Mary in The Void: Late 19th to early 20th Century Italian Ex-Votos

The saved give thanks to the Virgin Mary

This Easter, we can think about the Virgin Mary, Christianity’s venerated mother of Jesus, the Mother of God, who is said to have miraculously appeared to believers many times over the centuries.

In these ex-votos (ex voto suscepto, “from the vow made”) from late 19th to early 20th Century Liguria, Italy, the Virgin Mary appears at scenes depicting people falling from buildings, scaffoldings or trees. A cynic might be suspicious of her presence at the scene of every accident, but they’d need to overlook the key part of each story to make their case – all the fallers survive and go on to give praise. You can see a selection from Mexico here.

 

A bricklayer falls from the roof. September 3, 1898

A bricklayer falls from the roof. September 3, 1898

A worker falls from scaffolding. May 3, 1913

A worker falls from scaffolding. May 3, 1913

Man falling from a tree, ex voto, Montecastello Church, Piedmont, Italy, 1860.

Man falling from a tree, ex voto – 860.

ex-voto

Man falls from balcony. October 15, 1874

Man falls from balcony. March 24, 1929

Man falls from balcony. March 24, 1929

Ex-votos

Child falls from a window. Nineteenth century

Ex-votos

Worker falls from a window. September 27, 1928

Ex-votos

A little girl falls from seventh floor. July 14, 1879

Ex-votos

Man falls from tree. Eighteenth century

Ex-votos

Man falls from a ladder. January 23, 1875 (

Ex-votos

Two children falling from a tree. February 13, 1892

Ex-votos

A man falls into a mill. September 28, 1888

Ex-voto

Two brothers falling into the water-wheel

Via: Chauldron

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