HOME | DD

Description

Our Lady of Częstochowa
August 27th, 2012
Watercolor and Ink
8.5 inches by 11 inches
“Virgin Mother of God, by God glorified Mary,
Ask Thy Son, Our Lord, chosen Mother Mary!
Mercy obtain, and then send to us.
Kyrie eleison!
Son of God, for Thy Baptist's sake,
Hear our voices, fulfill the pleas we make!
Listen to the prayer we say,
For what we ask, give us today:
Life on earth, free of vice;
And after life: then paradise.
Kyrie eleison!”
~ “Bogurodzica” www.youtube.com/watch?v=3P2Pr6…

Ebony Madonna — two slashes on your face by hateful hands —
All these hearts: those of platinum, gold, silver, or precious stones — cannot soothe,
cannot erase the painful wondering which shows in your eyes.
~ Maria Pawlikowska-Jasnorzewska, Czarny portret

Huzzah! I finally finished it! It’s a bit late—since I had been planning on finishing it in time for the Feast of Our Lady of Częstochowa (the 26th of August)—but I managed to finish it early this morning at around one in the morning. So, I was close. Anyway, I had been planning on re-doing this particular icon for awhile (it’s certainly an improvement from my old version: lordshadowblade.deviantart.com… Eeek) and only finally got around to do it this year along with my line of other Madonnas I’ve been doing lately. I confess I’m not quite happy with it, particularly with the faces (*sigh* I never seem to be quite content with any of these…), but it’s alright, so I suppose I’m satisfied enough with it. *shrugs*

Oh! Thanks to Gryffgirl , I believe the pronunciation of "Częstochowa" is close to "Chest-ah-ho-va." I always was wondering about that.

Our Lady of Częstochowa is in the Byzantine style of 'Hodegetria' "an iconographic depiction of the Theotokos holding the Child Jesus at her side while pointing to Him as the source of salvation for mankind. "Hodegetria" is Greek for "She Who Shows the Way." Mary points away from herself to the Christ Child. Jesus holds the Gospels and blesses the viewer with His right hand. In this posture Mary holds the viewer's attention and points beyond herself to the Child in her arms to show that He is "the Way and the Truth and the Life" (John 14:6).

I liked the idea of Mary holding her hand up like that because it looked both like she was cradling her own heart and pointing to the Sacred Heart of Christ. I also added the red and blue rays shown in the Divine Mercy image, since I thought that it was appropriate, seeing as how St. Faustina was a devoted daughter of Poland.

This is the original image of Our Lady of the Częstochowa: upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia…

A Brief History of the Image

Tradition has it that the image was originally painted by St. Luke, and from Jerusalem was taken to Constantinople by St. Helena. From Constantinople it was taken to the Castle of Belz. From Hungary it was transferred to Jasna Góra (“Bright Mount”) by Władysław of Opole in August of 1382 who had also founded a Paulist monastery there. Legend has it that Władysław had stopped at Częstochowa for the night, and then in the morning when he tried to move on, the horses pulling the wagon that carried the icon of the Virgin refused to move. Władysław took this as a sign that Mary wanted the icon to remain in Częstochowa. Since then, Jasna Góra has been the spiritual capital of Poland.

“During Ladislaus' time, the image was damaged during a siege, by a Tartar arrow, "inflicting a scar on the throat of the Blessed Virgin." In 1430, Hussites stole and vandalized the precious image, breaking it into three pieces. Adding insult to injury: One of the robbers drew his sword, struck the image and inflicted two deep gashes. While preparing to inflict a third gash, he fell to the ground and writhed in agony until his death ... The two slashes on the cheek of the Blessed Virgin, together with the previous injury to the throat, have always reappeared - despite repeated attempts to repair them.” campus.udayton.edu/mary/medita…

In July of 1655 the Swedish Empire attacked the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth from the north and overran much of its territories. The King was driven out of the country, and many of the richest and wealthiest cities in Poland had been despoiled. On November 18 1655, the Swedish besieged the monastery of Jasna Góra. The defense of the monastery was led by Prior Augustyn Kordecki. The out-numbered, out-manned, and out-gunned monastery managed to hold off the Swedish invaders until the Swedes ended the siege on December 27th after news of the sacrilegious attack on the monastery of the beloved Madonna roused the enraged people of Poland to take up arms against the invaders and drive them off. The king of Poland, John Casimir returned to Poland that same day. Five years later, after much fighting had taken place, the Swedish were finally driven off and a treaty was concluded between the two nations. The Deluge was over.

