Madonna in flower garlands in Flemish painting of the XVII century

The subject of this research is Flemish painting the XVII century in the spiritual and cultural context of the Counter-Reformation, which created remarkable decorative and religious images to counter the iconoclastic trends of the Reformation movement. The object of this research is Flemish paintings of the Baroque Period of the XVII century with flower garlands edging the central image of Madonna. Special attention is given to the variety of iconographic patterns of the image of Virgin Mary framed in a flower garland, which was widely popular in painting of the Baroque period. Some artists use the pattern of “painting in a painting”; others imitate sculpture, the color of which accentuates the brightness of garlands. The article employs iconographic, iconological, and artistic methods, as well as stylistic analysis. The scientific novelty consists in proving the fact that Virgin Mary appears in painting not only as an individual image, but in paintings of flower garlands as well. The acquired results demonstrate that in the XVII centuries, the artists used different iconographic patterns for creating the image of Virgin Mary. The masters were able to combine different types of flowers, reaching the harmony of floral motifs and balancing them with the image of Madonna. The artists demonstrated the beauty of flower garlands by adding different living creatures in their paintings, such as birds and animals, to make them look more colorful, peaceful and vibrant. Thanks to these works, the image of Madonna remained extremely revered in the XVII century.