Artwork
Madonna chose to work with photographer Herb Ritts for the Like a Prayer album cover. Initially photos from the session with Ritts were also to be used for the single's packaging. The image that was intended for the cover was a blurry shot of Madonna blowing smoke on her own face while holding a cigarette in her left hand. However, once she started shooting for the music video, she felt that one of the still shots of her in a field was extremely beautiful and decided to make it the cover art. A different piece of artwork was developed for the 12-inch single, featuring a painting by Madonna's brother Christopher Ciccone. He painted a classic (Catholic) Madonna, who wears a halo and is draped in a vine of thorns with a single blossoming flower. The painting features the letters MLVC, indicating the singer's full name Madonna Louise Veronica Ciccone, with a prominently "fallen" letter P near the heart of the Madonna, suggesting Madonna's recent divorce from Penn. The singer was initially skeptic about the painting due to the media mayhem surrounding her relationship with Penn, and did not want to use it. However, once Ciccone presented her with a packaged version of the 12-inch single, where the painting was included along with the scent of patchouli, she was impressed.
Read more about this topic: Like A Prayer (song)