A Madonna del Parto ("Madonna of Parturition") is an iconic depiction of the
Virgin Mary
Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of ...
shown as
pregnant, which was developed in Italy, mainly in
Tuscany
it, Toscano (man) it, Toscana (woman)
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in the 14th century. Examples include works by
Taddeo Gaddi
Taddeo Gaddi (c. 1290, in Florence – 1366, in Florence) was a medieval Italy, Italian Painting, painter and architect.
He was the son of Gaddo di Zanobi, called Gaddo Gaddi. He was a member of Giotto's workshop from 1313 until the master's d ...
,
Bernardo Daddi and
Nardo di Cione
Nardo di Cione (died c. 1366) was an Italian painter, sculptor and architect from Florence. He was the brother of the more accomplished Andrea di Cione, called Orcagna, as well as Jacopo di Cione; they were important members of the Painters Guil ...
, but the fresco by
Piero della Francesca
Piero della Francesca (, also , ; – 12 October 1492), originally named Piero di Benedetto, was an Italian painter of the Early Renaissance. To contemporaries he was also known as a mathematician and geometer. Nowadays Piero della Francesca i ...
in the Museum of Monterchi, in the province of Arezzo, is considered the most famous one. The Madonna was portrayed standing, alone, often with a closed book on her stomach, an allusion to the Incarnate Word. These works were associated with the devotions of pregnant women, praying for a safe delivery. Sometimes, as with a statue by
Sansovino in the
Basilica of Sant'Agostino
it, Basilica di Sant'Agostino in Campo Marzio
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, caption = Façade from the Piazza di Sant’Agostino
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in Rome, the depiction is of a
Virgin and Child
In art, a Madonna () is a representation of Mary, either alone or with her child Jesus. These images are central icons for both the Catholic and Orthodox churches. The word is (archaic). The Madonna and Child type is very prevalent ...
, which was however known as a Madonna del Parto, because it was especially associated with devotions related to pregnancy. Here the Virgin wears the
Girdle of Thomas
The Girdle of Thomas, Virgin's Girdle, Holy Belt, or Sacra Cintola in modern Italian, is a Christian relic in the form of a "girdle" or knotted textile cord used as a belt, that according to a medieval legend was dropped by the Virgin Mary from ...
, a belt of knotted cloth cord that was a
relic held in
Prato Cathedral
Prato Cathedral, or Cathedral of Saint Stephen, ( it, Duomo di Prato; Cattedrale di San Stefano) is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Prato, Tuscany, Central Italy, from 1954 the seat of the Bishop of Prato, having been previously, from 1653, a cat ...
, which many versions show her wearing.
Piero della Francesca
The most famous work showing this subject is a fresco painting by the Italian Renaissance master
Piero della Francesca
Piero della Francesca (, also , ; – 12 October 1492), originally named Piero di Benedetto, was an Italian painter of the Early Renaissance. To contemporaries he was also known as a mathematician and geometer. Nowadays Piero della Francesca i ...
, finished around 1460. It is housed in the Museo della Madonna del Parto of
Monterchi Monterchi is a ''Comune'' (Municipality) in the Province of Arezzo in the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany, located about southeast of Florence and about east of Arezzo. It sits in the northern part of Valtiberina (The Tiber Valley), the valley wh ...
,
Tuscany
it, Toscano (man) it, Toscana (woman)
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, demogra ...
, Italy.
Piero della Francesca finished it in seven days, using high quality colors, including a large quantity of ''blu oltremare'' obtained using
lapis lazuli imported from
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
by the
Republic of Venice
The Republic of Venice ( vec, Repùblega de Venèsia) or Venetian Republic ( vec, Repùblega Vèneta, links=no), traditionally known as La Serenissima ( en, Most Serene Republic of Venice, italics=yes; vec, Serenìsima Repùblega de Venèsia, ...
.
