Black Madonna

The Black Madonna of Częstochowa, Poland
Black Madonna of Outremeuse, Liège, in a procession
Black Madonna of Guingamp
Madonna at House of the Black Madonna, Prague

The term Black Madonna or Black Virgin refers to statues or paintings of the Blessed Virgin Mary in which she, and often the infant Jesus, are depicted with black or dark skin. The Black Madonna can be generally found in Catholic and Orthodox countries.

The statues or paintings are mostly wooden but occasionally stone, often painted and up to 75 cm (30 in) tall. They fall into two main groups: free-standing upright figures or seated figures on a throne. The pictures are usually icons which are Byzantine in style, often made in 13th- or 14th-century Italy. There are about 400-500 Black Madonnas in Europe, depending on how they are classified. There are at least 180 Vierges Noires in France, and there are hundreds of non-medieval copies as well. Some are in museums, but most are in churches or shrines and are venerated by devotees. A few are associated with miracles and attract substantial numbers of pilgrims.

Studies and research

Important early studies of dark images in France were done by Marie Durand-Lefebvre (1937), Emile Saillens (1945), and Jacques Huynen (1972). The first notable study of the origin and meaning of the Black Madonnas in English appears to have been presented by Leonard Moss at a meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science on December 28, 1952. Moss broke the images into three categories: (1) dark brown or black Madonnas with physiognomy and skin pigmentation matching that of the indigenous population; (2) various art forms that have turned black as a result of certain physical factors such as deterioration of lead-based pigments, accumulated smoke from the use of votive candles, and accumulation of grime over the ages, and (3) residual category with no ready explanation.[1]

In the cathedral at Chartres, there were two Black Madonnas: Notre Dame de Pilar, a 1508 dark walnut copy of a 13th-century silver Madonna, standing atop a high pillar, surrounded by candles; and Notre Dame de Sous-Terre, a replica of an original destroyed during the French Revolution. Restoration work on the cathedral resulted in the painting of Notre Dame de Pilar, to reflect an earlier 19th century painted style, rendering the statue no longer a "Black Madonna".[2][3]

List of Black Madonnas

Africa

  • Algeria, Algiers: "Our Lady of Africa"[4]
  • Senegal, Popenguine: "Notre-Dame de la Délivrance",[5]
  • South Africa, Soweto: "The Black Madonna",[6]
Our Lady of Guidance, Manila

Asia

Japan

  • Tsuruoka city, Yamagata prefecture: Tsuruoka Tenshudô Catholic Church features a black Madonna statue given by France during Meiji period [7]

The Philippines

Europe

Belgium

  • Brugge, "Our Lady of Regla"[11]
  • Brussels : "De Zwerte Lieve Vrouwo", St. Catherine Church
  • Halle (Flemish Brabant) : Sint-Martinusbasiliek
  • Liège: La Vierge Noire d'Outremeuse,
  • Lier: Onze lieve vrouw ter Gratien
  • Scherpenheuvel-Zichem: Our Lady of Scherpenheuvel
  • Tournai: Our Lady of Flanders in Tournai Cathedral
  • Verviers: "Black Virgin of the Recollects", Notre-Dame des Récollets Church,
  • Walcourt: (Notre-Dames de Walcourt)
Marija Bistrica

Crete

Hidden church of the Black Madonna, Vamos

Croatia

  • Marija Bistrica: Our Lady of Bistrica, Queen of Croatia

Czechia

  • Brno: Assumption of Virgin Mary Minor Basilica, St Thomas's Abbey, Brno[12]
  • Prague: The Madonna of Breznice; The Black Madonna in the Church Our Lady Under the Chain;[13] The Black Madonna on the House of the Black Madonna.

