Virgin of Paris - Details

Details

In this sculpture, Mary is shown standing, holding her son, Jesus Christ, against her body. Unlike previous renditions of this couple, both are naturalistic, with recognizable facial features. As usual in most religious sculptural depictions of the Holy mother and child of this time, Jesus does not look like a baby, but rather a miniature adult. However, the artist tried to combat this by giving the child the mannerisms of an infant as he plays with his mother’s veil and holds a ball. Mary stands in royal dress and a crown, depicting her as royalty. The ball her son holds is also an allusion to their royalty and holiness. The ball or orb in Christ’s hands is a reference to Christ as Salvator Mundi, or Savior of the World. The orb symbolizes Earth, and how Christ is king of the entire world.

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