Tuesday, January 17, 2023

15C Madonna & Child in a Garden 1409

Stephano da Verona (1379-1438) The Virgin and Child  in a hortus conclusus (enclosed garden) with Angels, c 1430. This Madonna of Humility seated on the ground  - to indicate her humility - 

Here the Virgin is shown against a backdrop of berries & wildflowers within a sheltering hedge. 

The depiction of the Virgin seated on the ground is called the Madonna of Humility to indicate her complete innocence & humility.  

Hortus Conclusus is the Latin for an enclosed garden. The depiction of such a garden in Christian art from the Middle Ages onwards is often intended to suggest purity. The garden is frequently shown walled, implying impenetrability. The image refers to the virginity of Mary, Christ's mother. The secluded, enclosed garden or "Hortus Conclusus," was associated with the Virgin Mary usually depicted in a monastery garden.  

The 3CE Saint Ambrose of the Roman Catholic Church believed that there were roses in the Garden of Eden, initially without thorns, but which became thorny after the fall, & came to symbolize Original Sin itself. Thus the Virgin Mary came to be referred to as the "rose without thorns," since she immaculately conceived.  The 13CE Saint Dominic is credited with spreading the familiar devotion called the Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary, a series of prayers to the Madonna, symbolized by garlands of roses worn in Heaven.