I am curious to know if there is any much art about Mary in the Anglican tradition... Thanks in advance
Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828-1882). 'The Girlhood of Mary Virgin' and 'Ecce Ancilla Domini' Bishop Thomas Ken (1637-1711). Lengthy poem on the Virgin's life, part of which is used as a hymn (No 217 in English Hymnal - hymn portion given below). 'Her Virgin eyes saw God incarnate born' Her Virgin eyes saw God Incarnate born, when she to Bethlehem came that happy morn; How high her raptures then began to swell, none but her own omniscient Son can tell. As Eve when she her fontal sin review'd, wept for herself and all she should include; Bless'd Mary, with man's Saviour in embrace, joy'd for herself and for all human race. All Saints are by her Son's dear influence bless'd, she kept the very fountain at her breast; The Son adored and nursed by the sweet Maid a thousand-fold of love for love repaid. Heaven with transcendent joys her entrance graced, next to his throne her Son His Mother placed; and here below, now she's of heaven possessed, all generations are to call her blessed. John Donne (1572-1631) CofE cleric, poet. 'To the Blessed Virgin Mary' O fruitful garden, and yet never till’d! Box full of treasure, yet by no man fill’d! O thou which hast made Him that first made thee! O near of kin to all the Trinity! O palace, where the King of all, and more, Went in and out, yet never open’d door, Whose flesh is purer than an other’s spirit, Reach Him our prayers, and reach us down His merit! O bread of life which swelld’st up without leaven! O bridge which join’st together earth and heaven! Whose eyes see me through these walls, and through glass, And through this flesh as thorough cypress pass. Behold a little heart made great by thee Swelling, yet shrinking at thy majesty. O dwell in it! for wheresoe’er thou go’st, There is the temple of the Holy Ghost.
The Pynson Ballad Of this chapcll se here the fundacyon, Bylded the yere of Crystes incarnacyon, A thousande complete syxty and one, The tyme of sent Edward kyng of this region. 2 Beholde and se, ye goostly folltes all, Which to this place haue deuocyon Whan ye to Our Lady askynge socoure call Desyrynge here hir helpe in your trybulacyon: Of this hir chapell ye may se the fundacyon. If ye wyll this table ouerse and rede Howe by myracle it was founded in dede. 3 A noble wydowe, somtyme lady of this towne, Called Rychold, in lyuynge full vertuous, Desyred of Oure Lady a petycyowne Hir to honoure with some werke bountyous, This biyssed Virgin and Lady most gracyous Graunted hir petycyon, as I shall after tell, Unto hir worshyp to edefye this chapell. 4 In spyryte Our Lady to Nazareth hir led And shewed hir the place where Gabryel hir grette: '"o doughter, consyder" to hir Oure Lady sayde, " Of thys place take thou suerly the mette, Another lyke thys at Walsyngham thou sette Unto my laude and synguler honoure; All that me seche there shall fynde socoure, 5 Where shall be hadde in a memoryall The great ioy. of my salutacyon. Fyrste of my ioys grounde and orygynall Rote of mankyndes gracious redempcyon, \\'han Gabryell gaue to me relacyon To be a moder through humylyte. And goddys sonne conceyue in virgynyte” 6 This visyon shewed thryse to this deuout woman. In mynde well she marked both length and brede; She was full gladde and thanked Oure Lady than Of hir great grace neuer destytute in nede. This forsayd hous in haste she thought to spede, Called to hir artyfycers 611 wyse, This chapell to forge as Our Lady dyd deuyse. 7 All this, a medewe wete with dropes celestyall And with syluer dewe sent from hye adowne Excepte tho tweyne places chosen aboue all Where neyther moyster ne dewe myght be fowne. This was the fyrste pronostycacyowne Howe this our newe Nazareth here shold stande, Bylded lyke the fyrste in the Holy Lande. 8 Whan it was al fourmed, than had she great doute Where it shold be sette and in what maner place, In as moche as tweyne place, were founde oute Tokened with myracle of Our Ladyes grace; That is to say, tweyne quadrates of egall space As the ffees of Gedeon in the wete beynge drye, Assygnedby myracle of holy mayde Marye. 9 The wydowe thought it most lykly of congruence This house on the fyrste soyle to bylde and arere. Of this who lyste to have experyence, A chapell of saynt Laurence standeth nowe there Faste by tweyne wells, experyence doth thus lere, There she thought to have set this chapell Which was begonne by Our Ladyes counsell. 