Interesting discussion of how the lactating breast disappeared as a symbol of God’s love in the Christian church.
God's love, mother's milk
An image of salvation
http://www.christiancentury.org/article.lasso?id=4272
Partial quote:
“Consider, however, another visual expression and presentation of God's love for humanity. Dozens, perhaps hundreds, of late medieval and Renaissance paintings and sculptures depict the Virgin Mary with one breast exposed as she is nursing or preparing to nurse the infant Christ. The origins of the image are disputed, but whatever its origins, depictions of the lactating Virgin acquired new meaning and new urgency in mid-14th-century Tuscany. In communities under siege from plague, wars and malnutrition, the Virgin's breast was a symbol of God's loving provision of life, the nourishment and care that sustain life, and the salvation that promises eternal life.”
(see link for full article, and for title of the book on which it is based)
Janice
God's love, mother's milk
An image of salvation
http://www.christiancentury.org/article.lasso?id=4272
Partial quote:
“Consider, however, another visual expression and presentation of God's love for humanity. Dozens, perhaps hundreds, of late medieval and Renaissance paintings and sculptures depict the Virgin Mary with one breast exposed as she is nursing or preparing to nurse the infant Christ. The origins of the image are disputed, but whatever its origins, depictions of the lactating Virgin acquired new meaning and new urgency in mid-14th-century Tuscany. In communities under siege from plague, wars and malnutrition, the Virgin's breast was a symbol of God's loving provision of life, the nourishment and care that sustain life, and the salvation that promises eternal life.”
(see link for full article, and for title of the book on which it is based)
Janice
