Maria Lactans:
Mary as Nursing Mother
source: http://www.fisheaters.com/marialactans.html
Consider: From the Protoevangelium of S. James:
From St. Ephraem's Hymns on the Nativity:
While discretion, modesty, and politeness are always key virtues (for anyone, not just women), the way we think of the female breast is partially culturally conditioned, and I'm convinced that the modern Western view is unhealthy. Many years ago, I saw Joan Rivers on a TV show introduce a year's worth of "Playboy Playmates." Miss Rivers gushed over them, lauding them for their beauty, brains, talent, and "wisdom" in using their bodies to make a living. Then she introduced actress Connie Selleca who'd recently given birth to a child. "Oh, I hope you're not one of those women who breastfeeds in public!" she said. If I could've slapped Miss Rivers, I might have. What harm such attitudes cause women and their children! Breastfeeding is among the very best things a woman can do for her children, and I applaud women who give their children that, whether in private or, given our piggish, dirty-minded culture, discreetly in public. To inspire women on, below are links to some of the most famous artistic depictions of Mary as nursing mother -- "Maria Lactans." They will open in new browser windows. | ||
| One of the earliest depictions (if not the earliest depiction) of Mary, this is Our Lady as painted in the Priscilla Catacombs, ca. A.D. 250 | |
| An early Coptic nursing Mary | |
| Amesbury Psalter, 13th c. | |
| Artist: Lorenzetti, ca. A.D. 1330 | |
| Anonymous French sculpture, ca. A.D. 1335 | |
| Artist: Berry, 14th. c. | |
| Artist: Berry, 14th. c. | |
| Wall painting in a church in Belchamp Walter, Essex, ca. A.D. 1350 | |
| Artist: Ghissi, ca. A.D. 1350 | |
| Artist: Pisano, ca. A.D. 1360 | |
| Artist: Veneziano, ca. A.D. 1370 | |
| Artist: Orcagna, ca. A.D. 1370 | |
| Artist: Bertram, ca. A.D. 1383 | |
| Artist: Serra, ca. A.D. 1390 | |
| Artist: Gaddi, ca. A.D. 1390 | |
| Artist: Camerino, ca. A.D. 1400 | |
| Artist: Bartolo, ca. A.D. 1400 | |
| Artist: Robert Campin, "The Master of Flemalle," ca A.D. 1400 | |
| Artist: Robert Campin, "The Master of Flemalle," ca A.D. 1400 | |
| From "Les Très Belles Heures du Duc de Berry," ca. A.D. 1409, illustrated by the brothers Jean, Paul, and Hermann Limbourg. The brothers also later illustrated the better known "Les Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry" (some illustrations for this work were later added by Jean Colombe). | |
| Artist: Bartolo, ca. A.D. 1415 | |
| Artist: Masolino, ca. A.D. 1420 | |
| Artist: Masolino, ca. A.D. 1420 | |
| Artist: di Lorenzo, ca. A.D. 1430 | |
| Artist: Weyden, A.D. 1435 | |
| Artist: Van Eyck, A.D. 1436 | |
| Artist: Paolo, A.D. 1445 | |
| Artist: Fouquet, ca. A.D. 1450 | |
| Artist: Gozzoli, ca. A.D. 1484 | |
| Artist: Memling, ca. A.D. 1478 | |
| Artist: Memling, ca. A.D. 1487 | |
| "The Miraculous Lactation of St. Bernard." This painting depicts the spiritual nourishing of St. Bernard by the milk of Our Lady, based on this legendary mystical experience: Bernard prayed before a statue of the Madonna, asking her, "Show yourself a mother" ("Monstra te esse Matrem"). The statue came to life and and squirted milk from the breast onto the Saint's lips. Artist: Unknown Master, Netherlandish, 1480-85 | |
| Artist: Domenico, ca. A.D. 1490 | |
| Artist: Gerard David, ca. A.D. 1490 | |
| Artist: Gerard David, A.D. 1490 | |
| Artist: Michelangelo, A.D. 1496 | |
| Anonymous Italian, 15th c. | |
| Artist: da Vinci, ca. A.D. 1500 | |
| Artist: Solario, A.D. 1500 | |
| Artist: Mainardi, ca. A.D. 1500 | |
| Artist: Signorelli, ca. A.D. 1500 | |
| Artist: Romano, A.D. 1510 | |
| Artist: Cleve, ca. A.D. 1512 | |
| Artist: Durer, 1512 | |
| Artist: Durer, 1520 | |
| Artist: Cleve, ca. A.D. 1520 | |
| Artist: Coreggio, ca. A.D. 1520 | |
| Artist: Conti, ca. A.D. 1520 | |
| Artist: Durer, ca. A.D. 1520 | |
| Artist: Michelangelo, A.D. 1520 | |
| Artist: Orley, A.D. 1522 | |
| Artist: Beccafumi, A.D. 1540 | |
| Artist: Morales, A.D. 1520 | |
| Artist: Barocci, A.D. 1575 | |
| Artist: Coxcie, Michiel van, ca. A.D. 1580 | |
| Artist: Reni, Guido, A.D. 1575-1642 | |
| Anonymous 16th c. | |
| Artist: El Greco, ca. A.D. 1600 | |
| Nuestra Señora de Leche y Buen Parto (Our Lady of Milk and Good Birth). This statue, ca. A.D. 1600-1620, is kept in the shrine devoted to Nuestra Señora de Leche y Buen Parto in St. Augustine, Florida -- the first Marian shrine in the United States. | |
| Artist: Rembrandt, A.D. 1630s | |
| Artist: Rembrandt, A.D. 1640 | |
| "The Miraculous Lactation of St. Bernard." This painting depicts the spiritual nourishing of St. Bernard by the milk of Our Lady, based on this legendary mystical experience: Bernard prayed before a statue of the Madonna, asking her, "Show yourself a mother" ("Monstra te esse Matrem"). The statue came to life and and squirted milk from the breast onto the Saint's lips. Artist: Alonso Cano, A.D. 1650 | |
| Artist: Zubaran, A.D. 1659 | |
| Artist: Werf, Adriaen van der, 1714 | |
| Unsorted, Anonymous | |
| Anonymous, Peruvian "Cuzco School" | |
| Anonymous, Peruvian "Cuzco School" | |
| Anonymous | |
| Anonymous | |
| Painting from Bethlehem's ancient "Milk Grotto." The chapel whence this picture comes was built around the grotto by Franciscans in 1872. | |
2 comments:
Love this article, especially the artwork. Thanks for sharing.
We were able to nurse 6 of our 10 children and it was that experience that I recall with deepest fondness and gratitude when I remember mhy babies' infancies. There's a wonderful connection with all mothers' through time when we feed our children as God provided for us to -- and it's a wonderful meditation to remember Our Blessed Mother nursing the infant Jesus. :) I'm getting the chance to "coach" my daughter-in-law about nursing our first grandchild now and I can't tell you how thrilling that is to be filling out the motherhood circle this way. Awesome links and great post, Peggy! Love it!
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