy mother of God, holy virgin of virgins.
SUSAN STAMBERG, BYLINE: Katherine Watt, chief curator of the Women in the Arts Museum, recites a litany of Mary's titles.
WATT: Virgin most renowned, virgin most powerful.
STAMBERG: For centuries, Christians have cherished the many aspects of Mary and still have very personal views.
WATT: Being brave and strong - and I think sometimes, people see meekness and humility. I see that too. But undergirding all of that, I see strength.
MONSIGNOR TIMOTHY VERDON: Mary is one of the main themes in Western art for more than a thousand years.
STAMBERG: Monsignor Timothy Verdon is guest curator of the exhibition. He's canon of the Florence Cathedral and director of the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo there.
VERDON: Not only are there more images of her than of almost anyone else, including her son - her son is often part of the image - but the interest of the image is normally more focused on Mary, who is the adult, than on the Christ child, who's a sweet child.
STAMBERG: In the 1460s, Fra Filippo Lippi of Florence saw the Madonna as regal, queenly, a kind of Byzantine empress.
VERDON: Mary is unexpectedly fashionable, with a splendid, crimson under-dress and a rich mantel and, my goodness, pearls adorning her diaphanous veil. A kind of very delicate fabric was immediately recognized at the period as a luxury fabric.
STAMBERG: Her filigreed halo is made of gold. Her face is serene. But there's a sadness there, a premonition that the big-bellied baby she hugs will meet suffering and death.
VERDON: This and other similar works in which we feel that aura of sadness were made in an age when one of the most common facts in society was infant mortality. And so for people to see the Madonna and the child veiled with this premonition of suffering really fit into a very important part of their lives.
STAMBERG: Botticelli's Madonna from 1480 is also reflective, exquisite in her deep blue robe and delicate golden halo. A century later, in 1570, Federico Barocci's Mary is very human. She's picnicking on the flight into Egypt. Her head is bare. She's put her straw hat on the ground. She's barefoot, and as her baby reaches happily for some cherries Joseph is offering, Mary catches stream water into a silver bowl.
VERDON: This becomes a wonderful symbol of what womanhood, and especially motherhood, is. It's a source of life. For the families, it's a wonderfully simple, charming and, at the same time, deep picture.
STAMBERG: Monsignor Verdon stops at another bareheaded Mary, chalked in red by Michelangelo around 1525. This Mary is powerful.
VERDON: Not only is her head uncovered, her arms are uncovered. And it looks as if she spends all of her free time at the gym.
STAMBERG: She's got muscles. Verdon says Michelangelo is showing the strength of human desire for God. Each work in the "Picturing Mary" exhibition is layered with meaning. A bowl of fruit symbolizes fecundity. A closed book moves God's word to her womb. A thorn bracelet foreshadows Christ's agony on the cross. A few women artists are present. In the 17th century, Artemisia Gentileschi broke from traditions that kept women painting still-lifes and portraits to show a theological topic in a way no man had done. Mary is nursing her child. Curator Katherine Watt.
WATT: The idea here is that it's quite forthright. She's revealed her breast. The baby's getting ready to nurse and so forth. It's very frank. And this is not the way that male artists typically treated the subject, where they were a little more roundabout and things were sort of more unnatural looking or shaded somehow with fabric or the position was a little bit different. And this all right there.
STAMBERG: Artemisia's Mary is monumental. She fills the canvas, an earthy, natural woman holding the breast to her eager child. No trace of false modesty or shame. Society and the church wanted different Marys as the centuries passed. Artists reflected those shifts. By 1884, Barabino designs a mural with the basic Marian elements, blue robe, halo, book of God's word. But her face is veiled, and there's no baby. So she has become an abstract idea rather than a specific mother, queen, virgin. This is a work about faith.
VERDON: So faith suddenly is impersonated by Mary. Mary becomes the most emblematic figure of what it means to be a believer.
STAMBERG: Why this change, the different emphasis? Monsignor Verdon says it's the 1880s version of keeping up with the times.
VERDON: The world had already become much less Christian than it had been in earlier periods. The church, knowing that, looks for a neutral and almost philosophical language in which to re-propose some of the traditional beliefs. And so since everyone would agree that faith, which may not necessarily be a religious faith - it could be political faith; it could be a faith in ethical principles - that faith is a good thing...
STAMBERG: Faith, belief, worship, holiness and, in the foreground, the mother of God to Christians around the globe.
VERDON: Arc of the covenant, gate of heaven, morning star.
STAMBERG: The exhibition "Picturing Mary" will be at the National Museum of Women in the Arts until April. Standing amid the 60 artworks, many of them masterpieces, the show's curator, Monsignor Timothy Verdon, has a simple answer when asked about the many facets of the Blessed Mother.
Speak personally. Who is your Mary?
VERDON: She's my mother.
STAMBERG: I'm Susan Stamberg, NPR News, Washington.
GREENE: And if you want to feel like you're right there with Susan in that museum, you can see some pictures from the exhibition at npr.org. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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