Category:Mary of Nazareth--art (subject)

Mary of Nazareth (art); see Mary of Nazareth (home page)

Fiction : Mary of Nazareth (fiction) : Mary of Nazareth (art) -- Mary of Nazareth (literature) -- Mary of Nazareth (music) -- Mary of Nazareth (cinema)

Scholarship : Mary of Nazareth (research) -- Mary of Nazareth (sources)

People : Jesus of Nazareth -- Joseph of Nazareth -- Joachim -- Anne -- Elizabeth -- John the Baptist -- James >

< Life of Mary of Nazareth : Expulsion of Joachim from the Temple -- Annunciation to Anne and Joachim -- Birth of Mary -- Girlhood of Mary (Education of the Virgin, Presentation of Mary at the Temple) -- Marriage of Mary and Joseph -- Annunciation to Mary -- Visitation of Mary -- Birth of Jesus -- Adoration of the Shepherds -- Adoration of the Magi -- Circumcision of Jesus -- Presentation of Jesus at the Temple -- Massacre of the Innocents -- Flight into Egypt -- Jesus among the Doctors -- Death of Joseph of Nazareth -- Wedding at Cana -- Jesus' True Relatives -- Hometown Rejection -- Crucifixion of Jesus -- Resurrection of Jesus -- Ascension of Jesus -- Gathering of the Twelve at Jerusalem -- Christian Pentecost -- Death and Assumption of Mary -- Relics of Mary of Nazareth >

Page authored by Gabriele Boccaccini, University of Michigan, @2020.

Overview

In Christian tradition and iconography Mary of Nazareth emerged from the Middle Ages as a full fledged and complex character, with a detailed biography based on scripture, hagiography, and patristic literature. No other character in the New Testament, besides Jesus of Nazareth, received so much attention. Famous artists such as Giotto, Duccio di Buoninsegna, Domenico Ghirlandaio, Boccaccio Boccaccino, and many others, devoted large cycles to the life of Mary of Nazareth, that came to include as many as 25 episodes, covering all aspects of his life: her birth, her childhood, her marriage, her relation with Jesus, her role in the early Christian community, and her death.

A visual biography

1. According to the legend, Mary's father, Joachim, was a rich and pious man of the House of David, living with his wife Anne at Sepphoris. The high priest rejected Joachim and his sacrifice, as his wife's childlessness was interpreted as a sign of divine displeasure. Joachim consequently withdrew to the desert where he fasted and did penance for forty days. His wife, Anne, also prayed the Lord.

2. Annunciation to Anne and Joachim & Meeting of Anne and Joachim at the Golden Gate -- Angels appeared to both Joachim and Anne to promise them a child. Joachim offered his sacrifice to God in the desert and then returned to Jerusalem and embraced Anne at the city gate.