Virgin Portraits. Klaus H. Carl

della Cintola

      Benozzo Gozzoli, 1450-1452

      Tempera on wood

      Vatican Museum, Rome

      Another such goddess was Artemis/Diana of the Greco-Roman world. Cybele, originally from the Near East, was also often viewed as an early version of Mary. Each of these goddesses had a long history of veneration. Complex rituals were performed to celebrate them and numerous temples were built in which to worship them.

      Madonna and Child with Stories of the Life of Saint Anne (Bartolini Tondo)

      Filippo Lippi, 1452

      Tempera on wood, diameter: 135 cm

      Pitti Palace Gallery, Florence

      During these times the newly established patriarchal societies retained strong matriarchal components that were still firmly embedded within their structure. Women often therefore possessed considerable rights and powers. Consequently, the feminine spiritual powers were celebrated within their religious structures.

      “The Death of the Virgin” Book of Hours of Etienne Chevalier

      Jean Fouquet, 1452-1460

      Illuminated Manuscript

      Condé Museum, Chantilly

      The divinities of both genders were worshipped within these societies with equal ardour and reverence. A number of these goddesses and gods from the religions of the ancient world later became very popular Christian saints, and many churches were dedicated to them.

      The Annunciation

      Leonardo da Vinci, c.1470

      Oil and tempera on wood, 98 × 217 cm

      Uffizi, Florence

      Beneath the layers of goddess images and temples created by the artists of the pagan world, there is another, earlier layer of art that was produced by prehistoric men and women to celebrate their Mother God. Early images of the Great Goddess of Neolithic and Paleolithic Europe that survived the test of time, were often carved out of stone.

      The Assumption of the Virgin

      Matteo di Giovanni, c.1474

      Tempera on wood, 331.5 × 174 cm

      National Gallery, London

      Marija Gimbutas, an archeologist and author of several volumes of texts on the history of prehistoric matriarchal cultures of Europe, describes in detail the societies that produced images of the Mother Goddess. These prehistoric social systems were matriarchal.

      The Madonna of the Apocalypse

      Jean Hey, 1480-1500

      Oil on wood

      Moulins’ Cathedral, France

      The creator God was visualized in female form since people’s beliefs reflected a social order that was essentially organized and implemented by the women of these cultures.

      An abundance of images that represent the oldest religious belief system of humanity has been unearthed and these images can be viewed at major museums around the world.

      The Virgin and the Child

      Sandro Botticelli, 1480

      Painting on wood, 58 × 39.6 cm

      Museo Poldi Pezzoli, Milan

      The earliest of these images in Europe is considered to be the Venus or Goddess of Willendorf, and she is dated at around 35,000 BC. These prehistoric icons of the goddess are the most distant ancestors of Mary. Under the strictly patriarchal social order of the last two millennia, the role of the female gender was clearly defined as subservient and less valuable than the role of the male gender.

      The Madonna Benois

      Leonardo da Vinci, c.1480

      Oil on canvas, 49.5 × 31.5 cm

      The Hermitage, St. Petersburg

      Therefore, it was no longer possible to sustain the belief in a female divinity within the Christian dogma.

      Yet the Madonna retained her occult divine status, often apparent through the symbolic messages incorporated into her iconography by the artists who created her icons.

      The Annunciation

      Lorenzo di Credi, 1480-1485

      Oil on wood, 88 × 71 cm

      Uffizi, Florence

      For the last five centuries, as the Western world expanded its boundaries into the rest of the globe, many new temples dedicated to the Virgin Mary were built directly upon the sites of the old Mother Goddess temples of the indigenous cultures.

      The Madonna of the Magnificat

      Sandro Botticelli, 1481-1485

      Tempera on wood, diameter: 118 cm

      Uffizi, Florence

      After the conquest of the Americas, countries such as Mexico and Peru made a significant artistic contribution of images dedicated to Mary. Like her European counterparts, these images often depicted the Holy Virgin as the Black Madonna, considered to be miraculous and powerful.

      The Adoration of the Child

      Francesco Botticini, 1482

      Tempera on wood, diameter: 123 cm

      Pitti Palace Gallery, Florence

      Within the new continent, the Virgin Mary often assumed the role of the former regional mother goddess, and became the patron of the particular region or of an entirely new country. Additional symbols, previously representing the native divinities, were then incorporated into the Marian iconography.

      The Virgin of the Rocks

      Leonardo da Vinci, 1483

      Oil on canvas, 199 × 122 cm

      The Louvre, Paris

      Consequently, the new populations perceived the Virgin Mary as the Christian Mother of God, and, at the same time, as the indigenous Mother God of the earlier, conquered civilizations. All indications show that the role of the Madonna is still evolving.

      The Birth of Venus

      Sandro Botticelli, 1484-1486

      Tempera on canvas, 172.5 × 278.5 cm

      Uffizi, Florence

      The lore, the origins, the dogma, the myths and the expanding array of symbols and archetypes continue to surround the enigmatic persona of the Virgin Mary. As a prototype of spirituality and perfection in womanhood, the Madonna looms larger than life.