Our Lady of Czestochowa, the Black Madonna
Medium: Oil; Antique ceramic mosaic tile with 24kt. gold glazes; 22kt. Gold and sterling silver metal leaf, on vintage Ponderosa pine planks reclaimed from a 1904 mill building and formed by an artisan wood worker into a single panel.
Size: 24" x 36"
Inspiration/Image:
In the Retablo tradition of my Hispanic ancestors, I painted this for my Polish/Russian 1st generation Grandmother when she was 92 and no longer able to attend church services. I wanted her to have an image that would speak to her roots and her spiritual beliefs. Powerfully serene, the loving gaze of the Madonna is steadfast and unconditionally loving. The child sleeps serenely centered amid the vibrant garden patterns. The sterling silver corona is incised with a floral pattern that continues into the aura around her turquoise mosaic halo. The stylized shapes of tile mosaic become both cloak and background.
I grew up with stories about the Black Madonna, Our Lady of Czestochowa, that my grandmother would tell me. She said that during a siege upon the church, the warring soldiers burned the church and the Madonna. But the Madonna only blackened and did not burn. She emerged whole, yet changed to a beautiful brown color. When I was very young, my grandmother would vary the story and say that the Madonna climbed into a nearby tree, but that version stopped around the time I quit believing in Santa Claus. Though my grandmother never said anything, I wonder if the story of The Black Madonna of Czestochowa wasn't her way to explain/create a connection between us. She had very light skin and red hair, a stark contrast to her Hispanic grand children's coloring. This story from her Polish heritage of a Madonna whose skin darkened created a connection in my very visual thinking style that made sense of my world.
