Saint Luke was not only a writer but also one of the best painters and portraitists of his time. The Madonna of Saint Luke is nothing more than the image of the Virgin Mary that he painted. Find out all about St Luke’s Madonna in this article.
The story of the Virgin of St Luke
Saint Luke was a devout admirer of the virtues of the Virgin Mary. For this reason, as a sign of homage, he decided to make a painting in her honour. Among the materials he used were canvas and a panel to serve as a base. The iconography shows the Virgin with her son in her arms. It seems that Lucas made three more copies which were distributed. After his death, lesser-known painters glorified the work with further copies.
By law, all chapels bearing the name of St Luke must include the Virgin of St Luke as one of their most important paintings. During the Renaissance, this painting took on an exceptional importance, as the portrait was attributed to the characteristics of such a cultural and pictorial movement.
On other occasions, these chapels asked for assistants to supervise the work inside the chapel. As a token of their gratitude, they made the greatest effort to paint the Virgin of St Luke themselves. If the painting could not be exhibited in the church, it was sent to an important museum.
The painting achieved the same fame as the saint, so much so that it was as highly prized as any of Caravaggio’s works, such as his St John the Baptist. The work also marked an epoch in which Byzantine art flourished. At the same time, Vladimir’s portrait of the Virgin gained great prestige as religious painting became more popular.
Versions of St Luke’s Madonna
One of the most famous versions of St Luke is that of Roiger Van Der Weyden. His copy of the Madonna of St Luke is considered the first and most important Flemish painting in history. He went on to make other copies of the same painting, which are kept in Belgium and St Petersburg. Little is known about the original painting, but artists have claimed to have seen it in a museum in Boston.
All the colours used by Weyden are of a vegetable nature, i.e. he used colours ranging from green to dark brown. He was influenced by miniature painting. His main aim was to render the image of the Virgin Mary with her child in her arms as realistically as possible. Weyden found a woman who was as physically close to Mary as possible, as the artist liked to paint with his model in front of him. He was also careful to find a child so angelic that it resembled Jesus.
Prayer to the Virgin of St Luke
The devotion to this work of art has led the devotees of Saint Luke to pray a memorial prayer. Perhaps the image helps to heal the soul, because the image of Mary with her Son conveys peace and serenity. Another prayer for inner peace is the prayer for protection and healing in Psalm 91.
-O my Virgin, great spouse of Saint Joseph of Nazareth, that tireless man who worked from sunrise to sunset to protect his family. By your blessed and perfect face, sculpted by Saint Luke the Evangelist, I hope that you will hear this little prayer. With this face, with this son she holds in her arms, with this precious work, I ask you to grant me the following favour (the favour is explained in honour of the image).
Splendid Mary, most intelligent Saint Luke, who knew how to work the art of painting in a perfect and ideal way. In the same way, I hope that you will paint the best of smiles on my sad face, so that I may feel happy again with the fulfilment of the following favour (The favour for the Virgin of Saint Luke is explained). Your will be done, kind Saint Luke, so that all my faults and sins may be transformed into blessings and sincere conversion.
Prayer to the Virgin of St Luke for the Sick
-O solemn painting created by the prodigious hands of St Luke. You who are in every church, cathedral, monastery and in the Vatican itself, I ask you as a favour to help me to be cured of this unpleasant illness from which I suffer. Make the pain disappear from my body. I also pray for all the sick of the world, for I wish them a speedy and satisfactory recovery.
Thank you, Virgin of Saint Luke, Mother of God and of all of us, for taking care of this short but sincere recital in search of my health and that of all the sick of the world. Amen.