On April 1st, 1656, the King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, John II Casimir, consecrated the country of Poland to the protection of the Mother of God and proclaimed Her the Patroness of the kingdom.

“A final question remains: why is Our Lady of Czestochowa black? Cruz mentions a possible link to the Canticle of Canticles: "I am black but beautiful"; but concludes that "The darkness is ascribed to various conditions [e.g. accumulated residue from candles], of which its age is primary." Broschart, by contrast, opines: "the shrine was destroyed by fire, but the picture was not burned - however, the flames and smoke had darkened it and from that day it has been known as the "Black Madonna." campus.udayton.edu/mary/medita…

Our Lady of Częstochowa, Wonder-working Black Madonna of Jasna Góra, Virgin-Mother of God, Queen and Patroness of all Poland—pray for us!

The Feast of Our Lady of Częstochowa is on August 26th.

Ballade to Our Lady of Czestochowa
Hilaire Belloc

Lady and Queen and Mystery manifold
And very Regent of the untroubled sky,
Whom in a dream St. Hilda did behold
And heard a woodland music passing by:
You shall receive me when the clouds are high
With evening and the sheep attain the fold.
This is the faith that I have held and hold,
And this is that in which I mean to die.

Steep are the seas and savaging and cold
In broken waters terrible to try;
And vast against the winter night the wold,
And harbourless for any sail to lie.
But you shall lead me to the lights, and I
Shall hymn you in a harbour story told.
This is the faith that I have held and hold,
And this is that in which I mean to die.

Help of the half-defeated, House of gold,
Shrine of the Sword, and Tower of Ivory;
Splendour apart, supreme and aureoled,
The Battler's vision and the World's reply.
You shall restore me, O my last Ally,
To vengence and the glories of the bold.
This is the faith that I have held and hold,
And this is that in which I mean to die.

Prince of the degradations, bought and sold,
These verses, written in your crumbling sty,
Proclaim the faith that I have held and hold
And publish that in which I mean to die.

Description

Our Lady of Częstochowa
August 27th, 2012
Watercolor and Ink
8.5 inches by 11 inches
“Virgin Mother of God, by God glorified Mary,
Ask Thy Son, Our Lord, chosen Mother Mary!
Mercy obtain, and then send to us.
Kyrie eleison!
Son of God, for Thy Baptist's sake,
Hear our voices, fulfill the pleas we make!
Listen to the prayer we say,
For what we ask, give us today:
Life on earth, free of vice;
And after life: then paradise.
Kyrie eleison!”
~ “Bogurodzica” www.youtube.com/watch?v=3P2Pr6…

Ebony Madonna — two slashes on your face by hateful hands —
All these hearts: those of platinum, gold, silver, or precious stones — cannot soothe,
cannot erase the painful wondering which shows in your eyes.
~ Maria Pawlikowska-Jasnorzewska, Czarny portret

Huzzah! I finally finished it! It’s a bit late—since I had been planning on finishing it in time for the Feast of Our Lady of Częstochowa (the 26th of August)—but I managed to finish it early this morning at around one in the morning. So, I was close. Anyway, I had been planning on re-doing this particular icon for awhile (it’s certainly an improvement from my old version: lordshadowblade.deviantart.com… Eeek) and only finally got around to do it this year along with my line of other Madonnas I’ve been doing lately. I confess I’m not quite happy with it, particularly with the faces (*sigh* I never seem to be quite content with any of these…), but it’s alright, so I suppose I’m satisfied enough with it. *shrugs*

Oh! Thanks to Gryffgirl , I believe the pronunciation of "Częstochowa" is close to "Chest-ah-ho-va." I always was wondering about that.

Our Lady of Częstochowa is in the Byzantine style of 'Hodegetria' "an iconographic depiction of the Theotokos holding the Child Jesus at her side while pointing to Him as the source of salvation for mankind. "Hodegetria" is Greek for "She Who Shows the Way." Mary points away from herself to the Christ Child. Jesus holds the Gospels and blesses the viewer with His right hand. In this posture Mary holds the viewer's attention and points beyond herself to the Child in her arms to show that He is "the Way and the Truth and the Life" (John 14:6).

