Thronus Dei. An iconographic interpretation of this Mariological metaphor in the light of the Christian narrative
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.12775/BPTh.2025.014Keywords
Mariology, divine motherhood, heavenly queenship, Patristics, liturgical hymns, Marian iconographyAbstract
This article aims to illuminate the possibility of correctly interpreting the various ways of artistically representing the Virgin Mary as thronus Dei. To do this, the author follows a double, complementary methodological strategy. First, he examines a series of texts through which, for almost a millennium, many Fathers, theologians, and liturgical hymnographers of the Eastern and Western Churches agreed to identify Mary as the throne of God or some other similar symbolic figure. Secondly, the author analyzes ten European paintings and sculptures between the 12th and 15th centuries, in which the Virgin is represented as the throne of God. Thus, based on these concordant doctrinal testimonies, the author justifies his iconographic interpretations of these Marian artistic images.
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