Meditating on the Assumption

Andrea dal Castagno, The Assumption of the Virgin with Saints Julian
and Minas (Miniato) of Florence
Italian, c. 1440-1450
Berlin, Gemäldegalerie der Staatliche Museen zu Berlin

Most mages of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary depict the scene as one in which the astonished Apostles watch from the ground as the Virgin rises through the sky. (Many instances can be found in the first four essays in the "In the Spotlight" section of the right hand side bar on this page.)  

The Apostles  are frequently shown standing at her empty tomb, which may be filled with lilies, the symbol of Mary’s purity.  However, there are some other images that offer a different slant on the same theme.  

These other images depict, not the event of the Assumption, rather they offer a reflection on it.  What distinguishes these images from the mainstream is their somewhat static nature and the presence of figures other than Mary's contemporaries, such as the Apostles.  These non-Apostolic figures are usually saints who have in some way contributed to the theological reflection on Mary's role in the history of salvation, as the mother of Jesus Christ.  Alternatively, they may be the patron saints of the church in which they were located or of the person who commissioned the picture.  

One example is found in the image above, painted by Andrea dal Castagno in the 1440s.  Castagno and his workshop painted the Virgin of the Assumption between Saints Julian and Miniato as part of an altarpiece for the church of San Miniato fra le Torri in Florence.  Saint Minas (or Miniato) is the patron saint of that church and Saint Julian is the patron of inn keepers.  Both Julian's profession and Miniato's patronage would appear to have played a role in its composition.

Other examples are:

Luca Signorelli and Workshop, Our Lady of the Assumption with Saints Michael and Benedict
Italian, c. 1493-1496
New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Department of European Paintings

This was painted by Signorelli and his workshop as part of the altarpiece for a the monastery dedicated to Saint Michael built for the members of the Olivetan branch of the Benedictine order in the city of Cortona.  The saints chosen are the patron saint of the monastery and the founder of the Benedictine Order.

Assumption with Saints Francis of Assisi, Elizabeth of Hungary, Anthony of Padua and Catherine of Alexandria

Italian, c. 1500-1525

Avignon, Musée du Petit Palais

This image of the Assumption venerated by three Franciscan saints and the very popular Saint Catherine of Alexandria points to a commission from a Franciscan church.

Pietro Perugino, The Assumption with Saints Bernardo degli Uberti, Giovanni Gualberto, Benedict and Michael
Known as the Vallombrosa Altarpiece
Italian, c. 1497- 1500
Florence, Galleria degli Uffizi

This altarpiece was commissioned from Perugino and his workshop for the monastery of Valllombrosa.  The monastery housed a group of monks following the Benedictine rule.  With the exception of the Archangel Michael, the saints depicted are Saint Benedict and two of his followers.  Saint Giovanni Gualberto was the founder of the monastery of Vallombrosa.  One of Perugino's assistants who worked on the commission was the young Raphael.

Andrea del Sarto, The Assumption of the Virgin
Known as the Assunta Passerini
Italian, c. 1525-1526
Florence, Galleria Palatina, Palazzo Pitt

In this image Andrea del Sarto presents both a conventional narrative view of the Assumption as witnessed by the Apostles and the more p ersonal meditative vision of the Assumption viewed by saints.  In the lower level we see Saints Nicholas (looking at us over his shoulder) and Saint Margaret of Cortona (in white at the right).  Both these saints had personal ties to the person who commissioned the work.  She was named Margarkta Passerini and she was the daughter and mother of men whose name was Nicolo.  Hence, the saints she requested as alternate witnesses have names intimately related to her human life.

Federico Zuccaro, Our Lady of the Assumption with Saints John the Baptist and Catherine of Alexandria
Italian, c. 1566
Cortona, Museo Diocesano

There may be some personal message here, but it is unknown.  However, one can comment that these two saints were among the most popular throughout the history of Christianity.  Saint John the Baptist, with his symbol of the lamb, was the cousin of Jesus and acted as his precursor, preaching a baptism of repentance.  Saint Catherine of Alexandria, with her symbol of the broken wheel, was an early Christian martyr.

