Image of Gallery in South Kensington
Request to view at the Prints & Drawings Study Room, level F , Box Black Madonna Topic Box

Print

1900-1930 (Printed and published)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

In art historical terms, a black Madonna is a painting or sculpture depicting the Virgin Mary with dark or black skin, created in Europe in the late medieval period, or sometimes an older image whose documented popular cult dates from that time. Some are made of dark or black materials such as ebony, others are said to have become blackened from the soot of candles, although this explanation and the significance of the Madonna’s skin colour is contested. There are several hundred black Madonnas in Europe. The topic of black Madonnas has attracted a considerable literature in recent decades approaching the subject from the perspectives of anthropology, psychology, art history, feminism, and Black history.

The Abbey of Einsiedeln is a Benedictine monastery dedicated to Our Lady of the Hermits and located in the village of Einsiedeln twenty miles southeast of Zurich. According to 9th and 14th century sources, the hermit St Meinrad (d. 861) was especially devoted to the Virgin and was given a miracle-working statue of the Virgin and Child by Abbess Hildegard of Zurich around which he built a chapel. Following his murder, a church was built over this chapel. The new church was dedicated but not the chapel. In 948 Conrad of Constance was praying in the chapel when he witnessed Christ and the angels performing the dedication rites. A papal bull of 11th November 966 allowed the celebration of the anniversary of this miracle and granted remission of sins to pilgrims to the shrine. This early 20th-century postcard was published for sale to pilgrims as a souvenir of the shrine.


Object details

Category
Object type
Materials and techniques
Hand coloured photograph
Brief description
Souvenir of Our Lady of Einsiedeln, Switzerland, early 20th century.
Physical description
Rectangular card (portrait format) with deckle edge. Front: photo-montage of the statue of Our Lady of Einsiedeln above a view of Einsiedeln Abbey, handcoloured in red, yellow and pale blue, lettered below the image MARIA EINSIEDELN printed in black. Back: postcard template (landscape format), caption and publisher's name printed in grey.
Dimensions
  • Height: 14cm
  • Width: 9cm
Content description
Our Lady of Einsiedeln and Einsiedeln Abbey
Marks and inscriptions
  • MARIA EINSIEDELN (Printed in black, below the image)
  • MARIA EINSIEDELN (On the back, top left, printed in grey)
  • Verlag Erwin Bischoff, WII (St. G.) (On the back, bottom left, printed in grey)
  • Echte Photographie (On the back, top right, within the stamp box, printed in grey)
Credit line
Given by Tim Travis in memory of Leslie Travis
Subjects depicted
Place depicted
Summary
In art historical terms, a black Madonna is a painting or sculpture depicting the Virgin Mary with dark or black skin, created in Europe in the late medieval period, or sometimes an older image whose documented popular cult dates from that time. Some are made of dark or black materials such as ebony, others are said to have become blackened from the soot of candles, although this explanation and the significance of the Madonna’s skin colour is contested. There are several hundred black Madonnas in Europe. The topic of black Madonnas has attracted a considerable literature in recent decades approaching the subject from the perspectives of anthropology, psychology, art history, feminism, and Black history.

The Abbey of Einsiedeln is a Benedictine monastery dedicated to Our Lady of the Hermits and located in the village of Einsiedeln twenty miles southeast of Zurich. According to 9th and 14th century sources, the hermit St Meinrad (d. 861) was especially devoted to the Virgin and was given a miracle-working statue of the Virgin and Child by Abbess Hildegard of Zurich around which he built a chapel. Following his murder, a church was built over this chapel. The new church was dedicated but not the chapel. In 948 Conrad of Constance was praying in the chapel when he witnessed Christ and the angels performing the dedication rites. A papal bull of 11th November 966 allowed the celebration of the anniversary of this miracle and granted remission of sins to pilgrims to the shrine. This early 20th-century postcard was published for sale to pilgrims as a souvenir of the shrine.
Collection
Accession number
E.1001-2012

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Record createdSeptember 5, 2013
Record URL
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