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The image of the Madonna has been embedded in the arts of the Western World for nearly two thousand years. She embodies the purest form of unconditional love and is perceived as the compassionate and forgiving nurturer of all Christian people. The Madonna is also seen as the loving mother, and the protector of all humanity.

Mary with the Child Jesus between Constantine and Justinian

Anonymous, Xth century

Lunette mosaic

Hagia Sophia, Constantinople (Istanbul)

Her followers believe that only she can fully understand human grief, passions and happiness; she forgives, mediates, and consoles, and she is the connection between human beings and their God. She has been venerated as the Queen of Heaven, the Mother of All, and as the embodiment of compassion.

The Virgin of Vladimir

Anonymous, XIIth century

Tempera on wood, 78 × 55 cm

Tretiakov Gallery, Moscow

She is seen as selfless, humble, and caring, and represents the feminine spirituality within Christianity. For many centuries the Madonna has inspired thousands of artists who laboured innumerable hours creating her images using different styles, materials, and techniques.

Rucellai Madonna

Duccio di Buoninsegna, 1285

Tempera on wood, 450 × 290 cm

Uffizi, Florence

This huge body of artwork, a cultural legacy of major proportions, represents a social system that still dominates the world. Art museums, galleries, palaces and private collections are filled with her icons. Through the centuries, images of the Virgin were created according to the religious interpretations of beliefs, myths, iconography and symbolism prevalent at the time.

Madonna of Mercy

Simone Martini, 1308-1310

Tempera on wood, 154 × 84 cm

Pinacoteca Nazionale, Siena

The presence of Mary in the heart of Western civilization has a long theological history of transformation. Scholars concur that during early Christianity there were other paramount feminine faces of spirituality, such as Sophia, who was understood to be the feminine aspect of the complex Christian God.

The Annunciation, with Saints Ansanus and Margaret and Four Prophets

Simone Martini and Lippo Memmi, 1333

Tempera on wood, 184 × 210 cm

Uffizi, Florence

Hagia Sophia represented the Divine Wisdom and was celebrated as a co-creator, together with the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. At the beginning of Christianity, particularly in Eastern Europe, the Holy Ghost was understood as female. Yet, it usually was Sophia who was celebrated as the feminine aspect of the divine.

The Virgin and Child

Lorenzo Veneziano, 1356-1372

Painting on wood, 126 × 56 cm

The Louvre, Paris

As Sophia’s popularity among the dogma-generating clergy waned, the popularity of the Virgin Mary, the Mother of God, gradually increased.

During the sixth century, the presence of the Mother of God was reaffirmed within the Christian religious dogma all over Europe, including the Byzantine Empire.

Madonna and Child

Luca Signorelli, c.1390

Oil on wood, 170 × 117.5 cm

Uffizi, Florence

This affirmation effectively neutralized the threat of a competing religion, that of the Great Goddess Isis of Egypt. During early centuries A.D. the image of Mary was frequently equated to and even confused with the image of the Egyptian goddess whose religion had been in existence for several thousand years.

Madonna of the Misericordia

Jacobello Alberegno, c.1394

Galleria dell’Accademia, Florence

Like the Madonna, the Goddess Isis also had a divine son, Horus, and artists often depicted her tenderly holding her precious infant on her lap and suckling him. One of her main characteristics was that of a nurturing mother. She was, like Mary, a compassionate and loving divinity, ultimately dedicated to her people’s well-being.

The Virgin and Child and Saint Anne Metterza

Masolino da Panicale and Masaccio, 1424

Tempera on wood, 175 × 103 cm

Uffizi, Florence

During the eighth century, the iconoclastic movement banned all sacred images located within the Byzantine empire, believing that the worshippers were venerating the actual images instead of the spiritual beings. However, this decision was permanently reversed by the following century, and the creation of icons dedicated to the Virgin Mary resumed with fervour.

