Mary, Mother of Jesus Christ
Overview
Mary (Marie, Maria, Miriam), mother of Jesus, Theotokos, Mother of God (Madre de Dios), the Blessed Mother is also known by dozens of different titles: Blessed Virgin Mary, the Virgin (La Virgen), Our Lady (Nuestra Señora, Notre Dame), My Lady (Madonna), and Queen of Heaven. Many of these names can be further refined with reference to a virtue (Our Lady of Grace, Our Lady of Perpetual Help), or to a place name, either where she has appeared to someone (Nuestra Señora de la Guadalupe [Our Lady of Guadalupe], or Notre Dame de Lourdes [Our Lady of Lourdes], La Virgen de Fatima [The Virgin of Fatima]), or where there was a famous or powerful painting or statue of her (Our Lady of Pompeii).
The art tradition has loved Mary in Bible Stories, depicting her in more symbolic portrait-like artworks.
At various times in Christian history, Mary has been treated almost as if she were divine. This trend always produces a backlash eventually, because early councils were clear that she was a human being. One of Mary’s titles is Queen of Heaven. The common art theme depicting this is called the Coronation of Mary, which is usually a big event with lots of people and angels in Heaven. Elements of regal attire, beauty, heavenly context, etc., all reflect the popular tendency of Mary in Christian Tradition to be elevated to divine heights.
But beyond that tendency, faithful Christians have often experienced deep devotion to Mary for showing them how to trust and love God. Mary is often shown with flowers, especially roses.
Historical Notes
Images of Mary became common in Christian art around the beginning of the Middle Ages. Mary has continued to be a popular artistic subject since then. The Protestant Reformation included some backlash against the popular Catholic devotion to Mary, so she has received less attention from Protestant artists than from Catholic artists since the middle of the 16th century.
These two links will help you explore these sub-topics more deeply:
