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THE SOUTHERN MADONNA
1858 Drawing by Nicola Marschall
Reflections on The Southern Madonna by Ben D. Kennedy
The story of how this rare portrait of the Madonna came into my possession is reflective of my own relationship with God and His never ceasing desire to show me the fullness of His love and Divinity. Having spent most of my formative years in churches with Protestant traditions I had the normal Protestant view of Mary the mother of Jesus which is to say I had been taught to be afraid of having any kind of relationship with her. About the only time Mary was even discussed in the churches I attended was during Christmas time when it was unavoidable in presenting the story of the birth of Christ. Even then most Protestant ministers would downplay her role and be sure to warn everyone not to look at Mary as anything more than just another women. Unfortunately this was only the tip of the iceberg in downplaying Mary as some fool ministers would actually insult her which still amazes me to think about today that anyone could ever possible think that Jesus would be happy about someone insulting His mother. Thank God, and I mean that very literally, that He gave me the proper love and admiration for His mother Mary who I now know is the supreme mother to us all. (John 19:26-27)
As has been the case for me so many times with God it was His beautiful daughter St. Joan that He used to guide me toward Mary. Over the years researching St. Joan and writing about her I could not help but begin to see Mary through the pure vision of St. Joan. Even though Joan never spoke about having an encounter with Mary like she did with St. Michael, St. Catherine or St. Margaret she clearly loved Mary as the mother of Jesus and outwardly demonstrated her love by including her name “Maria” along with His name Jesus on her banner, on her personal ring, and in her closing salutation Jesus+Maria on her letters. Since I agreed completely with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s appraisal that "next to the Christ, the highest spiritual being of whom we have any exact record upon this earth is the girl Jeanne" I knew that Joan could not be wrong in her devotion to Mary. I then knew that I had to open my own heart to the possibility that Mary is much more important in the work of God than I had ever been taught by the religious traditions of the churches I had attended.
My personal relationship with Mary began as my own mother, who also bore the name Mary, was nearing the end of her life in this world. My mother had been slowly leaving us for years as she declined from dementia and alzheimer’s and I greatly missed the mother that she had once been to me. At some point I cried out to God and Mary asking if she could be my mother to take the place of the mother I was losing to death. Sometime thereafter I was given the opportunity to purchase some artwork and possessions that had belonged to a famous artist named Nicola Marschall. As soon as I saw his drawing of the Madonna I knew that was the one for me. I also knew for certain when I hung it in my office that God and Mary had answered my prayer and that Mary would now watch over me as a mother and she has done exactly that ever since. Even more so she assisted in my own mother’s departure in ways that make me eternally grateful to her and to God for showing His love to us through her.
As I reflect upon all that Mary has meant to me and my family it is hard to believe that I ever let myself be influenced into thinking that she was just anther woman. The word of God makes it clear that she was chosen above all other women to be the mother to the son of God. The “Hail Mary” that Catholics adore but Protestants shun is straight from the scriptures in Luke 1:28: “And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women” and Luke 1:42: “And she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.” Years ago I asked a dear Catholic friend about Catholics devotion to Mary and her explanation is one that has always stuck with me probably because it is based soundly upon the story of Jesus turning water into wine in John 2. My friend explained that because Jesus loved His mother so much He performed what was His first public miracle and the lesson is that the Son can never refuse His mother anything that she asks of Him out of love.
The wonderful thing about art is that it can help us to more easily contemplate some of the more profound truths of God and this beautiful drawing of Mary by Nicola Marschall is a prime example. The image immediately captivates you and draws you in with her eyes that give a knowing hint of the depths of truth about Jesus that only His mother alone of all human beings could possess. I have wondered at times why Marschall chose to only draw Mary since the original painting by Raphael also contained the infant Jesus and the child John the Baptist but perhaps Marschall felt it was superior to only show Mary since her face alone can reveal more about Jesus than any single artwork of them together could ever hope to do. If you look at her face long enough you can begin to see both her joy at the birth of her son as well as His agony and death on the cross as only His mother could ever have seen it.
As I contemplate this Madonna deeper it is almost as though I am there with her during the life, death and resurrection of Christ. At first I am just a casual background observer but then suddenly she seems to look back directly at me and as our eyes meet everything changes. Her son is no longer just a distant vision that I can only see as "through a glass, darkly." (1 Corinithians 13:12) Through her He became flesh and blood and through her I can more clearly see Him as He truly was and Is. And as she looks at me with the depths of her eyes I know she is telling me what I long to hear but am afraid to presume that I am not just another casual observer but I am one of them and to come along. This is the great gift of Mary to all of us to remind us as only a mother can of who we really are because of her son Jesus Christ.
