Madonnas. From Medieval to Modern

During the Renaissance, Italian painters would traditionally depict the wives of their patrons as Madonnas. The artists would often overstate the beauty of their models, rendering them more beautiful than they actually were.

The contemporary representation of the Mother of Christ, however, tended to remain unchanged. Images expressive of the joy at her son's birth and the pain of grieving for her son do not differ greatly from artist to artist. With the passing of time, Mary gradually lost some of her spiritual characteristics and became more humane, more accessible to human sentiments. The path, which led artists from portraying the sacred to the profane, is discussed by the author: a study of women through the changing image of the Virgin Mary, over the past two thousand years, and which is still very evident today.

Containing more than 200 illustrations, this book explores an exciting new way of understanding representations of the most frequently painted Christian female.