10 Weird Madonnas You Need to See

1. Degenerate Madonna

This is a mother in the depths of despair, a Madonna whose maternal trials and tribulations are etched on her face. American Alice Neel was not afraid to show us the physical and mental challenges of motherhood. This Mary has elongated nipples that look like daggers. The infant is stiff and alien-like, while a faint profile (or mirror reflection?) of a ghostly second child hovers behind. When it was shown at the biannual Washington Square Outdoor Art Exhibition in 1932, the local Catholic church demanded the painting be removed, calling it sacrilege.

2. Fashionable Madonna

The Mary of the Bible is a humble, relatively poor woman of Middle Eastern heritage. But cultures demand their Biblical characters look like them, so Dutch Golden Age artist Maerten van Heemskerck gives us a white noblewoman, wearing sumptuous fabrics and a contemporary hairdo. He also considered a chubby, smiling baby beyond the pale too, as this Madonna is holding a weird, monstrous yet miniature adult man. A man-baby who has definitely been working out—check out those abs!

3. Sensual Madonna

Edvard Munch made five versions of this painting between 1892 and 1895. We see a bare-breasted half-length female figure which he calls Madonna, but also Loving Woman. There is a halo, but it is deep red. This biblical woman seems to have a very sensual, human side. Described by some critics as vampiric, by some as an uninhibited woman enjoying her sexuality, you can explore this painting further with our writer Maia Heguiaphal here.

4. Geometric Madonna

Jean Fouquet’s interest in form and geometry are obvious in this painting. It is the right hand wing of the Melun Dyptich. The Virgin has a perfectly oval head and breast, as if drawn with a compass. There are lots of Virgo Lactans (breastfeeding Madonnas) in art history, but none quite like this other-worldly, porcelain smooth figure. Talk about post-baby-body and impossible standards! Explore this fascinating painting with our writer Rachel Witte here.

5. Cowboy Madonna

Miguel Cabrera, considered the greatest painter of 18th-century New Spain, was of mixed Native American and Spanish heritage. So the period and place may explain the vernacular costume and setting for this Madonna. In it we see Mary who appears to wear a brimmed Stetson-style cowboy hat and a knotted bandana. Although Mary and her angels look sublimely serene, in the background a warrior angel in a polka dot tunic fights a howling monster. The tiny lamb running away from the ravening monster seems to be crying “Ave Maria” to its oblivious shepherdess.

6. Plastic Madonna

Cindy Sherman was the chameleon feminist, challenging the patriarchy one costume change at a time. She worked primarily in photographic self-portraits. A historical series was inspired by Sherman’s time in Rome, Italy. We see richly colored garments that hark back to classical portraiture, we see the serene facial expression of the Madonna, and then we see the fake breast and the plastic baby! Test your Cindy Sherman knowledge with our fun quiz here.

7. Kitsch Madonna

Who let the baby Jesus loose in mum’s make-up box? This gaudy 16th-century altarpiece scene looks like the figures are about to go clubbing. But it’s important to remember that at this point in art history painters were trying to present their subjects with real-life character and personalities. They were saying: this is true to life, these people are here among us. Artist Rosso Fiorentino, with his fiery red hair, certainly wasn’t afraid to push boundaries or offend tastes.

8. Floaty Madonna

Francisco de Zurbarán‘s Mary is a girl, dressed in chaste white and blue. So far, so conventional. However, look to the skirts of this floating Madonna and you can see a whole host of angel heads, all without bodies, emerging. Hidden in the clouds we find more severed heads and also symbols of the litany, which include the mirror of justice and a ladder, which is presumably how she gets in and out of the sky.

9. Spanking Madonna

This very human looking Madonna has had just about enough of her child and is firmly spanking him on the bottom while three Surrealists look on. They are the writer André Breton, the poet Paul Éluard, and the artist Max Ernst. In direct contrast to the usual “devoted mother” theme, this particularly weird Madonna is a rather blasphemous yet humorous view of motherhood.

10. Hip Hop Madonna

This 1996 Black virgin uses modern, unconventional materials like glitter and resin to create light and sparkles, much like ancient Romans used gold and jewels. The ingredient that caused an outcry was elephant dung. One patty of poo was used to shape the Virgin’s breast. Although accused of blasphemy, most critics did not stop to consider this fascinating work properly. In some African cultures, elephant dung is believed to have medicinal properties. British artist Chris Ofili (who is a Roman Catholic) said he wanted to update Mary, to better inhabit and reflect the world we live in today. Which is pretty cool!

Challenging Madonnas

Chris Ofili’s eight foot, exuberant, and messy Mary is perhaps more real to us than a whole gallery of meek and mild Madonnas. All of the images above reflect something significant about their time and their culture. The figure of the Madonna carries huge cultural, social, and even political weight, so maybe a few more weird and challenging images might offer us all something to consider? Do you have any other weird Madonna paintings to recommend?