FAVORITE IMAGES OF JOSEPH AND MARY
My favorite image of Saint Joseph is that of him carrying the Christ child, holding a staff sprouting white lilies. Roman Catholic tradition tells us the legend that Saint Joseph was chosen as Mary’s betrothed after his staff miraculously sprouted white lilies in the Temple, in fulfillment of the prophecy, “A shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse, and from his roots a bud shall blossom” (Isaiah 11:1). In this particular image Saint Joseph is a mature man—we reasonably assume that he married Mary in his late twenties, so that when Jesus is a toddler, Saint Joseph is in his thirties. Affectionately, Saint Joseph holds the Christ child close to him. It shows the very close relationship between Saint Joseph and the Christ child, a bond that continues into the next life.
Although there are many images of the Blessed Virgin Mary that incite religious devotion, my favorite is that of Our Lady of Grace. In this image, Mary turns her palms upward in the prayerful gesture of the orans and directs her arms downward toward humanity, as if they are channeling God’s grace. Compassionately, she looks upon all who raise their eyes towards heaven, invoking her uniquely efficacious intercession with her Son, Jesus. It is an image that bespeaks her incomparably powerful intercession before God’s throne and her maternal compassion toward all who turn to her in humble petition and devotion. Roman Catholic tradition says that Mary married Saint Joseph when she was between 15 and 19 years old and that she may have been betrothed to him when she was as young as 14 years old. In this particular image, the Blessed Virgin is shown not as a teenager but as a mature young woman, possibly in her twenties.
Saint Joseph photo courtesy of Lamiot
ReplyDeletehttps://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Saint-Joseph_cath%C3%A9drale_Ste_R%C3%A9parate_de_Nice.jpg
Our Lady of Grace Church, Ontario, Canada photo
Gonzalinho
Saint Joseph photo courtesy of Andy Coan
ReplyDeletehttps://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Saint_Joseph_.jpg
In this particular image, Saint Joseph is solemn, befitting the regal seriousness of Jesus.
Gonzalinho
https://www.tonini.net/item/90-6404/Lady-of-Grace/
ReplyDeleteThis version of Our Lady of Grace shows Mary as a teenager.
https://burgesschurchsupply.com/products/our-lady-of-grace-model-no-640-57
This particular full-size image is long, finely rendered, elegant, and available in Linden wood.
https://www.vittoria-collection.com/Catholic_Statues_Our_Lady_of_Grace_Virgin_Mary_p/421a.htm
The image doesn’t have to be colored to be attractively rendered.
Gonzalinho
https://orthodoxartsjournal.org/can-statuary-act-as-icon/
ReplyDeleteOne of my favorite images of the Madonna, which is exhibited in the Museum of Fine Arts at Boston, Massachusetts, is this Romanesque (11th to 12th centuries) sculpture from Lombardy, today a part of Italy. Displaying remarkable skill, the unknown artist shows a notable sense of harmony, balance, and proportion in rendering the figures. Especially charming is their period character, wherein mother and child are depicted in the garb of the aristocracy during this period. A strong naturalism bespeaks the artist’s amazing powers of observation.
Gonzalinho
https://orthodoxartsjournal.org/can-statuary-act-as-icon/
Delete—Aidan Hart, “Can Statuary Act as Icon?” Orthodox Arts Journal, January 30, 2013
Gonzalinho
MOUNT SINAI THEOTOKOS THE BURNING BUSH by Father William Hart McNichols
ReplyDeleteEvery September 4, the Orthodox Church celebrates the “Most Holy Theotokos the Unburnt Bush Icon.” In the Orthodox tradition of iconography the burning bush (Exodus 3:2-5) is understood to prefigure the Blessed Virgin Mary, because just as the bush was not consumed by the fire, so Mary gave birth to Jesus without losing her virginity.
Father McNichols’ icon of Theotokos the Burning Bush is rendered according to classic Greek iconography with modernist elements. It is highly stylized, linearly drawn, basically two-dimensional yet brought into three-dimensional relief in various parts by contrasting strong shadows with sharp highlights, all smoothly blending together. Most striking are the sinuously decorative outspreading pattern of the burning bush that is superimposed upon the Virgin’s torso and her outsize, expressive, dramatic eyes, a feature that is very characteristic of the artist’s subjects. McNichols’ unusual color palette is modernist. The overall effect is radiant.
Gonzalinho