Madonna of Zbraslav

The Madonna of Zbraslav comes from the parish church of St James the Greater in Zbraslav, a municipal district of Prague. This painting is in the tradition of earlier Italian-Byzantine examples of the Madonna and Christ art.

However, this composition presents a more human and intimate relationship between the mother and child. In previous Byzantine traditions, the mother offers the child as an object of worship.

The Madonna has a white head covering and a bright blue cloak with green lining decorated with gold stars. The Madonna’s cloak and veil and the sheer shirt of the child are embellished along their hems with gold embroidery.

The gilded gold background is decorated with curly vines and leaves. The stones and pearls on the crown, halos, hems, and clasp are mounted over the paint.

The origin of this picture is not known. However, tradition states that the icon was dedicated to the monastery by its founder, King Wenceslaus II (1278–1305).

In 1420 the monastery was burned down by the Hussites, a pre-Protestant Christian movement, and the picture was found two hundred years later in the rubble, restored and exhibited in a newly built church in 1654.

Madonna and Child

Christian worship of Mary as a powerful intercessor was brought from Greek into the Latin tradition in the 8th century. With the growing popularity of the cult of the virgin came its prominence in medieval art.

The term “a Madonna,” or “a Madonna with Child” is used for specific works of Italian art. A “Madonna” may alternatively be called “Virgin” or “Our Lady.”

The earliest representations of Mother and Child were developed in the Eastern Empire. Byzantine examples show the Madonna enthroned, even wearing the closed Byzantine pearl-encrusted crown with pendants, with the Christ Child on her lap.

The Madonna image is a central icon for both the Catholic and Orthodox churches. The word Madonna is from Italian, meaning ‘my lady.’ The Madonna and Child compositions are highly prevalent in Christian iconography.

The iconography is divided into many traditional subtypes, especially in Eastern Orthodox iconography. The different types of compositions are often known after the location of a notable icon of the descriptive of the depicted posture.

Madonna of Zbraslav

• Title:                        Madonna of Zbraslav
• Čeština:                   Zbraslavská Madona
• Artist:                      Unknown
• Year:                        ca. 1340–1350
• Medium:                Tempera, beech-wood on both sides covered with canvas
• Dimensions            89 cm × 60.5 cm (35 in × 23.8 in)
• Museum:                National Gallery, Prague, Czech Republic

Virtual Tour of the National Gallery in Prague

• Madonna of Zbraslav
• Votive Panel of Jan Očko of Vlašim
• “Green Wheat Field with Cypress” by Vincent van Gogh
• “The Maiden” by Gustav Klimt
• “Feast of the Rosary” by Albrecht Dürer
• “Jas de Bouffan house and farm” by Paul Cézanne 