Jacques Stella, The Assumption of the Virgin Mary
French, c. 1625-1627
Nantes, Musée d'Arts

This looks like a standard picture of the Assumption until one notices the figure of the young man in the lower right corner.  He may be the donor of the picture or he may be someone who is being commemorated by the donor.

Carlo Maratti, Our Lady of the Assumption and the Doctors of the Church
Italian,  1689
Rome,  Church of Santa Maria del Popolo, Cybo Chapel

The four doctors are:  Saints Augustine, John the Evangelist, John Chrysostom and Gregory the Great, all of whom had written about the Virgin Mary and her role in salvation.

This painting of a discussion between four doctors of the church who were instrumental in directing the thought of the Church to the role of Mary seems an appropriate place to end this exploration of the imagery (iconography) associated with her Assumption.

©  M. Duffy, 2025

Glorious Saint Anne – The Iconography of Saint Anne

Masaccio, Madonna and Child with Saint Anne
Italian, 1424
Florence, Uffizi Gallery

 

 

 

The course of the year has come round, once again, to the middle of July and the start of the period in which the Church turns to honor Saint Anne and her husband, Saint Joachim, parents of the Virgin Mary and grandparents of Jesus.  As it has every July since 1892, my home parish in New York will be honoring St. Anne during the nine day novena and feast day, from July 17th to July 26th.   The schedule is shown below.

 

During the ten-day period in 2011, I posted a series of essays on the iconography of Saint Anne.  The list of topics is shown below.  I refer readers to them.  I've updated some with additional images, as I've found them during the past year. 

 

1. Introduction, The Background of Joachim and Anne plus the Annunciation of Mary's Birth
2. The Meeting of Anne and Joachim at the Golden Gate
3. The Birth of Mary
4. The Presentation of Mary in the Temple
5. Saint Anne as Teacher (The Education of the Virgin Mary)
6. Anne, Root of the Tree of Salvation (the Anna selbdritt image)
7. Saint Anne, Grandmother
8. Saint Anne, Matriarch of the Holy Kindred
9. Saint Anne in the Communion of Saints
10. Saint Anne, Patron and Intercessor

 

 

I have also published additional images of Saint Anne in annual supplements.  To see these click on the year or title:
Saint Anne at the Met
2014
2016
2017
2018
2019

2020

2022

Please note that there was no updates for 2023 or 2024.  Circumstances have prevented that work.  In 2023, a computer crash destroyed the image files and in 2024 a fall prevented any work being done.  I am still trying to catch up.

In the meantime, you may want to join in the daily prayer to Saint Anne, recited during each day of the novena.  

You can access the 2025 novena schedule here Eglise Saint Jean Baptiste.

Luca Vescia, Saint Anne and Mary
Italian, 1911
New York, Saint Jean Baptiste Church, Shrine of Saint Anne

Novena Prayer to Saint Anne
"O glorious Saint Ann, you are filled with compassion for those who invoke you and with love for those who suffer! Heavily burdened with the weight of my troubles, I cast myself at your feet and humbly beg of you to take the present intention which I recommend to you in your special care.

Please recommend it to your daughter, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and place it before the throne of Jesus, so that He may bring it to a happy issue. Continue to intercede for me until my request is granted. But, above all, obtain for me the grace one day to see my God face to face, and with you and Mary and all the saints to praise and bless Him for all eternity. Amen."

© M. Duffy, 2025.

Saint Margaret of Antioch – Dragon Slayer

Charles Alphonse Dufresnoy, St. Margaret of Antioch

French, 1656

Evreux, Musée d'Art Histoire et Archéologie

There are several women honored as saints or blesseds by the Catholic Church who are named Margaret.  For example, there are St. Margaret of Scotland, St. Margaret of Cortona, St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, Blessed Margaret Pole and St. Margaret Clitherow.   But all of them (and I myself) draw their names from a woman who may or may not have lived.  This is St. Margaret of Antioch,  who is remembered by the Church on July 20.  She is little remembered today, but was a major saint in the Middle Ages through the Baroque.

