Black Madonna

A Black Madonna or Black Virgin is a statue or painting of Mary in which she is depicted with dark skin, especially those created in Europe in the medieval period or earlier. In this specialized sense "Black Madonna" does not refer to images of the Virgin Mary portrayed as specifically ethnically black, which are popular in Africa and areas with large black populations, such as Brazil and the United States, but rather refers to all portrayals of the Virgin Mary with dark skin that were created during this time period; however, some scholars in the afrocentric and theosophical community believe that the Black Madonnas are black because they were a copy of the Egyptian Isis and Horus image that was both black and African.

The Black Madonnas are generally found in Catholic areas. The statues are mostly wooden but occasionally stone, often painted and up to 75 cm tall, generally dating from between the 11th and 15th centuries. They fall into two main groups: free-standing upright figures and seated figures on a throne. The pictures are usually icons which are Byzantine in style, often made in 13th or 14th century Italy. There are about 450–500 Black Madonnas in Europe, depending on how they are classified. There are at least 180 Vierges Noires in France, and there are hundreds of non-medieval copies as well. Some are in museums, but most are in churches or shrines and are venerated by devotees. A few are associated with miracles and attract substantial numbers of pilgrims.