Suffering With Joy

Decoding Sacred Art

May 10, 2010

Madonna with Child Clothed in Sunlight, detail, c. 1450-60, tempera on panel, parish church in Przydonica, Poland

Since it’s May, Mary’s month, in her honor I wanted to spread devotion to her through a special painting.  A few years ago I stumbled upon this beautiful work of art and earlier this year traced its origins.  Ever since I first saw it, I was captivated by it and hope others will be,too.

Sacred art has always been a way of teaching the truths of the Faith and this piece, Madonna with Child Clothed in Sunlight, is no exception.  Although I knew much of what the painting said, I lacked an understanding of its total meaning.  Fortunately a kind priest who writes icons and teaches art enlightened me so I can now bring a good and much more complete interpretation of it to you.

Considering the history of Poland and the age of this work, we are very fortunate that it still exists.  My feeling is that it should be made widely known and loved not just as an example of great art, but because of its spiritual significance. That it resides in a small parish church in the diocese of Tarnow, Poland in the town of Przydonica means this treasure is not very accessible to most people.

Great art is timeless.  Its message is ever old and ever new in immutable truth. Painted between 1450-1460 by an unknown artist, this unusual image is obviously the Woman of the Apocalypse clothed in the sun with the moon beneath her feet, but there is a great deal more than that to it.

A painting of tempura on panel, this work is a blend of eastern and western art in the style of icons and of the Italian school of the time which alone makes it noteworthy. Renaissance painting styles came from Italy to France, then to Prague and then to Northern Europe. The use of gold is a technique imported from Italy while the position of Mother and Baby are similar to many icons.

Our Lady stands atop a downward curved crescent moon with a face beneath.  Educated people of the 15^th century knew astronomy and the cycles of the moon.  In the west the “man in the moon” was a common portrayal in art, poetry, and literature because westerners see a man in the moon. (Asians see a rabbit in the moon.)

Whenever Mary is shown with the moon it means she, like the moon, reflects the light of the sun who is the Son of God. Standing above the face depicts her exalted status above all others in the human race.  She is crowned as queen and her damask robe is studded with diadems along the edge, as is the Baby Jesus’s robe, also a sign of royalty.

This painting is unique for many reasons, particularly because it is very rare to find artists showing Our Lady clothed in damask. Damask is a type of woven cloth originating in Damascus, Syria, a crossroads between east and west on the most important route of the old Silk Road.  From the time of the Crusades on, many Catholics made pilgrimages to the Holy Land from all over Europe, including Poland.  Damascus was a safe stop on the journey and from there the fabric was brought back by returning pilgrims to Europe. It was the very costly linen of royalty. Thus, her damask clothing along with her jeweled crown is another sign of the Queenship of Mary.

Mary’s inner robe, which is blue with a golden damask pattern, is an icon symbol of Divinity. Mary is clothed in and by the Divine Trinity. The white outer robe symbolizes creation , purity, Gods divine light, and righteous people who are good, honest, and live by the Truth.

Because of its weave, damask has a quality of iridescence which the painter skillfully reproduced, further creating the analogy of Mary’s luminous splendor of grace.

Jesus wears a red violet robe, a color of royalty and authority and His left hand extends in the direction of Mary and the lily flower, which is a symbol of purity. He appears to be presenting His mother to us by the position of His hands, seeming to say, “See and love My Mother as I love her.  Look to her as I, the child, looked to her.”  Mary’s eyes are humbly lowered in the direction of her Baby, her all-precious Son and her God.

Jesus and Mary are set before a grove of trees with flowers on the ground.  This is a Polish custom in the depiction of Our Lady and also typical of Renaisance paintings with their emphasis on detail of the natural world. It says Mary and Jesus are among and with all creation, walking with us in our daily lives as we go to and fro about our business. The perfection of the Mother and Son does not keep them from being with us far less perfect creatures. Heaven has met earth and the divine is enmeshed in our lives.   The Polish devotion to Our Lady is a key part of their culture and spirituality and Poles have historically portrayed Mary in all aspects of their lives.

From a technical standpoint (art history) the painting shows the style of depth that was practiced in the Renaissance with an attempt to create the illusion of space and perspective while maintaining the italo-byzantine tradition with the gold leaf behind the forest and stylized leaves on the trees and on the plants on the ground.  This manner of painting allows the subjects to stand out in simplicity and splendor with no distraction from the truths they declare.

Green is the color of spring and of hope, of new life and creation, as are the flowers.  Wherever Mary goes with Baby Jesus, she brings hope in the life to come.

The position of Mary holding Jesus is like an icon, but the eyes are not icon eyes which generally are very large.  The heads of Jesus and Mary plus the white lily form a triangle within a circle delineated partially by the lines of the cloak below her hand holding Jesus.  With this we not only observe the rules of great art (the Divine Proportions), we also have the Trinity and the Alpha and Omega.

Prominently placed, the lily declares the perfect chastity of Mary, Virgin and Mother, and because of the inclusion of Jesus, His perfect chastity too. It tells how highly prized and placed chastity is in the order of virtues.

Often artists in the time this was painted did not sign their work and apparently no record exists of who did this one. We can surmise a few things, though.  He very possibly may have been a priest or monk, he knew sacred scripture, theology, and astronomy well, he was a man of prayer or he could not have painted such a richly spiritual work, he had a great love of the Blessed Mother, he had knowledge of damask and its patterns probably from association with royalty and Polish pilgrims to the Holy Land, and most likely he studied art in Italy for a time or was taught by someone who did.  That he was highly skilled is borne out by the simplicity, delicacy and precision with which he executed the work.

Sacred art is a window on the divine.  It should inspire prayer and sentiments of the love of God and heavenly things. For me, this painting is a beautiful subject for meditation, and one I never get tired of.  I hope this will be true for others as well.

If you know someone who loves Our Lady and would enjoy hearing about this painting, please send them a link to this post.  It will help me spread the knowledge of this painting and love of Mary and her Baby to the world.

Tags: art, Blessed Virgin

7 Comments to Decoding Sacred Art

1. 

   This is a fine post. My wife’s an art historian, and we are always discussing the symbolism in religious art, esp. Catholic religious art.

   You are also right that such art can be a terrific teaching tool. I regularly use fine art in my 6th grade catechism class, and truly a picture is worth more than a thousand words if you’re teaching kids.

   You may enjoy (or be put to sleep by) some artposts at my blog, just click on the Art tag in the righthand column.
kkollwitz on May 15th, 2010
2. 

   Beautiful! I love art and especially catholic religious art.Thanks for sharing.
Helen Gonsalves on May 16th, 2010
3. 

   Thanks kkollwitz. I will check it out. Art is a great love of mine and I doubt that your posts will put me to sleep!
barb on May 16th, 2010
4. 

   Such a touching piece of artwork. I really need to learn more about sacred art…

   Thanks for sharing this!

   Evan
Evan on May 16th, 2010
5. 

   Oh, I enjoyed my art history classes the most when I was in college. If I had known my faith better they would have been even more meaningful to me. I just love the phrase “read an icon” or “write an icon” because it reflects the depth of such pieces of art. I’m also a visual learner, so they touch me deeply.

   Thank you!

   In Christ,
   Lucy
   http://www.mysticalrosedesign.blogspot.com
Lucy on May 16th, 2010
6. 

   Thank you for sharing this art work of the Virgin and Child. I love the way a painting takes on a life of its own once it is created and shared. May God bless all the beholders of this precious piece and you for shedding a ray of light on it.
Joann on May 19th, 2010
7. 

   Thanks so much, Joann. May this painting cause many to fall in love with Our Lady and Jesus.
barb on May 19th, 2010

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