 

This first St. Margaret was reputedly born in Syria, in the area around Antioch.  Antioch is a city with a long, long Christian tradition.  Indeed, it is in Antioch that the followers of the new way in Judaism were first called “Christians”.  It is the city that saw Saints Peter and Paul preach and is the city of one of the best known of the very early Christian martyrs, St. Ignatius of Antioch.   Ignatius was bishop of Antioch (the third ever, the first being St. Peter) in the latter decades of the first century and his letters tell us much about the beliefs and disciplines of the early Church.   The letters we have were written while he was in transit, under guard, from Antioch to Rome, where he died, as he had expressly hoped, torn to pieces by the big cats of the new Flavian Amphitheatre (which we know as the Colosseum).1  With this background, it is not surprising that a young woman named Margaret, who was a Christian, may have been born near the city, 

Guercino, St. Margaret of Antioch
Italian, c. 1630
Rome, Church of San Pietro in Vincoli

Margaret is, in fact, a name with deep roots in the Middle East, for it is derived from the Persian word for “pearl”.  In many languages there is a close association between the words for pearl and daisy.2  In French, for example, daisies are known as “marguerites”.  And women with the name Margaret have sometimes been gifted with the nickname “Daisy” in addition to the more common Margie, Maggie and Meg.  So, Margaret, probably in the sense of pearl, would not be an unusual name to find in a Syrian woman.

Chances are that there may have been an early Christian woman martyr in Syria or southern Anatolia named Margaret during one of the persecutions that beset the Church in the Roman Empire.  However, as with many of the early saints her story became embellished over time with stories of horrendous cruelties and fairytale elements.  In Margaret’s case these elements came to completely overshadow her human story.

    

According to the legend, Margaret was born on Antioch near the end of the third century, the daughter of a priest of one of the pagan cults, presumably for one of the gods or goddesses of the Roman pantheon.  Since her mother died when she was a baby, she was given to a wet nurse to raise.  The woman happened to be both a wool worker and a Christian and introduced Margaret to both.

On her coming of age, she was requested in marriage by a high ranking Roman official.  She refused him and refused to renounce her faith as well.  For this she was tortured (in some pretty horrific ways) and thrown into prison.  In prison she was attacked by Satan in two forms.  First, as a handsome young man who attempted to persuade her to surrender to the pleasures of the flesh.  Having failed at that, he decided to try terror, assumed the form of a dragon and swallowed her whole.  

Nothing daunted, Margaret either cut her way out of the dragon with a cross she had been holding when swallowed, or was miraculously released by the spontaneous explosion of the dragon when she made the sign of the cross from within his stomach.  For this reason, she is most frequently shown holding a cross and with a dead or dying dragon at her feet.3 

However, this reprieve was only temporary.  She was eventually beheaded during the persecution of Diocletian (303-305).4

Richard de Montbaston, Martyrdom of Margaret of Antioch
From a Golden Legend by Jacobus de Voragine
French (Paris), 1348
Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France
MS Français 241, fol.159v

Margaret was an extremely popular saint during the medieval period and remained so into the Renaissance and Baroque periods.  She is the patron saint of a number of things and events, including pregnant women and childbirth.  Further, she is also one of the three women martyrs among the so-called "Fourteen Holy Helpers", early saints who were believed to have great power as helpers to those who invoked their intercession.

In art we see different aspects of her life.  Sometimes she is shown as a shepherdess or wool worker, a reference to the supposed occupation of her foster mother.

Mahiet and Collaborators, St. Margaret of Antioch as a Shepherdess
From a Speculum historiale by Vincentius Bellovacensis
French (Paris), c. 1335
Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France
MS Arsenal 5080, fol. 288r

Jean Fouquet, St. Margaret of Antioch Spinning Wool
From the Hours of Etienne Chevalier
French (Tours), c. 1450-1460
Paris, Musée du Louvre
MS MI 1093

*Anonymous, Olybrius Sees Margaret Tending Sheep
German, Early 16th Century
Ottobeuren, Abbey Art Collection 

Francisco de Zurbaran, St. Margaret of Antioch as a Shepherdess
Spanish, c. 1630-1634
London, National Gallery

There are also a few images of her rejection of a suitor, which attracted the attention of the Roman authorities and led to her martyrdom.

