Keywords
monumental art, 20th-century art, artistic tradition, Basilica of the Annunciation, Nazareth, monumental panels, mosaics, image of the Mother of God,
How to Cite
Usanova A. A., Budkeev S. M. Images of the Virgin Mary from the gallery of the Basilica of the Annunciation in Nazareth // The Art of Eurasia, 2025. № 4 (39). P. 52–67. URL: https://doi.org/10.46748/ARTEURAS.2025.04.003.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
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Abstract
This article provides an analytical review of the monumental works of art decorating the galleries of the architectural complex of the Basilica of the Annunciation in Nazareth. The artworks were donated by Christian (Catholic) communities from around the world and are dedicated to the artistic representation of the Mother of God. The uniform size of the monumental panels, located in both the open gallery and the interior of the basilica, suggests that their inclusion was part of the original architectural design by Giovanni Muzio (1893–1982). The practice of donating art for the decoration of churches, common in many religions, is particularly relevant for churches located at sites of biblical events. These works, primarily executed in mosaic, are inscribed with the country of origin but are not attributed to specific artists, with rare exceptions. The purpose of this article is to identify stylistic features and systematize artistic interpretations of the Virgin Mary in works donated by European communities and in works by artists from countries where Christianity is not a traditional religion. The study does not include a few works with a modernist orientation. Using art historical methods, the study identified three main groups of works with similar characteristics. The first two include those that directly or indirectly inherit the traditions of religious art of the Christian world — the grand styles of past Western European art or the Byzantine iconographic canon. The third group comprises distinctive interpretations of the Virgin Mary in works by artists from Southeast Asia. Despite the diversity of artistic techniques and levels of craftsmanship, these works possess a distinctly national character. This distinctiveness is manifested not only in the appearance of Mary and Jesus, dressed in traditional garments of the region, but also in the inclusion of symbolic elements within the composition that hold sacred meaning for the national culture.
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