Madonnas of the Early Masters of Art for Mothers

“It is not for nothing that the old painters, however diverse their ideas in other matters, all fixed upon one quality as proper to the pattern Mother. The Madonna, no matter out of whose canvas she looks at you, is always serene. This is a great truth, and we should do well to hang our walls with the Madonnas of all the early Masters if the lesson, taught through the eye, would reach with calming influence to the heart. Is this a hard saying for mothers in these anxious and troubled days? It may be hard, but it is not unsympathetic. If mothers could learn to do for themselves what they do for their children when these are overdone, we should have happier households.”

Charlotte Mason (School Education, p. 33)

I was contacted earlier this year by a reader who sent me this quote from School Education. She wanted to know which paintings might fall under this category of “Madonnas of the early Masters” and how to find them. Coincidentally, last year, after the Charlotte Mason Educational Retreat, I had another fellow homeschooling mother come to me and ask for something similar. 

Of course, I’ve read this excerpt in the past, and immediately, certain paintings come to mind (in particular, a few from the artists lists series I did earlier this year), but I’ve never spent extensive time thinking about this. Being the student of art history that I was, however, after the email earlier this year, I decided I really wanted to explore this quote further, and in this post, I’m offering a list of representations of the Madonna that I have found to be particularly beautiful.

A Note on Ethnicity

Historically, and especially in the more well-known movements in art history, Mary is usually depicted as a white woman, and she often has blonde or red hair, and blue eyes. Aside from being historically inaccurate (it’s doubtful that a Middle-Eastern teenager had light skin, blonde hair, or blue eyes), I don’t believe there is anything wrong with this depiction, or Mary portrayed as any other race, as art is not necessarily about historical accuracy, but more about inspiration and contemplation.

Because of this, I had hoped to include more diversity in this list, but it was very challenging to find any that were (a) in the public domain and (b) I liked. I ran across this beautiful piece of a Black Madonna that was painted by a Franciscan nun, and I did reach out to see if I could include the image in my list, but I did not hear back before I published the post. If anyone knows of any paintings that fit in this category, please let me know, as I would love to include them here!

You can use these however you see fit. I like Ms. Mason’s suggestion of hanging a few on your walls for inspiration. I can also see this as a beautiful thing to have displayed during a morning liturgy. However you choose to use these suggestions, I hope the list is helpful!

Madonnas of the Early Masters

Ms. Mason did not specify what constituted an “early master,” so I am offering those I feel fall into that category.

Master of the Třeboň Altarpiece

Pisanello

Donato de’ Bardi

Rogier van der Weyden

Fra Filippo Lippi

Andrea Mantegna

Carlo Crivelli

Benvenuto di Giovanni

Hugo van der Goes

Bernardo Luini

Francesco Francia

Leonardo da Vinci

Fernando Yáñez de la Almedina

Giovanni Bellini

Raphael

Jacopo Pontormo

Lucas Cranach the Elder

Giovanni Battista Salvi da Sassoferrato

Bartolomé Esteban Murillo

Madonnas of the Modern Masters

Russian School Icon

Pompeo Batoni

William Dyce

William-Adolphe Bouguereau

Marianne Stokes

What other paintings would you add to this list? And which one is your favorite?