TRUDNOĆA, POROĐAJ I MATERINSTVO U BAROKNOJ IKONOGRAFIJI VOJVODINE

Abstract

Beside death, the most frequent subjects of Christian art have been pregnancy, birth and maternity. These events announce the coming of Biblical figures such as Jesus Christ, Madonna, and St. John the Baptist. Being crucial in the life of man, from conception, pregnancy, birth and maternity to childhood, their representation in Christian iconogra- phy underlines the dual nature of these figures, human and godly. The major sources of inspiration for this subject and Christian iconography in general are the Old and the New Testament and the Apocrypha (Protogospel of Jacob and the Gospel of Thomas), and later popular Christian religious literature. In mid 18 th century, Vojvodina and other Austrian provinces saw a rise of artists coming from the bourgeoisie, announcing the beginning of middle-class Baroque. This style later produced some of Vojvodina’s greatest masters of all times. This study ventures into the biological or medical bearing of the dogmatic teachings about the events from the life of Madonna and Jesus Christ, as described in the Bible. It points out the fact that until ascension St. Mary had lived a life of a mortal with all of its biological and medical distinctions, regardless of her role in Jesus’ mission on Earth and regardless of her later position in heaven. This also applies for the life of Jesus Christ during his mission on Earth with the goal to redeem the sins of all people