MOTHER AND CHILD
This Icon is the artist’s interpretation of Mother Mary with her child Jesus
A Madonna is a representation of Mary either alone or with her Child Jesus. These images are central icons for both the Catholic & Orthodox churches. The word is from Italian Madonna, meaning “ my lady”. On this Icon, Mary looks directly at us, yet with her hand she directs us to the Infant she is holding. The Infant is identified to us as Jesus Christ.
While Mary may be referred to as “the Madonna” in art the term is applied specifically to an artwork in which Mary, with or without the infant Jesus, is the focus, and central figure of the picture.
For over a thousand years, through the Byzantine, Medieval and Early Renaissance periods the Madonna (Mother) was the most often produced pictorial artwork. Many specific images of the Madonna, both painted and sculptured, have achieved fame, either as objects of religious veneration or for their intrinsic artistic qualities. Many of the most renowned painters and sculptors in the history of art have turned their skills toward the creation of Madonna images. These artists include Duccio, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael, Giovanni Bellini, Caravaggio, Rubens, Salvador Dali and Henry Moore.
The Madonna is a type of image that dates from the Byzantine period and was used widely in Medieval and Renaissance times. These representations of the Madonna and Child often take the form of large altarpieces. They also occur as frescoes and apsidal mosaics.
The artwork is copyright ownership and patented design. All rights reserved.