Blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfilment of what was spoken to her from the Lord. – Luke 1:45
Following on from last week’s post on the Annunciation, I would like to speak a bit about the Visitation in this, which carries on the Advent theme of expectation for the Coming of Christ. The subject for this reflection will be Jerónimo Esquerra’s Visitation (1737), who’s life and art style stood at the boundary between the Baroque and Rococo art movements. His proto-Rococo stylings are most clearly seen in the short and curved brush strokes used in many details in the painting, and in the delicate and soft features of the figures present, primarily the Virgin Mary and St. Elizabeth. This painting was part of a series of eight or so works which depict various moments in Mary’s life both before and shortly after the Incarnation and Birth of Jesus.
The central focus of the image is the intimate encounter between Mary and her cousin Elizabeth, as described in Lk 1:39-56, the oft referred to Visitation of Mary. Shortly after receiving the message of the Angel Gabriel, Mary ‘went in haste’ to visit her cousin Elizabeth, who had also experienced a miraculous pregnancy. This meeting was a great source of grace and joy for not only Mary and Elizabeth, but also for their unborn sons; Jesus and John. It was only at John’s prompting, within her womb, that Elizabeth was inspired to proclaim the Divine Maternity of Mary, and it is said that in that moment John was sanctified by both the Holy Spirit and the presence of Jesus. Following this moment of grace, Mary utters her famous canticle, the Magnificat. Mary offers and returns the blessings she has received from Elizabeth to God. St. Louis de Montfort in his True Devotion to Mary (225) explains ‘She is an echo of God, speaking and repeating only God. If you say “Mary” she says “God”. When St. Elizabeth praised Mary calling her blessed because she had believed, Mary, the faithful echo of God, responded with her canticle, “My soul glorifies the Lord.”’
Mary has thus become one of the key links in the chain of salvation, and this is demonstrated in the painting. The visible contrast between Mary’s glowing appearance and bright clothing, and Elizabeth’s earthy green and brown is symbolic of the New and Old Covenants. Zechariah stands in the doorway of the house, dressed in clothing resembling those of the Old Patriarchs, Prophets, and holy men, and Elizabeth too is a type of those holy mothers and women who struggled to conceive, such as Sarah, Rachel, and Hannah. St. Joseph looks very youthful in this depiction, representing the New, and carries a staff topped with flowers. This could be symbolic of St. Joseph’s purity; the white lilies of chastity, or could be representative of the stem of Jesse (Is 11:1) and the Kingly power and authority of his Son by adoption.
Worth noting also is the difference in halo between Mary and the other members in the painting. The starry crown halo (Rv 12:1) typically represents Mary’s Immaculate Conception in artistic depictions and here was apparently part of an effort by Spanish artists to bolster support for the doctrine to be made dogma. While it eventually was proclaimed a dogma in 1854 by Pope Pius IX, it shows here that art not only conveys the Beauty of God, but also theological truths.
Like the Blessed Virgin and St. Elizabeth, may we also give praise to God for His mercies this Gaudete Sunday as we near the arrival of Our Lord, Who will ransom captive Israel. He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his posterity for ever. (Lk 1:54-55)
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