3 Quick Art History Lessons to Sharpen Your Appreciation of Paintings

Useful rules of thumb about symbols

Detail of ‘The Alba Madonna’ (c.1510) by Raphael. Oil on panel. Overall diameter: 94.5 cm. National Gallery of Art, Washington DC. Image source Wikimedia Commons (public domain).

Why is the Virgin Mary Always Dressed in Blue and Red?

Walk into any of the world’s great galleries, from The Met in New York to the Prado in Madrid, and you’ll find countless images of the Virgin Mary. And almost always, she will be dressed in a combination of blue and red.

As a convention in art, it makes her easy to identify.

The painting above is known as The Alba Madonna, made by Raphael. It shows Mary seated in a landscape with the child Jesus and John the Baptist. As tradition dictates, Mary is dressed in a red dress and blue robe or cowl.

Detail of ‘Assumption of the Virgin’ (1516–18) by Titian. Oil on panel. 690 × 360 cm. Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari, Venice, Italy. Image source Wikimedia Commons

Here’s another example: Titian’s very splendid Assumption, which is always worth tracking down if you’re ever in Venice. It shows Mary being lifted upwards on a cloud of music-playing cherubs following her death. Again, clothed in a long red dress and a blue cloak, Mary is instantly recognisable.

But why the convention of blue and red?