* Anonymous, Margaret Rejects the Courtship of Olybrius
German, Early 16th Century
Ottobeuren, Abbey Art Collection

* Melchior Puchner, St. Margaret of Antioch Rejects Olybrius's Courtship
German, c. 1737
Bayrischzell, Church of St. Margaret

At other times it is the scenes of her eventual torture and martyrdom that we are shown.

Master of the Roman de Fauvel, Martyrdom of St. Margaret
From a Vies de Saints
French (Paris), c. 1300-1325
Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France
MS Français 183, fol. 86v

This miniature shows both her escape from the dragon and her martyrdom.

Lodovico Carracci, Martyrdom of St. Margaret
Italian, 1616
Mantua, San Maurizio, Cappella di Santa Margherita

* Melchior Puchner, St. Margaret of Antioch Is Tortured with Scourges and Torches
German, c. 1737
Bayrischzell, Church of St. Margaret

* Melchior Puchner, Martyrdom of St. Margaret of Antioch
German, c. 1737
Bayrischzell, Church of St. Margaret

At times she is seen in her place in heaven as a martyr saint.  Here the dragon may appear as one of her attributes but always as a subdued, barely hinted at presence.    What is more important is the cross or martyr's palm that she holds.  She also is frequently shown holding a book.

St. Margaret of Antioch
Spanish (Burgos), c.1275-1325
New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art

St. Margaret of Antioch
Catalan (Lleida), 1330-1340
New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Cloisters Collection

St. Margaret of Antioch

From the Cologne Missal

German (Cologne), 1150

Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France

 MS Latin 12055, fol. 164v

Rogier van der Weyden, Saints Margaret and Apollonia
Flemish, c. 1445-1450
Berlin, Gemäldegalerie der Staatliche Museen zu Berlin

Jacques de Besançon, The Court of Heaven

From a Golden Legend by Jacobus de Voragine

French (Paris), c. 1480-1490

Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France

MS Français 244, fol.156

In this image Margaret takes her place among the front ranks of the female martyrs.  She stands in the first row, wearing a dark blue dress and brownish cloak and carrying a cross over her right shoulder.

Annibale Carracci, St. Margaret of Antioch

Italian, c. 1597-1599

Rome, Church of Santa Caterina della Rosa

Peter Candid, St. Margaret of Antioch
Flemish, c. 1600
Private Collection

Jan Brueghel I, St. Margaret of Antioch
Flemish, c. 1600-1625
Private Collection

* Anonymous Bavarian Painter, St. Margaret of Antioch
German, 1722
Elbach, Church of St. Andrew

Ernest Hebert, St. Margaret of Antioch
French, c. 1877
Paris, Musée national Ernest Hebert

But, primarily she is seen in relation to her victory over the devil/dragon.  These images come from all the time periods.  Sometimes the dragon is a truly fierce monster, but quite frequently he is seen almost as a pet. Sometimes, Margaret is seen to be popping out of the dragon.  At other times she has already been completely liberated.  At still others she is standing victoriously atop the beast.

St. Margaret Emerging from the dragon
From the Livre d'images de Madame Marie
Belgian (Hainaut), c. 1285-1290
Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France
MS Nouvelle acquisition française 16251, fol. 100r

St. Margaret Emerging from the Dragon
From the Sermons of Maurice de Sully
Italian (Milan or Genoa), c. 1320-1330
Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France
MS Français 187, fol. 41r

Workshop of Agnolo Gaddi, St. Margaret of Antioch
Italian, c.1390
New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art

In this image Margaret is being ejected by the dragon by mouth rather than bursting through his belly.

Master of Marguerite d'Orléans, St. Margaret of Antioch
From the Heures de Marguerite d'Orléans
French (Rennes), c. 1430
Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France
MS Latin 1156 B, fol. 176r

I suggest that you click on this image to enlarge it so you won't miss the detail of Margaret as a shepherdess in the right side of the margin and the two rather charming little dragons in the bottom margin who are looking up approvingly at the devil's discomfiture.

St. Margaret of Antioch
French (Toulouse), c. 1475
New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art

Jean Bourdichon, St. Margaret of Antioch
From the Grandes heures d'Anne de Bretagne
French (Tours), c. 1503-1508
Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France
MS Latin 9474, 205v

The dragons in these two images above seem almost domesticated, almost pet-like.  Obviously, this was one little bit of fantasy that painters and sculptors (and even potters) could relate to, a kind of comic relief in their usual work of preparing images of the martyr saints that were often far from comic.

