The Immaculate Conception, Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, 1767-69. Prado Museum, Madrid, Spain.
Questions
-What symbols do you see in this image?
-How is this similar or how does it differ from other Marian images you have seen?
-Do you like this style of art? Why?
Reflection
"I am the Immaculate Conception"
These words provide a comforting feeling to me, as it reminds me of my favorite apparition of Mary to St. Bernadette in Lourdes, France. Our Lady appeared to Bernadette in 1858, just four years after the Church proclaimed the teaching of the Immaculate Conception as a dogma. Although it was a few years after the dogmatic declaration, St. Bernadette was a peasant girl who would not have had the knowledge of understanding of what this meant. Mary appeared to Bernadette to give her the message of God's great love for us, no matter what. She also reminded us that happiness will not be in this world, but is waiting for us in heaven when we are united with God. Mary's self identification as the Immaculate Conception shows how she wants us to realize how powerful, mighty and loving God is.
The beauty of this painting was that it was made nearly 100 years before the 1858 apparitions to St. Bernadette. A large part of Marian dogmas is the Scriptural evidence but also the living tradition of the Church. The belief and celebration of the Immaculate Conception has been a part of the living tradition of the church long before it was declared an actual dogma. As a convert, the power of Tradition in the Catholic Church was a treasure trove of amazing things that I was a part of and could now uncover. We are a part of the Body of Christ and what we do and believe in our everyday life can have an influence on the tradition and faith of the entire Church. We are given this gift of Tradition to pass down, it is a living memory just as Scripture is. Our faith is more than just believing in Scripture, it is believing in the work and truths that are stable throughout history in our Tradition. Our God is one of history - He created it, He has a plan for it, and He entered into it as a child.
I think people often think the Immaculate Conception is about Jesus being conceived because Mary is pictured as a grown woman in paintings depicting the Immaculate Conception. I think it is important that she is a woman in this because it is not about what her parents, Joachim and Anne, did but all about what God did for her at the moment she was created. Our Lady was preserved from original sin from the moment of her conception. She is immaculate because she is perfectly pure, white as snow and completely in unification with God. God's power is shown by His full protection and preservation of Mary. She was always in a state of grace, sharing with God her entire life and therefore He shared all of His with her. Mary never had any sinful inclinations which have been connected to our very human nature since the fall. This conception truly was a gift to the human race, to show us how we can live free of sin and fully united with God. Mary is the crown jewel of humanity that ordains humanity with the ability and gift of being a living tabernacle of Christ.
The Holy Spirit is above her as a dove, showing that God is present from the beginning of her life and gave His protection. She was showered with grace when she was in the womb. I think that our pro-life beliefs as Catholic should be centered on how we treat Our Lady and Our Lord. We talk about their conceptions as immaculate and as a gift from the Lord. Life begins at conception and is a gift from the Lord, no matter who it is. Each person is known by the Lord in the womb and He has love and has infused dignity in every human being. Mary is crushing the serpent which represents the devil, who rules the world and all sinful things. She crushed the serpent at the very moment of her conception as there was never a time that she was subject to him and his sinful power. Our Lady is immaculate by the way that she was conceived but also how she lived. She chose God each and every day of her life, from the beginning of her life. Mary is the new Eve, the mother of not only the living, but the entire Church - living and dead.
Information
This image was one of seven altarpieces that was commissioned in 1767 for the church of San Pascul Bailon in Madrid, Spain. This was a Franciscan monastery founded by King Charles III that same year. These altarpieces were meant to reflect the devotions of the Franciscan order which included devotion to the Eucharist, the Christ Child, and the purity of Mary. While the Immaculate Conception was not an official dogma, it was a strongly held belief throughout all of Christendom. Her feast day on December 8 was restored to the Calendar of Saints in 1708. In the church itself this painting was at the left of the high altar. The other side of the high altar was St. Francis receiving the stigmata while the high altar painting itself was St. Pascual Bailon, whom the church was named after. Belief and promotion of the Immaculate Conception was very important to the Franciscans. In the main altarpiece, there is an angel holding the tabernacle that holds Christ as the Eucharist. We can easily draw the connection to Mary, the first tabernacle of the body of Christ. From the moment of her immaculate conception she is being prepared to conceive the Word Made Flesh. The stigmatas of St. Francis shown on the other side shows how we are called to carry Christ within us, especially in our wounds.