The fresco was at one time located in Santa Maria di Momentana, (formerly ''Santa Maria in Silvis''), an old country church in the hill town of
Monterchi Monterchi is a ''Comune'' (Municipality) in the Province of Arezzo in the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany, located about southeast of Florence and about east of Arezzo. It sits in the northern part of Valtiberina (The Tiber Valley), the valley wh ...
. That building was destroyed in 1785 by an earthquake and this work was detached from the walls and placed over the high altar of a new cemetery chapel; in 1992 it was moved to the Museo della Madonna del Parto in Monterchi. It was only in 1889 that the work was attributed to Piero della Francesca. Its dating has been the subject of debate, with estimates ranging from 1450 to 1475. The 16th century artist and writer
Giorgio Vasari
Giorgio Vasari (, also , ; 30 July 1511 – 27 June 1574) was an Italian Renaissance Master, who worked as a painter, architect, engineer, writer, and historian, who is best known for his work '' The Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculp ...
wrote that it was completed in 1459, when Piero della Francesca was in
Sansepolcro
Sansepolcro, formerly Borgo Santo Sepolcro, is a town and ''comune'' founded in the 11th century, located in the Italian Province of Arezzo in the eastern part of the region of Tuscany.
Situated on the upper reaches of the Tiber river, the town i ...
because of his mother's death.
The fresco also plays an important role in Richard Hayer's novel ''Visus'', in Andrei Tarkovsky's film ''
Nostalghia
''Nostalghia'' (UK: ''Nostalgia'') is a 1983 Soviet- Italian drama film directed by Andrei Tarkovsky and starring Oleg Yankovsky, Domiziana Giordano, and Erland Josephson. Tarkovsky co-wrote the screenplay with Tonino Guerra.
The film depicts a ...
'', and in the poem "San Sepolcro" by
Jorie Graham
Jorie Graham (; born May 9, 1950) is an American poet. The Poetry Foundation called Graham "one of the most celebrated poets of the American post-war generation." She replaced poet Seamus Heaney as Boylston Professor of Rhetoric and Oratory at ...
.
Piero della Francesca's Madonna has neither books nor royal attributes as in most previous versions of the image, nor does she wear the girdle. She is portrayed with a hand against her side to support her prominent belly. She is flanked by two angels, who are holding open the curtains of a pavilion decorated with
pomegranate
The pomegranate (''Punica granatum'') is a fruit-bearing deciduous shrub in the family Lythraceae, subfamily Punicoideae, that grows between tall.
The pomegranate was originally described throughout the Mediterranean Basin, Mediterranean re ...
s, a symbol of Christ's Passion. The upper part of the painting has been lost. The two angels are specular, as they were executed by the artist using the same perforated cartoons to copy them.
The theological symbolism behind the representation is complex. Maurizio Calvesi
[Maurizio Calvesi, ''Art e Dossier'', 1989] has suggested that the tent represents the
Ark of the Covenant. Mary would be thus the new Ark of Alliance in her role as Mother of Christ. For other scholars the tent is a symbol of the Catholic Church, and the Madonna would symbolize the tabernacle, as she is portrayed containing Jesus' body.
See also
*
Pregnancy in art
Pregnancy in art covers any artistic work that portrays pregnancy. In art, as in life, it is often unclear whether an actual state of pregnancy is intended to be shown. A common visual indication is the gesture of the woman placing a protective ...
Notes
References
*Cassidy, Brendan, "A Relic, Some Pictures and the Mothers of Florence in the Late Fourteenth Century", ''Gesta'', Vol. 30, No. 2 (1991), pp. 91–99, The University of Chicago Press on behalf of the International Center of Medieval Art
JSTOR*
*
*
*
Further reading
*Ferrie, Frank, "Piero della Francesca's ''Madonna del Parto'' and the Function of Images of the Pregnant Virgin Mary", ''Dandelion'', London, 2 December 2010
online Date accessed: 15 May. 2017
External links
Musei Civici Madonna del Parto
{{Authority control
1450s paintings
1460s paintings
Paintings by Piero della Francesca
Paintings of the Virgin Mary
Fresco paintings in Italy
Fresco paintings in Tuscany