The Madonna and Child

MADONNA AND CHILD IN ART

A Virtual Tour of Famous Bible Paintings

• The Creation Of Adam – Michelangelo
• The Last Supper – Leonardo da Vinci
•  Pietà by Michelangelo
• “The Holy Trinity” by El Greco
• “Christ in the House of His Parents” by John Everett Millais
• Saint Helena by Andrea Bolgi
• Saint Longinus by Bernini
• Saint Andrew by Francois Duquesnoy
• Saint Veronica by Francesco Mochi
• “Saint Michael and the Dragon” by the Sienese School
• Black St George Icon
• “The Repentant Saint Peter” by El Greco
• “The Tears of Saint Peter” by El Greco
• “Saint Jerome as Scholar” by El Greco (The MET)
• “Saint Jerome Penitent” by El Greco
• “Saint Francis in the Desert” by Giovanni Bellini
• “Saint Luke painting the Virgin” by Master of the Holy Blood
• “Christ Falling on the Way to Calvary” by Raphael
• “Crucifixion” by Giovanni Donato da Montorfano
• Crucifixion Diptych” by Rogier van der Weyden
• “The Virgin and Child with St. Anne” by Leonardo da Vinci
• The Crucifixion and The Last Judgment Diptych by Jan van Eyck (MET)
• Annunciation Triptych (Merode Altarpiece) by Robert Campin (MET)
• The Belles Heures of Jean of France, Duke of Berry
• Wilton Diptych
• “The Raising of Lazarus” by Sebastiano del Piombo
• “Salvator Mundi” by Albrecht Dürer
• “Salvator Mundi” by Andrea Previtali
• “Baptism of Christ” by Jacopo Bassano
• “Crucifix” by Master of Saint Francis
• “The Virgin and Child” by Master of the Clarisse
• “The Virgin and Child Enthroned, with Narrative Scenes” by Margarito d’Arezzo
• “Samson and Delilah” by Peter Paul Rubens
• “The Annunciation” by Duccio
• “The Healing of the Man Born Blind” by Duccio
• Christ by Emmanuel Lambardos
• Pilgrim’s Bottle of Saint Menas
• “Massacre of the Innocents” by Peter Paul Rubens
• “Christ and the Woman of Samaria” by Rembrandt
• “The Last Supper” by Ugolino di Nerio
• “The Madonna of the Pinks” by Raphael
• “Mary Magdalene” by Girolamo Savoldo
• “Supper at Emmaus” by Caravaggio
• “Virgin of the Rocks” by Leonardo da Vinci
• “Saint George and the Dragon” by Tintoretto
• Madonna in the Meadow by Raphael
• The Alba Madonna by Raphael
• Small Cowper Madonna by Raphael
• “Adoration of the Magi” by Botticelli
• “Judith Slaying Holofernes” by Artemisia Gentileschi
• “Christ in the House of Martha and Mary” by Diego Velázquez
• “The Finding of the Savior in the Temple” by William Holman Hunt
• Maestà by Duccio
• Susanna and the Elders
  • “Susanna and the Elders” by Lorenzo Lotto – 1517 – Uffizi Gallery, Florence
  • Susanna and the Elders by Artemisia Gentileschi – 1610 – Schloss Weissenstein
  • Susanna and the Elders by Francesco Ciseri – 1625 – Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki
  • Susannah and the Elders by Massimo Stanzione – 1643 – Städel Museum
  • Susannah and the Elders by Rembrandt – 1647 – Gemäldegalerie, Berlin
  • Susannah and the Elders by Giuseppe Bartolomeo Chiari – 1727 –  Walters Art Museum
• The Finding of Moses
  • “The Finding of Moses” by Lawrence Alma-Tadema – 1904 – Private Collection, New York
  • “Moses saved from the Waters” by Orazio Gentileschi – 1633 – Museo Nacional del Prado
  • “Moses saved from the Waters” by Nicolas Poussin – 1647 –  Louvre Museum
  • “Moses saved from the Waters” by Bonifazio Veronese – 1545 –  Pinacoteca di Brera – Brera Art Gallery
  • “The Finding of Moses” by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo – 1730 – Scottish National Gallery
• “Belshazzar’s Feast” by Rembrandt
• 10 Famous Madonna and Child Paintings by Raphael
  • “The Niccolini-Cowper Madonna” by Raphael – National Gallery of Art, DC
  • “Madonna and Child with the Book” by Raphael – Norton Simon Museum
  • “Solly Madonna” by Raphael – Gemäldegalerie, Berlin
  • “Colonna Madonna” by Raphael – Gemäldegalerie, Berlin
  • “Conestabile Madonna” by Raphael – Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg
  • “Madonna del Granduca” by Raphael – Palazzo Pitti, Florence
  • “Madonna in the Meadow” by Raphael – Kunsthistorisches Museum
  • “The Alba Madonna” by Raphael –  National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
  • “Small Cowper Madonna” by Raphael –  National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
  • “The Madonna of the Pinks” by Raphael –  National Gallery, London
• “Moses with the Tablets of the Law” by Rembrandt
• “The Prodigal Son” by Rembrandt
• “The Prodigal Son in the Brothel” by Rembrandt
• “The Raising of Lazarus” by Rembrandt 
• “The Raising of Lazarus” by Vincent van Gogh
• “The Woman Taken in Adultery” by Rembrandt
• “The Feast in the House of Levi” by Paolo Veronese

Understanding the styles of art: Byzantine Art

Art of Eternity – The Glory of Byzantium

~~~

“May the Lord grant me a sword and no need to use it.”
– Czech Proverbs

~~~

---

Photo Credit: 1) Narodni Galerie v Praze [Public domain or CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], via Wikimedia Commons