Tiepolo had painted an earlier version of the Immaculate Conception in 1734 for a church in Venice. This earlier version as well as others around this time by artists such as Guido Reni and Bartolome Esteban Murillo followed similar styles of depictions as a beautiful young girl. In Tiepolo's version is shows a more majestic and solemn version of Mary as a grown women, which followed the Franciscan tradition of austerity. In his sketches for this altarpiece the femininity and humanity of Mary are emphasized through her delicate frame through the support of angels. As we look at this final version, we see that the Virgin Mary is more commanding of the space and standing on her own. Her body has great energy as her waist slightly turns in motion. She has a splendor and gravitas that have the angels look towards her in awe and protection, rather than supporting her delicate frame.
The symbols in this painting reflect the virtues and importance of Mary. Standing on top of a serpent she destroys Satan and vindicates the original weakness of Eve. The enmity between the woman and serpent has come to an end as she crushes his head, fulfilling the prophecy. The serpent is on the world, showing his dominion over the earthly realm. His dominion is ended with the conception of Jesus Christ through Mary. The palm tree that lays across the bottom left corner is a symbol of her victory and exaltation. We are reminded of the palms laid on the road when Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey. It is a symbol of the royalty being victorious, with Mary being victorious over the devil by her complete gift of herself to God. Mary is often described as an enclosed garden, being completely fruitful but totally pure and ever virginal. The lilies and roses are references to this enclosed garden, symbolizing her love, virginity and purity. Marian gardens are a wonderful memorial to Our Lady and are opportunities to grow flowers that represent her virtues and remember her life.
The crescent moon under her feet and twelve stars are a reminder of the woman in the book of Revelation chapter 12. The crescent moon itself is an ancient symbol of chastity, often used and seen with the Greek goddess Artemis. Mary takes this symbol and shows that she is the most chaste and is the true moon. The moon's light comes from the sun, reflecting back what it is given. Mary is the true moon as she receive everything from God but keeps nothing for herself, she gives it all back. Behind the angels on the left there is a faint profile of an obelisk. This is a traditional symbol associated with the Tower of David and the Tower of Ivory. The impregnability, virginity and purity of these towers are now fulfilled in the tower that is Mary as the Immaculate Conception.
Tiepolo is particularly gifted in giving his paintings a lightness and airiness that was not very present in artwork of the previous century. He achieved this by using contrasting colors such as the pale blue and bright yellow with orange. This variation in color is achieved by choosing differing tones that would make the artwork seem almost ethereal. Mary's mantle he uses an almost sepia and brown ochre color, but other places he uses yellow. There are shadows present but instead of being black, they are just a slightly darker tone of the same color. These tones make the piece seem much more joyful, not a note of somberness. One can imagine that Mary is being shown in the clouds of heaven, awaiting her physical emergence from her mother's womb into the world.
More Questions
-What Marian apparition is your favorite? Why?
-What is hard to believe about the Immaculate Conception? What does the Lord desire to show and teach you through this dogma?
-What Catholic Tradition means the most to you?
Let us pray -
Lord, thank you for planning the entirety of history. You protected Mary from original sin from the moment of her conception because you knew the role that she would play in salvation history. You lay the groundwork for your most perfect plan before we even have an inclining of what to dream about. Mary, our mother, show us your immaculateness. We desire your perfection and to partake in your virginal purity, no matter our state in life. Teach us how to receive all from the Lord as gift but never keeping any of it for ourselves. You show us the fruitfulness of giving everything to the Lord, may we emulate your fruitfulness.
Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, pray for us!
Amen.
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