A divine and human maternity: A philosophical analysis of the Madonna del Parto [Our Lady of Childbirth]

Two angels are opening a curtain, to reveal a Mary captured in a pose that expresses the full force and mystery of her divine and human maternity. She embodies both the nature of Theotókos (Mother of God) and Aeipárthenos (ever virgin), while highlighting her crucial role in the mystery of the Incarnation.

The panting is the Madonna del Parto [Our Lady of Childbirth], a masterpiece by Piero della Francesca, and from this work, one of the most enigmatic of the Renaissance, comes La passione di Maria [Mary’s Passion], a book by Massimo Cacciari, published by Il Mulino. This book is part of the “Icone - Pensare per immagini” series [Icons - Thinking in Images], curated for the Bologna-based publisher by Cacciari himself. It is an intense and fascinating essay in which the Italian philosopher explores the figure of the Virgin, who is not merely an “instrument” of the divine will, but a Woman who occupies the center of the experience and drama of salvation. Indeed, Mary shows “from which wound God is born”, while revealing a truth filled with both humanity and sacredness. It is one of the most powerful and mystical images in Christian art. In fact, this Madonna does not possess royal attributes, and she is not holding a book in her hand; instead, she is captured in the act of placing one hand on her side to support the weight of her womb.

«Questa Donna, figura realissima nella veste e nel gesto, è insieme enigma che siamo chiamati a interpretare. – scrive Cacciari - Questa Donna, che armonizza in sé così perfettamente l’humilitas (endless, la chiama Eliot nel secondo dei Quartetti) dello sguardo e la monumentalità della posa, è dimensione essenziale del plèroma divino: ecco il contenuto e significato della rivelazione che qui accade, dell’evento che qui viene raffigurato».

 “This Woman, whpo seems so real in her attire and gesture, is also an enigma that we are called upon to interpret,” writes Cacciari. “This Woman, who perfectly harmonizes within herself the humilitas (endless, as Eliot calls it in the second of the Quartets) of the gaze and the monumentality of the pose, is the essential dimension of the divine plèroma: here is the content and meaning of the revelation that occurs, of the event that is depicted here”.

The painting was painted between 1455 and 1465 by a sublime artist. The panting depicts the bodily maternity of the Madonna; a powerful icon which is now preserved in Monterchi, the beautiful medieval village in the province of Arezzo.

With a profound and suggestive interpretation of divine maternity, Cacciari reflects on Maria’s central role not only as the mother of Christ but also as the “companion of destiny” of her son. She becomes a gateway to understanding the meaning of the Passion, sacrifice, and unconditional love. The cry of childbirth that Maria utters will be repeated under the Cross and then again—perhaps with joy—at the moment of the Assumption, revealing her central role in the Christian mystery.

“The Woman, then”, writes Cacciari, “is this Woman and in one, the Heaven, or the gate of Heaven, of the Pythagorean-Platonic cosmos. The ultimate abstraction of the Numbers of the ancient sophia aligns with the Revelation that takes place, on earth, in the one who is about to give birth. Here the true navel of the world is revealed”.