Continuing the Advent theme, here is Madonna-with-Child-for-weban illustration of a theme that seems to have been rarely depicted: the Virgin Mary visibly pregnant, expectant, expecting, reflective. This dates from the end of the fourteenth century, artist known only as the "Master of the Madonna of Childbirth"; it hangs in the Gallerie dell'Accademia, Venice.I found the image in a lovely book, Gospel Figures in Art by Stefano Zuffi, published by the J. Paul Getty Museum. It contains various paintings of events and people in the Gospels with helpful identifications and interpretations of symbols and themes.Patrick Malloy below draws attention to the more famous Madonna del Parto of Piero della Francesca, mid-sixteenth century, so I've added it here, with some comments of mine later in the thread.Madonna del Parto  Piero

Rev. Joseph A. Komonchak, professor emeritus of the School of Theology and Religious Studies at the Catholic University of America, is a retired priest of the Archdiocese of New York.

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