France

  • Aix-en-Provence, (Bouches-du-Rhône): Notre-Dame des Graces, Cathédrale Saint-Sauveur d'Aix[14]
  • Arconsat: (Notre-Dame des Champs)
  • Aurillac, (Cantal): Notre-Dame des Neiges[15]
  • Beaune: Our Lady of Beaune
  • Besançon: Our Lady de Gray
  • Besse-et-Saint-Anastaise,(Puy-de-Dôme): Saint-André Church, Notre-Dame de Vassivière
  • Bourg-en-Bresse,(Ain): 13th century
  • Chartres,(Eure-et-Loir): crypt of the Cathedral of Chartres, Notre-Dame-de-Sous-Terre[16]
  • Clermont-Ferrand, (Puy-de-Dôme)[17]
  • Cusset: the Black Virgin of Cusset
  • Dijon, (Côte-d'Or)
  • Douvres-la-Délivrande, Basilique Notre-Dame de la Délivrande, "Notre-Dame de la Délivrande"[18]
  • Dunkerque, (Nord) : Chapelle des Dunes
  • Guingamp, (Côtes-d'Armor): Basilica of Notre Dame de Bon Secours.
  • La Chapelle-Geneste, (Haute-Loire: Notre Dame de La Chapelle Geneste[19]
  • Laon,(Aisne): Notre-Dame Cathedral, statue of 1848
Vierge noire de Graville (Le Havre)
The statue of the Black Virgin at Rocamadour
  • Le Havre,(Seine-Maritime): statue near the Graville Abbey (Abbaye de Graville)
  • Le Puy-en-Velay: In 1254 when passing through on his return from the Holy Land Saint Louis IX of France gave the cathedral an ebony image of the Blessed Virgin clothed in gold brocade (Notre-Dame du Puy). It was destroyed during the Revolution, but replaced at the Restoration with a copy that continues to be venerated.[20]
  • Liesse-Notre-Dame, (Aisne): Notre-Dame de Liesse, statue destroyed in 1793, copy of 1857
  • Marseille,(Bouches-du-Rhône): Notre-Dame-de-Confession,[21] Abbey of St. Victor ; Notre-Dame d'Huveaune, Saint-Giniez Church
  • Mauriac, Cantal: Notre Dame des Miracles[22]
  • Mende, (Lozère) : Cathedral (Basilique-cathédrale Notre-Dame-et-Saint-Privat de Mende)
  • Menton, (Alpes-Maritimes): St. Michel Church
  • Meymac Abbey, (Corrèze)[23]
  • Molompize: Notre-Dame de Vauclair
  • Mont-Saint-Michel: Notre-Dame du Mont-Tombe
  • Myans, (Savoie)
  • Quimper,(Finistère): Eglise de Guéodet, nommée encore Notre-Dame-de-la-Cité
  • Riom,(Puy-de-Dôme): Notre-Dame du Marthuret[24]
  • Rocamadour, (Lot): Our Lady of Rocamadour [25]
  • Sainte Marie (Réunion) : Black Virgin River Rains
  • Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer (Camarque) Avignon: Annual Gypsy festival[26] celebrating Sara, the patron saint of Gypsies[27]
  • Soissons (Aisne): statue of the 12th century
  • Tarascon, (Bouches-du-Rhône): Notre-Dame du Château[28]
  • Thuret,(Puy-de-Dôme)[29]
Black Madonna of Toulouse
  • Toulouse: The basilica Notre-Dame de la Daurade in Toulouse, France had housed the shrine of a Black Madonna. The original icon was stolen in the fifteenth century, and its first replacement was burned by Revolutionaries in 1799 on the Place du Capitole. The icon presented today is an 1807 copy of the fifteenth century Madonna. Blackened by the hosts of candles, the second Madonna was known from the sixteenth century as Our Lady La Noire.[30]
  • Tournemire, Château d'Anjony, Our Lady of Anjony
  • Vaison-la-Romaine, (Vaucluse): statue on a hill
  • Vichy, (Allier): Saint-Blaise Church

Germany

Hungary

St. Matthew's Church

Ireland

Italy

Tindari Madonna Bruna: restoration work in the 1990s found a medieval statue with later additions. Nigra sum sed formosa, meaning "I am black but beautiful" (from the Song of Songs, 1:5), is inscribed round a newer base.

Kosovo

  • Vitina-Letnica: Church of the Black Madonna, where Mother Teresa is believed to have heard her calling.

Luxembourg

Macedonia

  • Kališta, Monastery: Madonna icon in the Nativity of Our Most Holy Mother of God church
  • Ohrid, Church: Madonna with the child

Malta

  • Ħamrun: Our Lady of Atoċja, a medieval painting brought to Malta by a merchant in the year 1630, depicting a statue found in Atocha, a parish in Madrid, Spain, and widely known as Il-Madonna tas-Samra. (This can mean 'tanned Madonna', 'brown Madonna', or 'Madonna of Samaria'.)

Poland

Portugal

Romania

  • Ghighiu: Maica Domnului Siriaca - Manastirea Ghighiu
  • Cacica: Madona Neagra - Biserica Cacica
  • Bucuresti: Madona Neagra - Biserica Dichiu

Russia

Our Lady of Wladimir 12th century. Russia

Serbia

Slovenia

Spain

Image of the Virgin of Candelaria, in the Basilica of Candelaria (Tenerife).