10 The carpenters began to set the fundamente This heuenly house to arere up on hye, But sone their werkes shewed inconuenyente. For no pece with oder wolde agre with geometrye; Than were they all sory and full of agonye That they could nat ken neither mesure ne marke To ioyne togyder their owne proper werke 11 They went to reste and layde all thynge on syde, As they on their maystresse had a commaundement; She thought Our Lady, that fyrste was hir gyde, Wold conuey this worke aftyr hir owne entent; Hir meyny to reste as for that nyght she sente And prayed Our Lady with deuoute exclamacyon, As she had begonne, to perfourme that habytacion. 12 All nyghte the wydowe permayninge in this prayer, Oure blyssed Lady, with heuenly mynystrys, Hirsylfe beynge here chyef artyfycer, Arerid this sayd house with aungellys haudys, And not only reyrd it but set it there it is, That is, two hundred fote and more in dystaunce From the fyrste place bokes make remembraunce. 13 Eriy whan the artyfycers cam to their trauayle Ofthis sayd chapell to have made an ende, They founde eche parte conioyned sauns fayle Better than they coude conceyue it in mynde; Thus eche man home agayne dyd wynde, And this holy matrone thanked Oure Lady Of hir great grace shewyd here specyally. 14 And syth here Our Lady hath shewyd many myracle Innumerable, nowe here for to expresse To suche as visyte thys hir habytacle. Euer lyke newe to them that call hir in dystrsse. Four hundreth yere and more. the cronacle to witnes Hath endured this notable pylgrymage, Where grace is dayly shavyd to men of euery age. 15 Many seke ben here cured by Our Ladyes myghte Dede agayne reuyued, of this is no dought, Lame made hole and blynde restored to syghte, Maryners vexed with-tempest safe to porte brought Defe, wounded and lunatyke that hyder haue sought And also lepers here recouered haue be By Oure Ladyes grace of their infyrmyte. 16 Folke that of fendys haue had acombraunce And of wycked spyrytes also moche vexacyon Have here be delyuered from euery such chaunce, And soules greatly vexed with gostely temptacion, Lo. here the chyef solace agaynst all tribulacyon To all that be seke, bodely or goostly, Callynge to Oure Lady deuoutly. 17 Therfore euecy pylgryme gyue your attendaunce Our Lady here to serue with humble affeccyon. Your sylfe ye applye to do hir plesaunce. Remembrynge the great ioye of hir Annunciadon. Therwyth conceyuyngeb this brief compylacyon. Though it halte in meter and eloquence. It is here wryten to do hyr reuerence. 18 All letued that wyll have more intellygence Of the fundacyon of this chapell here, If you wyll aske kokes shall you encence More clerely to undersclnde this forsayd matere; To you shall dedare the cronyclere All cyrcumstaunce by a noble processe Howe olde cronyclers of thys bere wytnesse. 19 0 Englonde, great cause thou haste glad for to be, Compared to the londe of promyssyon, Thou atteynest my grace to stande in that degre Through this gloryous Ladyes supportacyon, To be called in euery realme and regyon The holy lande, Oure Ladyes dowre; Thus arte thou named ofolde antyquyte. 20 And this is the cause, as it apereth by lyklynesse, In the is belded newe Nazareth, a mancyon To the honoure of the heuenly empresse And of hir moste gloryous salutacyon, Chyef pryncypyll and grounde of oure saluacyon, Whan Gabryell sayd at olde Nazereth 'Aue', This ioy here dayly remembred for to be. 21 0 gracyous Lady, glory of Jerusalem, Cypresse of Syon and Ioye of Israel, Rose of Jeryco and Sterre of Bethleem, 0 gloryous Lady, our askynge nat repell, In mercy all wymen euer thou doste excell, Therfore, blissed Lady, graunt thou thy great grace To all that the deuoutly visyte in this place.
In the classical era, before exaggerated ritual and ornament were in vogue, you will find few Anglican artists depicting anything religious. Wren's cathedrals & churches are pure, clean, crisp, and without images. Painters such as Reynolds preferred the natural world, and Thornhill made history-paintings. Only with the advent of the Tractarians did pre-Reformation medieval iconography come back into churches. It's hard for me personally to see what's Anglican about Marian art, since English Marian art is a medieval and modern thing, not a reformation-divines-enlightenment thing.
'Ecce Ancilla Domini' is so pretty! and the poems very nice too! Our Lady of Walsingham Icon looks very Greek Orthodox, I like this style of icons The Pynson Ballad was hard to read!
Some of my favourite Marian art was done by Fra Angelico, especially "The Annunciation" And this is one image which is purely scriptural, and focuses on The Incarnation. Hopefully even the proto-Protestants can appreciate this one for it's beauty.
Fra Angelico was an Italian Dominican, and not really germane to the topic. And yes, the most stringent protestants accept imagery that reminds us of true events in history. Praise the Lord for Angelico and Veronese.