Madonna and Child facts for kids
The Madonna and Child or The Virgin and Child is a common name for artworks showing the Virgin Mary and the Child Jesus. The word Madonna means "My Lady" in Italian. These artworks are a big part of the Roman Catholic tradition in many places. This includes countries like Italy, Spain, Portugal, France, and also in South America and the Philippines. Paintings called icons are also very important in the Orthodox Church. They often show Mary and the Christ Child. You can find them especially in Eastern Europe, Russia, Egypt, the Middle East, and India.
Contents
Different Types of Artworks
Paintings
Artworks of the Madonna and Child can be paintings or sculptures. Some paintings are very big. They might show the Madonna sitting on a throne, with saints standing around her. These large paintings are called altarpieces. They are made to be placed above the altar in a church.
In some churches, especially in Italy and in Eastern Orthodox Churches, you can see many wall paintings and mosaics of the Madonna and Child.
Most Madonna and Child paintings are smaller. People painted them for private homes. They were often hung on a wall above a table. People might place flowers and candles there to honor the Virgin Mary. Today, many of these famous small paintings are in art galleries.
Sculptures
Many Catholic churches have statues of the Virgin Mary with the Christ Child. Some of these statues are life-sized. They are often painted and have real hair and glass eyes to make them look very real.
Other Madonna and Child statues are very small. In the Middle Ages, artists carved tiny statues from ivory. These special statues are often very beautiful and detailed. You can often see them in museums today.
In Florence in the early 1400s, an artist named Luca della Robbia started making terracotta statues. These were sculptures made from clay. They were baked and then covered with a shiny glaze in different colors. Blue and white were the most common colors, but they also used purple, green, and yellow. Luca della Robbia's family business made these artworks for 120 years.
Many Madonna and Child statues you see today might be factory-made. They are often sold as souvenirs. This tradition of small statues has been around for hundreds of years. Many were made in artists' workshops during the Early Renaissance.
Icons
In the Orthodox Church, there is a long history of painting images of the Virgin Mary with the Christ Child. These pictures are called icons. They are often quite small and painted on wooden panels. Many icons are very careful copies of older, famous icons. This tradition of painting icons continues even today.
Famous Artworks of the Madonna and Child
Large Altarpieces
- The Trinita Madonna, by Cimabue, 1280.
- The Rucellai Madonna, by Duccio, 1285.
- The Maesta, by Duccio, around 1308. This is in the Duomo Museo in Siena, Italy.
- The Ognissanti Madonna, by Giotto, 1310.
These three famous paintings are all in one room at the Uffizi Gallery in Florence. Two are from the Middle Ages. Giotto's painting is from the Early Renaissance. You can see this in how natural and solid the figures look, almost like they are three dimensional.
- The Madonna of the Rocks by Leonardo da Vinci. There are two versions of this painting. One is in the National Gallery, London, and the other is in the Louvre in Paris.
- The Sistine Madonna by Raphael, found in the Vatican Museum Art Gallery.
Small Paintings
- The Wilton Diptych. This very rare painting from the Middle Ages was likely made in England. It is now in the National Gallery, London.
- The Madonna of the Magnificat, by Botticelli, in the Uffizi.
- The Doni Tondo, by Michelangelo, 1505, also in the Uffizi.
- Raphael painted many of these small artworks. You can see them in the National Gallery, London, the Uffizi, the Louvre, and many other art galleries.
Statues
Many old churches have famous statues of the Madonna and Child.
- The Virgin of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. This Madonna is carved from stone.
- The Moorish Madonna of Sant' Antonio's Basilica in Padua. This Madonna has dark brown eyes and olive skin.
- Many carved wooden Madonnas from the Middle Ages and terracotta Madonnas by the della Robbia family can be seen in museums.
Icons
- The Virgin of Vladimir. This famous icon from Constantinople (now Istanbul) was made in 1131. It is kept at the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow. Many copies of it exist.