This exquisite piece of art is indeed a gift to the world from a great artist who with his talent was able to impart so much truth to us through his simple drawing. Nicola Marschall was famous in the 19th century as a portrait artist and his work included famous leaders like Abraham Lincoln, Jefferson Davis and Otto von Bismarck. Originally born in Germany, Marschall immigrated to the United States in 1851 to Alabama where he lived and worked until after the Civil War when he was forced to move to Louisville, Kentucky, because of the harsh economic times in the South after the war. Marschall is probably best known as being the creator of the first confederate national flag known as the Stars and Bars. Marschall also designed the grey Confederate uniform which he patterned after those of the Prussian military from his native Germany. For his artistic contributions to the Confederate States of America Nicola Marschall is known as the Artist of the Confederacy.
There is no doubt in my mind that God desired for me to have this particular Madonna by the Artist of the Confederacy to remind me of my own incredible Christian heritage that He gave to me through my ancestors. Despite what the liars and deceivers of today would have people believe about the Confederacy the true legacy of the Southern people is their great Christian faith that sustained them through so much suffering and hardship. As a very courageous young Southern lady named Emma Sansom once stated after the war they “were overpowered but never conquered” and the testimony of their faith and love for God is something that no enemy can ever conquer and destroy no matter how hard they try.
I was reminded again of the power of this legacy of faith as I was writing this paper when I needed to comfort a dear friend who was devastated by the sudden loss of his only child. As I grasped for ways to comfort my friend trying hard to make the scriptures come alive for him I turned to the life of Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson for assistance in helping my friend to better understand God’s promise in Romans 8:28 to make “all things work together for good for those that love Him.” Stonewall Jackson himself had been devastated as a young husband when he lost both his first wife and child during childbirth yet his faith had sustained him during this loss and during all the further losses that he endured including his own severe wounding and death. The words below from Jackson reveal much about his incredible faith and are some of the last words he ever spoke in this fallen world:
"You see me severely wounded, but not depressed; not unhappy. I believe that it has been done according to God's holy will, and I acquiesce entirely in it. You may think it strange; but you never saw me more perfectly contented than I am today; for I am sure my Heavenly Father designs this affliction for my good. I am perfectly satisfied, that either in this life, or in that which is to come, I shall discover that what is now regarded as a calamity, is a blessing. And if it appears a great calamity (as it surely will be a great inconvenience to be deprived of my arm), it will result in a great blessing. I can wait until God, in His own time, shall make known to me the object He has in thus afflicting me. But why should I not rather rejoice in it as a blessing, and not look on it as a calamity at all? If it were in my power to replace my arm, I would not dare to do it, unless I could know it was the will of my Heavenly Father."
As my friend continued to mourn for his daughter Christina and tried to envision the day he would be reunited with her in Heaven it was Jackson’s final words “Let us cross over the river, and rest under the shade of the trees” that seemed to give him special comfort. These incredible words, that may be as some historians have suggested the most famous words spoken during the entire war, have given the same kind of comfort to countless numbers of people seeking reassurance that there is indeed more than just this life and that all believers will cross over the river some day to go home to be with our Lord and our loved ones forever. And all of this is but one example of the great Christian legacy that our Southern ancestors passed down to us and how we can draw strength from them during our times of greatest need.
Whether it is the words of Jackson or this drawing of the Madonna by Marschall or something else it is impossible to study the lives of the southern people and not be inspired by their faith. The real attack upon Southern heritage is in reality an attack upon their Christianity because that is the one part of their society that was never destroyed even though their enemies have never stopped trying. One of the misguided arguments for obliterating the history of the South is that because they lost the war they have no right to still be remembered. Yes, they did lose by the standards of this fallen world but so what. In the end we all lose because we all die and those that die with the most worldly possessions are the biggest losers of all. As I look once more into the eyes of Marschall’s Madonna she is revealing to me one more great truth. The people of the South and all others like them throughout history are not losers at all because through their faith in her Son they won the greatest victory of all and are now with her and her Son in His Kingdom forever. May God Bless us all with the faith to do as well! Amen!
Nicola Marschall created this beautiful drawing of the Madonna during a visit he made to the Pitti Palace in Florence, Italy on April 12th of 1858. The original painting that he used for inspiration is by Raphael and is titled the Madonna della Seggiola which translated means the Madonna of the Chair. Mr. Marschall gave his family a written statement in 1902 that: “Every touch of this was made standing before the original.” Mr. Kennedy purchased the original drawing from the widow of Marschall’s great-grandson in 2012.
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