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What is a Black Madonna? -

The Black Madonna challenges the traditional fair-skinned image of the Virgin Mary. The term Black Madonna refers to statues, paintings, or icons of the Mother and Child depicted with dark skin.

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Where can she be found? -

Numerous examples of the Black Madonna can be found both in Catholic and Orthodox countries.

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The Black Madonna in Europe -

There are more than 500 examples of the Black Madonna in Europe, with over 150 located in churches, monasteries, galleries, and museums in France alone.

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Byzantine icon -

Most Black Madonnas are fashioned as icons, which are Byzantine in origin or style and date back to the medieval period. One of the most famous is the 14th-century Black Madonna of Częstochowa in Poland.

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The Black Madonna further afield -

Other examples hail from the Middle East, the Caucasus or Africa, mainly Egypt and Ethiopia. Pictured is the Black Madonna of St. Peter's Church in the historical part of Jaffa in Tel Aviv, Israel.

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The Black Madonna as a statue -

Black Madonnas are also exemplified by statues. These are usually made of wood, but are also presented in stone or marble. This exquisite Black Madonna is one of the ecclesiastical wonders of the Basilica of St. Ann in Altötting, Bavaria, Germany.

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What does she look like? -

Black Madonnas fall into two main groups: free-standing upright figures or seated figures on a throne. The example in Le Puy Cathedral in Auvergne, France, stands on the altar.

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Decorative religious artifact -

Similarly, Einsiedeln Abbey in Switzerland features a Black Madonna set over the altar surrounded by a sunburst of gilded decoration.

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The Black Madonna phenomenon -

Speculation as to why these icons and statues are dark in hue varies greatly and has often generated controversy. Pictured is the Black Madonna at the Church of Santo Domingo on the Canary island of Tenerife.

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Origins of the Black Madonna -

Some scholars believe that these icons and statues are dark-skinned representations of pre-Christian deities reenvisioned as the Madonna and Child—early examples of cultural appropriation, if you like.

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Reasons for her color -

Other explanations range from Madonnas made from dark wood, or Madonnas that have turned darker over time, due to factors such as aging or votive candle soot. Deterioration of lead-based pigments used to coat the figures has also been blamed. Pictured is the Black Madonna at Rocamadour in France.

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Seeing the light -

The 12th-century Black Madonna in the Church of Notre-Dame of Dijon in France was renamed Notre-Dame de Bon-Espoir (Our Lady of Good Hope) after a layer of black tint, originally applied for an unknown reason, was removed to expose the lighter hue of the natural wood.

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Controversial facelift -

In 2017, the celebrated statue formally revered as the Black Madonna in Chartres Cathedral underwent a facelift to remove the Virgin's dark visage. It was a highly contentious move made as part of the cathedral's extensive restoration. The statue, pictured here as it appeared in 2013, is now white, with those responsible criticized for wiping away the past.

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Made in their image -

In some countries, a Black Madonna is entirely in keeping with the image of the indigenous population she represents. This image of the Virgin Mary and the Infant Jesus is found in Cartagena, Colombia.

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Embracing the Black Madonna -

There's always been a reluctance on the part of traditional Christianity and the Catholic Church to accept the idea that the Madonna is black, according to the Scholarly Community Encyclopedia. But in nations of dark-skinned people—and with no common belief of what Mary actually looked like—it's commonplace for Mother and Child to be depicted as exactly that, dark skinned.

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Black Madonna of Montserrat -

One of the finest Black Madonna statues in the world is that residing in Santa Maria de Montserrat Abbey in Spain. It is believed to have originated in the Holy Land during the Crusades and to have been brought to Catalonia in the 13th century, probably by the Knights Templar.

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Our Lady of Loreto -

A niche in the Basilica della Santa Casa in Loreto, Italy, embraces the Black Madonna of Our Lady of Loreto. It's carved out of Lebanese cedar and richly adorned with jewels. Commissioned in 1922 after a fire destroyed the original, the replacement was granted a Canonical Coronation in 1922 by Pope Pius XI.

