Explore the Riza about the Painting of this artwork.
The tradition to decorate paintings with a riza or revetment of precious metals may have been borrowed from Eastern Orthodoxy. The riza of Our Lady is composed of three gilded silver parts, each completed by different artists at a different period. The head and shoulders were covered in 1670–90; the chest piece was adapted from a different painting in 1695–1700; the bottom of the painting was completed by the 1730s. The revetments are richly decorated in floral motifs: roses, tulips, narcissi, carnations, and at least six other species.The flowers were references to hortus conclusus (enclosed garden), and a symbol of Mary's virginity and purity. The circle of stars represents the immaculate conception. The head of Our Lady is adorned with two crowns. Two little angels lower the large Rococo-style crown with colored glass inlays upon the smaller Baroque crown. Some argued that the two crowns, resembling royal and ducal insignia, represented the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania respectively. In 1927, duplicate crowns were made of pure gold, donated by the people, and were blessed by Pope Pius XI. On 2 July 1927 the Canonical Coronation took place and the painting received the title of Mother of Mercy. The gold crowns were lost, possibly during World War II.On certain occasions, the image has been displayed without its riza for a limited time.Sculptures of Mary's parents – St Joachim and St Anne – stand on both sides of the painting between the altar columns.
Pope Pius XI Kingdom of Poland Orthodox Riza hortus conclusus Grand Duchy of Lithuania Poland carnation Joachim gilded Pope riza Eastern Orthodox immaculate conception narcissi Baroque Easter circle of stars Eastern Orthodoxy St Anne Canonical Coronation Rococo Lithuania St Joachim