Swoon of the Virgin

The Swoon of the Virgin, in Italian Lo Spasimo della Vergine, or Fainting Virgin Mary was an idea developed in the late

Canonical Gospels

, it became controversial - Protestants rejecting it outright, and from the 16th century discouraged also by many senior Catholic churchmen.

The swoon might be placed during the episode of

Entombment of Christ,^[3] as well as the 15th-century novelty of Christ taking leave of his Mother

.

History

A fainting Mary is sometimes shown in art as early as the 12th century, and becomes common by the middle of the 13th century. For example there is one in the Crucifixion relief on the

feast-day was being celebrated by many, especially the Franciscans, and the Vatican was being asked to make it official.^[5]

However no such incident was mentioned in the

Gospel of Saint John that the Virgin stood beside the cross, an act of endurance that would have required exceptional strength. Furthermore, even a less serious faint or 'spasimo' would have been incompatible with the Grace that enabled the Virgin to suffer with her full mind".^[6]

Official disapproval of the swoon gained ground in the

Annibale Carraci, which had to be published in Paris instead.^[7]

However, no more official condemnation of the belief in the incident came, and although new depictions were fewer, existing ones remained in place, including many in Dominican churches. Indeed, where the swooning Virgin was depicted, she was often even more prominent. Depictions placed other than at the Crucifixion itself avoided many of the theological objections.[8]

The examples illustrated show more complete fainting, but in many images the Virgin remains standing, supported by St John, the

Prado, c. 1435), in which the body of the Virgin, with eyes closed, is parallel to that of her son just above.^[9]

Churches

A number of churches take the name of the Swoon, including:

Santa Maria dello Spasimo, Palermo, Sicily
Santa Maria dello Spasimo, Modugno, Bari
Beata Vergine dello Spasimo, Cerea, Province of Verona
Madonna dello Spasimo, Bergamo

Gallery

Italian, c. 1320
Lower Church,
Basilica of San Francesco d'Assisi, Assisi

Marienkirche, detail from the Berswordt-Altar
Boccaccio Boccaccino, Christ Carrying the Cross (National Gallery, London)
Christ taking Leave of his Mother, Albrecht Altdorfer
c. 1520

Charles Le Brun, Descent from the Cross
Rembrandt, Descent from the Cross, 1632-33 with a literally down to earth depiction (bottom left)
In a Christ Carrying the Cross, from a South German church