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The Black Madonna in trench art -

This remarkable trench art sculpture features a Black Madonna figurine with outstretched arms set in the hollow interior of a bullet casing. Inside, a figure of the Virgin Mary stands in a long gold dress and headdress. The top of the casing has a Christian cross upraised on the metal. Trench art is decorative items made by soldiers, prisoners of war, or civilians during times of conflict.

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House of the Black Madonna -

In Prague's Old Town stands the unique House of the Black Madonna. Completed in 1912, the cubist property is named after the Baroque sculpture of a Black Madonna that adorns it. It's operated by the Prague Museum of Decorative Arts and is one of the Czech Republic's more unusual visitor attractions.

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The Black Virgin of Rumburk -

Also in the Czech Republic is the Baroque Loreto Chapel in the town of Rumburk. Inside, surrounded by a cloister with a vivid ceiling painting from the life of the Virgin Mary, is a diminutive Black Madonna statue.

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The Black Madonna of Tindari -

The Black Madonna of Tindari dates back to around 800 CE. Carved from cedar wood, she was brought to Sicily by sailors in the Byzantine era. During the voyage, the vessel ran into a violent storm and ran aground in Tindari bay. Miraculously, no lives were lost. Since then, locals believe the Mother and Child to be blessed with protective powers that safeguard the population from many dangers including earthquakes, pestilence, and invading armies.

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Our Lady of Aparecida -

Our Lady of Aparecida is venerated by Brazilian Catholics. A mid-17th-century Black Madonna figure, the small clay statue is enshrined in the central high altar of the Basilica of the National Shrine of Our Lady Aparecida in Aparecida, São Paulo.

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Black Madonna of Einsiedeln -

For more than a 1,000 years, the Black Madonna at Einsiedeln Abbey has been a center of Marian devotion in Switzerland. The Benedictine monastery's mysterious figure draws more than a million pilgrims a year to the tiny, idyllic town of Einsiedeln: the abbey has been a major resting point for centuries for pilgrims traveling to Santiago de Compostela Cathedral in Spain on the Way of Saint James.

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Cultural whitewashing? -

In Chipiona, southern Spain, an icon of the Black Madonna is held in the Santuario Santa María de Regla. At some point in time, the single wooden statue was split in half to separate the Jesus figure from its mother under the pretext of clothing the Madonna with a luxurious gown. Later, however, a white child, rather than the original dark-skinned version, was put back in its place. Subsequent images of the Virgin of Regla, like this one in Havana, Cuba, illustrate this practice of cultural whitewashing.

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The Black Madonna of Oropa -

The Black Madonna of Oropa is a darkened wood pigmented statue of the Madonna and Child. According to legend, the wooden statue was carved by Saint Luke and unearthed in Jerusalem by Bishop Eusebius of Vercelli. It was brought to Piedmont, Italy, in the 4th century. It now resides in the Sanctuary Oropa.

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Fresco graffiti -

Visitors to the Collegiate church of Saint Ursus in Aosta, northern Italy, often remark on the Black Madonna fresco decorating one of the cloister walls of the 15th-century building.

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The Black Madonna of Marija Bistrica -

Marija Bistrica in central Croatia is home to the ancient Marian shrine of the Black Madonna—a place of pilgrimage and visited by hundreds of thousands of pilgrims every year.

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Our Lady of the Gate of Dawn -

Our Lady of the Gate of Dawn, a richly decorated icon of the Black Madonna, graces the elaborate Chapel of the Gate of Dawn in Vilnius, Lithuania.

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Carved in stone -

A black and gold statue of the Virgin Mary and the Infant Jesus regales visitors to central Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic.

Sources: (The New York Times) (University of Dayton) (Scholarly Community Encyclopedia) (Ovations) (BBC)

See also: Incredible Christ statues around the world

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