- The Virgin of Chilandari, around 1360. This icon is on Mount Athos in Greece. Even though it is badly damaged, it is known for its beauty.
Images for kids
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This popular painting by the Spanish artist Murillo is in the Pitti Palace Gallery in Florence.
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This painting is called the Madonna of the Sunset. The sun shines on its gold background in the afternoon. Mary and baby Jesus are talking about St Francis of Assisi.
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The Virgin and Child or The Madonna of the Book by Sandro Botticelli, 1480.
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Our Mother of Perpetual Help, an icon of the Virgin Mary, 16th century. From St. Catherine's Monastery in the Sinai.
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The Salus Populi Romani icon. It was painted over in the 13th century, but the original underneath dates back to the 5th or 6th century.
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Madonna and Child by Filippo Lippi (15th century).
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An Icon of the enthroned Virgin and Child with saints and angels. The Hand of God is shown above. From the 6th century, Saint Catherine's Monastery. This might be the earliest surviving iconic image of this subject.
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A 13th-century Madonna with Child in the Italo-Byzantine style.
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The Rest on The Flight into Egypt, around 1510, by Gerard David. It shows a close, tender moment where Mary only has eyes for the Child.
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Lorenzo Monaco, Florence, around 1410.
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The Madonna on a Crescent Moon in Hortus Conclusus by an unknown painter.
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Leonardo da Vinci, a study of the Head of Madonna, around 1484 AD.
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Virgin of the Lilies, by Bouguereau, 1899.
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Black Madonna of Częstochowa, Poland.
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Madonna and Angels, Duccio, 1282.
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Our Mother of Perpetual Help, likely an early Cretan work, 13th or 14th century. This is a very popular Catholic image, known to be in Rome by 1499.
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Madonna in the rose-garden, by Stefan Lochner, 1448.
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Madonna and Child Surrounded by Angels by Quentin Matsys.
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Madonna of Chancellor Rolin, Jan van Eyck, Burgundy, around 1435.
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Madonna del Granduca, Raphael, 1505.
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The Madonna of the Pinks, Raphael, probably before 1507.
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Maria Hilf by Lucas Cranach the Elder, around 1530.
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Virgin Mary by Sassoferrato, 17th century. Located in Lobkowicz Palace, Prague, Czech Republic.
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Virgin and Child with Angels and Saints, Felice Torelli, 17th century.
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Golden Madonna of Essen, around 980.
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Presbyter Martinus: Madonna as Seat of Wisdom, Italy, 1199.
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Black Madonna, Barcelona.
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Statue outside Moscow's New Tretyakov Gallery.
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Statue at Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica, Ottawa, Canada.
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A roadside Madonna in Ocieka, Poland.
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A roadside Madonna alcove in Friuli, Italy.
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An ivory cover of the Codex Aureus of Lorsch, Germany, around 800.
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Svanhild Evangeliary, an Illuminated manuscript from Essen, 1058-1085.
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Mary and Jesus in a Persian miniature.
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Madonna in Mandorla, Wolfgang Sauber, 12th century.
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Mary and the child depicted as a hodegetria. A mosaic icon in a grand style, early 13th century. Saint Catherine's Monastery in the Sinai, Egypt.
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Madonna del Granduca, Raphael, 1505.
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Madonna in the Vine Arbour by Hans Baldung, around 1541 (Musée de l'Œuvre Notre-Dame, Strasbourg).
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Virgin Mary by El Greco, around 1600 (Musée des Beaux-Arts de Strasbourg).
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A fresco of a black Madonna and Jesus at the Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion in Axum, Ethiopia.
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Egyptian ivory carving, one of the earliest examples of what was later called Eleousa, or "Virgin of Tenderness" in Byzantine times. 7th century.
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Black Madonna, Barcelona.
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La Conquistadora, Santa Fe, New Mexico, before 1625.
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Our Lady of Walsingham shrine at Church of the Good Shepherd (Rosemont, Pennsylvania).
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See also
In Spanish: Virgen con Niño para niños
