Mary In Christian Art

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Throughout history Christian art has been a valuable resource for spreading the word of God, but it is the Holy Bible that provides the foundation from which it originates. Therefore, it is important for a viewer of Christian art to analyze the integrity of the piece by becoming familiar with the Bible itself. In order to judge the integrity of Christian artwork it must be compared to Biblical texts and analyzed to check for its accurate depiction and context found in the Bible. This paper will utilize Mary, mother of Christ, and the story of the Annunciation as the subject for researching and analyzing Christian art for Biblical accuracy. By looking at different mediums of Christian art depicting the Annunciation we can see that Biblical …show more content…

Mary, the mother of Christ appears minimally in the Gospels and Acts. Despite this truth Mary’s significance as the iconic image as the blessed mother of God and feminine representation within Christianity is powerful as witnessed by her prominence in Christian Art. This is especially true on the subject of the Annunciation. Mary’s role as an iconic image is especially prominent in the Catholic …show more content…

The Gospel of Luke begins with an angel coming to Zechariah and telling him that he and Elizabeth would have a son. That son would become John the Baptist who would pave the way for Christ and even baptize Jesus, himself.
The story of Annunciation and Mary becoming the mother of Christ begins in Luke 1:26. The Annunciation is “…the moment when the angel Gabriel, sent from God to Mary, tells her that she has been chosen by God to be the mother of Christ (Luke 1:26-38)” (Williamson 20). Despite these dramatic and important events for the foundation of Christianity little detail is provided. “Nothing can be gleaned from Luke’s Gospel as to the physical setting in which the Annunciation took place, except that Luke says that the angel “went in and said to her, “Rejoice” (Luke 1:28)” (Williamson 20).
Mary is described as a young virgin who is confused, disturbed, and frightened by the presence of Gabriel before her. The Bible tells us that she is to be married to Joseph. Joseph is said to be a descendant of King David.
The angel Gabriel then reveals to Mary his true purpose in his visit to her. “Don’t

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