Harley, Like a Person |
I've never felt particularly close to the concept of the Virgin Mary, which was far away from the reality of my experience of what being female entailed. To me, it was a product of the patriarchy, designed to suppress the sacred feminine energy. I did a lot of research, including journeying to Turkey to study the concept of the female throughout the millennium, arriving all the way back to the 8th millennium BC.
I wrote a long post about my wanderings way back on March 19, 2008:
Oh, Madonna!
Harley's Ninth - illustrated by Philippe Lardy |
Meeting at the Golden Gate by Giotto (section) - 1305 |
This was a revelation to me, as I had confused the Immaculate Conception with the virgin birth of Jesus Christ.
But it was not until I saw the MAGISTER GIOTTO exhibition at the Scuola Grande della Misercordia in 2017 that the idea of the Immaculate Conception hit me on an emotional level. Some scholars think that the great artist Giotto di Bondone captured the moment of the Immaculate Conception in his Meeting at the Golden Gate, when Mary's parents; Joachim and Anne, who were long-married but childless, first met each other after receiving the news -- separately -- from an angel that they would have a child who would grow up to be the mother of God. You can read more about the moment in a post I wrote about Giotto:
The Most Powerful Kiss in Art: Do you know what MAGISTER GIOTTO in Venice is?
The Beauty of Venice, December 2019 - Photo: Cat Bauer |
Ciao from Venezia,
Cat Bauer
Venetian Cat - The Venice Blog
Venice itself is a female city, which is another thing that makes it distinct. The Venetians who constructed this city created churches and images, institutions and organizations to honor the Madonna, and appreciated the sacred female energy in their own quirky patriarchal way. As Venice once again lifts up her skirts and gets back to business after the great November 12 flood, it would be greatly appreciated if her honor and great resilience was respected by all.
ReplyDeleteThanks for this, Cat. I read this year's memory, too. Two years ago we were in Venice on this date and the Immaculate Conception holiday took us by surprise. We had hoped to return to Italy this year, but obviously that was not to be.
ReplyDeleteHi Linnea - Can you believe that I am only reading your comment now, a year later? Which you posted a year after the original post. I hope you were able to make it back to Italy this year.
Delete