IMAGE OF MARY in ASIAN ART

The Jesuit mission to Agra at the time of Akbar brought copies of Jesus and the Madonna to the Mogul court. A copy of the “Borghese Madonna” of S. Maria Maggiore in Rome, created much interest, and many came to see but also worship before these images, including Akbar himself. Interest in the figure of Mary is a special feature of Catholic art in Asia, arousing interest among those who have a devotion to the feminine aspect of Divinity.
In China, Japan and also the Philippines the popular image of ‘Kuan Yin’ (or Guanyin, also known a Kannon in Japan) has been related to that of Mary. On occasion those who were in danger of persecution because of their Christian belief substituted for Mary an image close to the Buddhist Kuan Yin as a way of disguising their Faith. In this connection it is interesting that the modern Indian Christian artist Angelo da Fonseca often represented Mary in his paintings. He became famous after he painted an image of Mary wearing a sari, which was published in a popular Catholic paper, and seen by the Jesuit Fr. Heras in Bombay, who subsequently became a patron of Angelo da Fonseca and his art. This tendency to represent Mary in an inculturated form is an important feature of Catholic art in Asia.

Jesuit mission to Agra at the time of Akbar brought copies of Jesus and the Madonna to the Mogul court. A copy of the “Borghese Madonna” of S. Maria Maggiore in Rome, created much interest, and many came to see but also worship before these images, including Akbar himself. Interest in the figure of Mary is a special feature of Catholic art in Asia, arousing interest among those who have a devotion to the feminine aspect of Divinity.
In China, Japan and also the Philippines the popular image of ‘Kuan Yin’ (or Guanyin, also known a Kannon in Japan) has been related to that of Mary. On occasion those who were in danger of persecution because of their Christian belief substituted for Mary an image close to the Buddhist Kuan Yin as a way of disguising their Faith. In this connection it is interesting that the modern Indian Christian artist Angelo da Fonseca often represented Mary in his paintings. He became famous after he painted an image of Mary wearing a sari, which was published in a popular Catholic paper, and seen by the Jesuit Fr. Heras in Bombay, who subsequently became a patron of Angelo da Fonseca and his art. This tendency to represent Mary in an inculturated form is an important feature of Catholic art in Asia.