Saint Luke Painting the Virgin

Rogier van der Weyden, c.1450

Oil on wood, 138 × 110 cm

Alte Pinakothek, Munich

Besides the Goddess Isis, statues or icons of other pagan goddesses were often reinter-preted as images of Mary during early Christianity. One of them was the ancient Greek earth goddess Demeter, who also had a child, Persephone, the resurrecting goddess of spring.

Madonna 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.

The Madonna and Child with Saints John the Baptist, Victor, Bernard, and Zenobius

Filippino Lippi, 1486

Tempera on wood, 355 × 255 cm

Uffizi, Florence

This book offers the reader some of the best art that has been produced through the centuries to celebrate Mary.

The works of art were created by many different individuals who tried to convey and explain, from their different points of view and using the visual language available to them, the depth of the feelings and convictions of their cultures in respect of this Great Mother.

The Madonna of the Pomegranate

Sandro Botticelli, 1487

Tempera on wood, diameter: 143.5 cm

Uffizi, Florence

The earliest images of Mary were probably introduced into early Christian iconography during the second and third centuries. This was a time in human history when society was committed to relieving women of their remaining rights and powers; vestiges of the old matriarchal rights were banned from the prevalent patriarchal order.

The Annunciation

Sandro Botticelli, 1489

Tempera on wood, 150 × 156 cm

Uffizi, Florence

The officially accepted Gospels of the New Testament were written by males for a patriarchal social system, and very few references about the Madonna were made in these texts. Neither Mary nor her son, Jesus, wrote any material, and the first official Gospel, believed to be written by Mark, was completed in its unedited version in 66.

The Madonna of the Caves

Andrea Mantegna, 1489-1490

Tempera on wood, 29 × 21.5 cm

Uffizi, Florence

Apparently the second official version of the Gospels was written by Luke in 80, shortly followed by Matthew’s version. It is possible, however, that John’s version was in fact the earliest one, at around 37, since it includes more details, which have led many to believe that perhaps this version may be closer to the real occurrences of the events in the lives of Mary and her son, Jesus.

The Madonna and Child with Two Angels

Hans Memling, 1490-1491

Oil on wood, 57 × 42 cm

Uffizi, Florence

These accounts, primarily from the story of Jesus, mentioned his mother on very rare occasions, and were not nearly enough to satisfy the people, who, in spite of the patriarchal trivializing of women, desperately desired a divine female figure to worship and venerate.

The Visitation

Domenico Ghirlandaio, 1491

Oil on wood, 172 × 167 cm

The Louvre, Paris

The yearning for the powerful but gentle Great Mother could not be silenced, and the worship of the goddesses from the old religions, such as Isis, Cybele, Demeter, Aphrodite and Athena continued. The devotion to Isis was, perhaps, the most widespread, posing a formidable threat to the fledgling Christian cult.

The Virgin and Child Accompanied by Two Angels, Saint Rose and Saint Catherine

Perugino, c.1492

Oil on wood, diameter: 148 cm

The Louvre, Paris

The new Christian religion needed its own Great Mother, and that Mother manifested herself first in the early interpretations of the Holy Ghost as female, and of Sophia as the Wisdom of God. These powerful female archetypes of the new predominantly patriarchal religion were soon overshadowed by the inclusion of Mary, the mother of Christ.

Presentation of the Virgin at the Temple

Nicolas Dipre, c.1500

Painting on wood, 33 × 51 cm

The Louvre, Paris

From the beginning, the Madonna was seen as the symbol for the Mother Church herself. The presence of the Madonna was critical to the universal acceptance of Christianity in Europe, both eastern and western; her presence created a bridge that allowed the followers of the matriarchal goddess-worshipping religions to join the new patriarchal cult.

The Visitation

Mariotto Albertinelli, 1503

Oil on wood, 232 × 146, cm

Uffizi, Florence

A complex Marian dogma was gradually developed by the clergy, always in response to the public’s needs and desires to worship and venerate this divinity.

However, the Christian dogma of the early centuries included another powerful female figure, the mysterious Sophia, or the Word of God, as the female element within the Creation.

The Holy Family with the Young Saint John the Baptist (Doni Tondo)