MADONNA IN ART, The. In the early days of Christianity the teaching of the Church was largely carried on by the medium of pic tures; statuary was added later. The trans lation of the Bible was in Latin and examples of the book were produced in parchment manu scripts emanating from the monastery scrip toria. They were very few and therefore costly. Hence it is not surprising that the clergy utilized the graphic abilities of their more talented members and other available artistic sources to portray biblical scenes in mosaics and wall paintings to impress on the minds of the populace (practically all illiter ates) the teachings of their creed. The sub jects to be treated were largely selected by the patrons (the clergy), and those subjects natu rally were the ones most likely to appeal to the masses. The relation of Mother and Child viewed from the aspect of Divine Inspiration could not but be foremost of the subjects selected as most certain to gain popular atten tion and to reach the innermost sentiments of humanity. And, from the limner's standpoint, no theme could better enthuse and inspire genius to perfection of execution and the bringing forth of ecstatic pictorial expression. Again, admiration of a master's presentment of the subject obviously was cause of emulation of contemporaries and future artists to pro duce, if possible, more inspired conceptions of the subject. A natural sequence of these ac cumulated impulses was the prolific production and reproduction of the Madonna in as many aspects and forms as the differences in genius itself. Hence the innumerable examples of the lovely theme which have present existence. No single subject has been treated so prolifically and from so many viewpoints as this of the divine Madonna. In order to bring within a limited space some intelligible review of such a vast and profound subject the examples are usually divided into different classifications according to the method of treatment of the theme, the different episodes of the entrancing story, etc. Thus we get the Madonna °en throned," the Madonna °in Gloria," and the °Annunciation," the "Nativity," "Adoration of the Magi," °Flight into Egypt," etc. The ear
liest depiction of the Madonna is a subject of controversy. Legend tells us Saint Luke, Evan gelist, painted pictures of the Holy Virgin, and there are several extant drawings which are claimed to be from his pencil. The Virgin as orante, usually termed the °Intercessor,* with arms outstretched in Oriental form of supplication, is most generally accepted as the first method of treatment as found in mosaics and on glasses of the 4th or early 5th century, some with the name °Maria" inscribed. An early Assyrian manuscript of the 7th century in the chapel of Venantius has such an orante depiction. On ancient Christian sarcophagi the representation of the Holy Virgin is very rare, but in the mosaics of Santa Maria Maggiore (middle of the 5th century) we have the Vir gin and Child in medallions on the triumphal arch, and on the spandrils of the arch are the Annunciation, Presentation in the Temple, Adoration of the Magi, Journey of Christ with Mary and Joseph to Jerusalem. Of about the same date is a painting seen in Saint Agnes catacomb, in which the Holy Virgin seated stretches forth her hands in prayer. By 736 the Iconoclasts created much destruction of all kinds of biblical depiction from Byzantine artists, but by 787 comes the revival and the Virgin again appears as orante, veiled and aged. In the early representations of the Virgin ap pears a golden background representing glory and majesty; this gives way later to back grounds of the angelic host. With the advance or development of the Madonna theme Cimabue (13th century) produced the °enthroned" Ma donna, and this great early Florentine master was soon followed with Guido's Siena picture of the subject. And with the arrival of these talented masters the Byzantine stiffness and prescribed rigid rulings of the Greek Church forbidding natural depiction disappears and the human form and garb take on the supple ness of flesh and clothing. It is the beginning of free and highly-developed art, and as such is usually the phase chosen as the first classi fication with which to deal with detailed de scriptions of the theme of the Madonna in Art.