page_title: Virgin of Paris
section_title: Details
hierarchical_section_title: Virgin of Paris / Details
caption_attribution_description: English: Notre Dame 208
context_page_description: The Virgin of Paris or Notre-Dame de Paris is a near life-size stone statue, 1.8 metres tall, of the Virgin and Child created in the early 14th century. The statue was commissioned for, and remains in the Cathedral of Notre-Dame in Paris, where it survived the 2019 Notre-Dame fire. It is an example of the court style in Late Gothic sculpture.
  The Virgin of Paris is a new style that is different from the classical contrapposto and is sometimes called one of the most decorative statues in all of Catholicism. It is in honour of the Blessed Virgin, mother of Jesus. It retains an emotional appeal that links it to the Strasbourg Death of the Virgin.
context_section_description: In this sculpture, Mary is shown standing, holding her son, Jesus Christ, against her body. Unlike previous renditions of this couple, both are naturalistic, with recognizable facial features. As usual in most religious sculptural depictions of the Holy mother and child of this time, Jesus does not look like a baby, but rather a miniature adult. However, the artist tried to combat this by giving the child the mannerisms of an infant as he plays with his mother’s veil and holds a ball. Mary stands in royal dress and a crown, depicting her as royalty. The ball her son holds is also an allusion to their royalty and holiness. The ball or orb in Christ’s hands is a reference to Christ as Salvator Mundi, or Saviour of the World. The orb symbolizes Earth, and how Christ is king of the entire world.
caption: Another view
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