Switzerland

One of three of Turkey's surviving icons of the Theotokos on the island of Heybeliada at the Theological School of Halki

Turkey

Three icons portraying the Theotokos with black skin survived in Turkey to the present day, one of which is housed in the church of Halki theological seminary.

Ukraine

  • Tsarytsya Karpat (Hoshiv Monastery): The Queen of the Carpathian Land

United Kingdom

The Americas

Brazil

Nossa Senhora Aparecida

Chile

  • Andacollo,(Elqui Province): La Virgen Morena (Spanish for The Brunette Virgin)

Costa Rica

Cuba

  • Regla, (Havana Province): Nuestra Señora de Regla (Spanish for Our Lady of Regla)

Trinidad and Tobago

  • Siparia : La Divina Pastora[31]
  • Gran Couva : Our Lady of Montserrat[32]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Black Madonnas—Introduction". udayton.edu.
  2. ↑ Filler, Martin "A Scandalous Makeover at Chartres", The New York Review of Books, December 14, 2014
  3. ↑ Ramm, Benjamin. "A Controversial Restoration That Wipes Away the Past", The New York Times, September 1, 2017
  4. ↑ "Algiers". interfaithmary.net.
  5. ↑ "Senegal". interfaithmary.net.
  6. ↑ "Soweto". interfaithmary.net.
  7. ↑ http://experiencetsuruoka.com/Tsuruoka-Catholic-Church-Tenshudo/
  8. ↑ Baybay, Felicito S., "Patron Ng Kapayapaan At Mga Manlalakbay" Archived 2014-08-08 at the Wayback Machine.
  9. ↑ KD. "Our Lady Of The Rule National Shrine – Quirks of Life". quirksoflife.com.
  10. ↑ Darang, Josephine. "Special Mass for Our Lady of Piat held July 9 at Sto. Domingo Church", Philippine Daily Enquirer, June 26, 2011
  11. ↑ "Your Question". udayton.edu.
  12. ↑ "Brno – The Black Madonna". brno.cz.
  13. ↑ "Church of Our Lady Below the Chain in Prague", Prague.cz Archived November 29, 2014, at the Wayback Machine.
  14. ↑ Channell, J., "Notre-Dame des Graces", Aix-en-Provence
  15. ↑ "Black Virgin of Aurillac". amigo.net. Archived from the original on 15 May 2008.
  16. ↑ https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/01/arts/design/chartres-cathedral-restoration-controversial.html?action=click&contentCollection=arts&region=rank&module=package&version=highlights&contentPlacement=1&pgtype=sectionfront&_r=0
  17. ↑ "Notre Dame de Clermont". Web.archive.org. 2007-12-19. Archived from the original on 2007-12-19. Retrieved 2009-07-25.
  18. ↑ "Douvres". interfaithmary.net.
  19. ↑ "Notre Dame de La Chapelle Geneste". amigo.net. Archived from the original on 14 May 2008.
  20. ↑ "Notre Dame du Puy, Cathedrale...: Photo by Photographer Dennis Aubrey". photo.net. 2007-11-09. Archived from the original on 2009-02-07. Retrieved 2009-07-25.
  21. ↑ "Black Virgin of Marseilles". amigo.net. Archived from the original on 15 May 2008.
  22. ↑ "Black Virgin of Mauriac". amigo.net. Archived from the original on 14 May 2008.
  23. ↑ "Meymac". interfaithmary.net.
  24. ↑ "Black Virgin of Riom". amigo.net. Archived from the original on 14 May 2008.
  25. ↑ "The Sanctuaries". visit-dordogne-valley.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2014-07-05. Retrieved 2014-08-06.
  26. ↑ Garth Cartwright. "Partying with the Gypsies in the Camargue". the Guardian.
  27. ↑ "Gypsy's Pilgrimage – Les Saintes Maries de la Mer – Camargue – France". avignon-et-provence.com.
  28. ↑ "Notre Dame du Château". amigo.net. Archived from the original on 14 May 2008.
  29. ↑ "Vierge des Croisades". Web.archive.org. 2007-12-19. Archived from the original on 2007-12-19. Retrieved 2009-07-25.
  30. ↑ Vanished Kingdoms: The History of Half-Forgotten Europe, Norman Davies
  31. ↑ Dhalai, Richard, "La Divina Pastora", Trinidad and Tobago Newsday, March 19, 2007
  32. ↑ ,

Sources

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