I liked the idea of Mary holding her hand up like that because it looked both like she was cradling her own heart and pointing to the Sacred Heart of Christ. I also added the red and blue rays shown in the Divine Mercy image, since I thought that it was appropriate, seeing as how St. Faustina was a devoted daughter of Poland.

This is the original image of Our Lady of the Częstochowa: upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia…

A Brief History of the Image

Tradition has it that the image was originally painted by St. Luke, and from Jerusalem was taken to Constantinople by St. Helena. From Constantinople it was taken to the Castle of Belz. From Hungary it was transferred to Jasna Góra (“Bright Mount”) by Władysław of Opole in August of 1382 who had also founded a Paulist monastery there. Legend has it that Władysław had stopped at Częstochowa for the night, and then in the morning when he tried to move on, the horses pulling the wagon that carried the icon of the Virgin refused to move. Władysław took this as a sign that Mary wanted the icon to remain in Częstochowa. Since then, Jasna Góra has been the spiritual capital of Poland.

“During Ladislaus' time, the image was damaged during a siege, by a Tartar arrow, "inflicting a scar on the throat of the Blessed Virgin." In 1430, Hussites stole and vandalized the precious image, breaking it into three pieces. Adding insult to injury: One of the robbers drew his sword, struck the image and inflicted two deep gashes. While preparing to inflict a third gash, he fell to the ground and writhed in agony until his death ... The two slashes on the cheek of the Blessed Virgin, together with the previous injury to the throat, have always reappeared - despite repeated attempts to repair them.” campus.udayton.edu/mary/medita…

In July of 1655 the Swedish Empire attacked the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth from the north and overran much of its territories. The King was driven out of the country, and many of the richest and wealthiest cities in Poland had been despoiled. On November 18 1655, the Swedish besieged the monastery of Jasna Góra. The defense of the monastery was led by Prior Augustyn Kordecki. The out-numbered, out-manned, and out-gunned monastery managed to hold off the Swedish invaders until the Swedes ended the siege on December 27th after news of the sacrilegious attack on the monastery of the beloved Madonna roused the enraged people of Poland to take up arms against the invaders and drive them off. The king of Poland, John Casimir returned to Poland that same day. Five years later, after much fighting had taken place, the Swedish were finally driven off and a treaty was concluded between the two nations. The Deluge was over.

On April 1st, 1656, the King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, John II Casimir, consecrated the country of Poland to the protection of the Mother of God and proclaimed Her the Patroness of the kingdom.

“A final question remains: why is Our Lady of Czestochowa black? Cruz mentions a possible link to the Canticle of Canticles: "I am black but beautiful"; but concludes that "The darkness is ascribed to various conditions [e.g. accumulated residue from candles], of which its age is primary." Broschart, by contrast, opines: "the shrine was destroyed by fire, but the picture was not burned - however, the flames and smoke had darkened it and from that day it has been known as the "Black Madonna." campus.udayton.edu/mary/medita…

Our Lady of Częstochowa, Wonder-working Black Madonna of Jasna Góra, Virgin-Mother of God, Queen and Patroness of all Poland—pray for us!

The Feast of Our Lady of Częstochowa is on August 26th.

Ballade to Our Lady of Czestochowa
Hilaire Belloc

Lady and Queen and Mystery manifold
And very Regent of the untroubled sky,
Whom in a dream St. Hilda did behold
And heard a woodland music passing by:
You shall receive me when the clouds are high
With evening and the sheep attain the fold.
This is the faith that I have held and hold,
And this is that in which I mean to die.

Steep are the seas and savaging and cold
In broken waters terrible to try;
And vast against the winter night the wold,
And harbourless for any sail to lie.
But you shall lead me to the lights, and I
Shall hymn you in a harbour story told.
This is the faith that I have held and hold,
And this is that in which I mean to die.

Help of the half-defeated, House of gold,
Shrine of the Sword, and Tower of Ivory;
Splendour apart, supreme and aureoled,
The Battler's vision and the World's reply.
You shall restore me, O my last Ally,
To vengence and the glories of the bold.
This is the faith that I have held and hold,
And this is that in which I mean to die.

Prince of the degradations, bought and sold,
These verses, written in your crumbling sty,
Proclaim the faith that I have held and hold
And publish that in which I mean to die.