Workshop of Maestro Giorgio Andreoli, St. Margaret of Antioch
Majolica dish
Italian, 1527
New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Lehman Collection

However, Raphael (known through several copies by his students, such as Giulio Romano) and Titian suggest that there may have been a struggle to escape from the dragon.

Giulio Romano (after Raphael), St. Margaret of Antioch
Italian, c. 1518
Paris, Musée du Louvre

Titian, St. Margaret of Antioch
Italian, 1565
Madrid, Museo del Prado

At the end of the seventeenth century, an artist working in the circle of Giacomo Ceruti imagined the vanquished demon as partially returned to human form, a much more unsettling image for we see Satan resuming his appearance as a fallen angel.

Studio of Giacomo Ceruti, St. Margaret of Antioch
Itaian, c. 1601-1623
Private Collection

Even given the comic relief aspect, there is a deeper reference here, one with a Biblical foundation. For, it refers to what had been foretold in the book of Genesis, when God rebuked the "snake" who tempted Eve to sin "Then the LORD God said to the snake:  Because you have done this, cursed are you among all the animals, tame or wild; On your belly you shall crawl, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life.  I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; They will strike at your head, while you strike at their heel."  (Genesis 3:14-15)  

The dragon that devoured Margaret is the same snake that tempted Eve, both are personifications of Satan, the Devil, the Enemy who is both an enemy to God and to humanity.  Margaret is here seen as a reflection of the Virgin Mary, the quintessential "woman" of Genesis and of Revelation and the Second Eve, who, with the offspring of both her body (Jesus) and her faith (Margaret, the saints, and by extension, all Christians) will strike at his head. 5

Occasionally, images of Saint Margaret may have no references to any aspect of the story of her life, her martyrdom or her miraculous escape from the dragon, but may purely present her as an intercessor before God for a human person.  Such an image is the unusual one below.  In the lowest level of the picture we see a woman lying down, attended by others, some of whom are praying, hinting at a scene of childbirth.  In the middle section we see a king and queen giving thanks for the baby which the queen holds.  In the upper level we see St. Margaret kneeling in supplication before Christ, surrounded by angels both adults and cherubs.  One of the cherubs holds her martyr's palm, while a small group holds the cross of Christ.  Margaret's dragon is shown as flying off to the right at the border between the upper and middle sections, while an adult angel holds a cornucopia of flowers which he is about the send to earth.  The subject appears to be the birth of an heir to the aged Louis XIV.  This probably refers to the birth of the future Louis XV, who inherited his great-grandfather's throne at the age of five.

* Joseph Hartmann, Miracle of Saint Margaret of Antioch
German, 1757
Baumberg, Church of Saint Margaret

© M. Duffy, 2016.  Additional text and images added 2025.

* Indicates new images.

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1.       For St. Ignatius of Antioch see http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07644a.htm, which includes links to his letters.  O'Connor, John Bonaventure. "St. Ignatius of Antioch." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 7. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910. 20 Jul. 2016
2.         https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret
3.           The story of the dragon was too much of a strain on the credulity of Jacobus de Voragine, who was quite happy with a great many other fantastic stories.  In his The Golden Legend, written in  he says “This swallowing and breaking of the belly of the dragon is said that it is apocryphal.” From The GOLDEN LEGEND or LIVES of the SAINTS, Compiled by Jacobus de Voragine, Archbishop of Genoa, 1275 First Edition Published 1470, ENGLISHED by WILLIAM CAXTON, First Edition 1483, VOLUME FOUR.  From the Temple Classics Edited by F.S. ELLIS First issue of this Edition, 1900 Reprinted 1922, 1931< http://legacy.fordham.edu/halsall/basis/goldenlegend/GoldenLegend-Volume4.asp&gt
4.        MacRory, Joseph. "St. Margaret." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 9. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910. 20 Jul. 2016 .
5. For more on the connections between the snake, the Virgin Mary and both Genesis and Revelations, see the articles "Annunciation – The World Created Anew" and "The Immaculate Conception"