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The Portrayal of the Madonna and Child Throughout History
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10287 |
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Section : |
The Arts
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12 / 1986 |
4,931 Words |
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Fabrizio Mancinelli
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The theme of the Madonna and Child is among the most ancient and widespread in Christian iconography and has the greatest number of variations because--beyond its symbolic religious functions--it allows one to analyze the relationship between mother and child in its many aspects.
The image appeared early in paintings in the Roman catacombs in at least three distinct cases: in the catacombs of Priscilla, at the Cimitero Maggiore, and in the catacombs of Commodilla. The painting in the catacombs of Priscilla is the most ancient and dates from the second or third century. It, however, is not yet compositionally autonomous, since it appears in the context of a narrative scene depicting the adoration of the Magi. The painting at the Cimitero Maggiore dates from the fourth century and has a fully developed iconography that anticipates the later Byzantine Panagia Platytera. The Madonna appears with arms raised as if in prayer, the Child on her lap, both portrayed in a rigid frontal position. The Madonna and Child of the catacombs of Commodilla is generally thought to date from the first half of the sixth century. Its design reveals the maturing of the theme: the extremely stiff Virgin and Child portrayed in a frontal canonical position, seated on a heavily jeweled throne, surrounded by Saints Felix and Adautus and by the patron. This, quite possibly, is the first time a patron was depicted. His name was Turtura, "tortora [turtle-dove]--that is, pure in name and deed," as stated on the inscription beneath the figure.
Each of the works mentioned above appears as part of a group of decorative wall paintings. They are not autonomous images. It is possible that, from the beginning, there may have existed nonstationary icons such as paintings on tablets that were used for public or private worship. If any such icons existed, they have been lost.
The most ancient of the nonstationary icons do not appear until the sixth century. The Madonna of the monastery of Mount Sinai--enthroned between two angels and the Saints Theodore and George--dates from this century. The icons preserved in the Santa Maria Nova (now Santa Francesca Romana), the Pantheon, and the Santa Maria of Trastevere--all three in Rome--date from the late sixth or early seventh centuries. Each of these paintings displays a different composition, a clear indication that during this period the theme had become a favorite one for sacred depictions and manifested variations that were destined to be fully developed in Byzantine art.
Within this framework, the theme of the Madonna and Child was worked out in rigidly canonical forms that divide into two main types. The first type was one of majesty, emphasizing the transcendent elements and the divine nature of the subject. The other was one of tenderness, accenting the human aspects of the Madonna as woman and mother of Christ.
Belonging to the type of the Madonna in Majesty are three subtypes; the Panagia (All Holy) Platytera, the Panagia Hodegetria, and the Panagia Nikopoia.
The Platytera is probably the most ancient in its design and corresponds to some extent to the images cited from the Cimitero Maggiore. A distinctive feature of the Platytera is the abnormally large belly of the pregnant Mary, the womb of the empyrean, so depicted to accord literally with Saint Basil's statement that God made the body of Mary large
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