"Picturing Mary" Documentary to Debut on Public Television in December

WASHINGTON, Nov. 27 /U.S. Newswire/ -- No one knows what she really looked like, yet the Blessed Virgin Mary stands among the most popular artistic subjects in history. In every medium, with every imaginable material, in tiny personal images and gigantic mosaics, artists have depicted her the world over.

"Picturing Mary," a stunning new high-definition documentary to debut next month on public television, explores how images of the Virgin reflect numerous traditions, devotional practices and cultures. The one-hour program leads viewers on a pictorial journey through history from the earliest times to the present day and presents a stunning array of art from 12 locations in eight different countries.

"Picturing Mary" is a joint effort of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' (USCCB) Catholic Communication Campaign (CCC) and New York public television station Thirteen/WNET. The documentary follows their previous collaboration on the 2001 Emmy award-winning "The Face: Jesus in Art." The documentary is narrated by actress Jane Seymour and features quotations read by actor James Keach.

A Spanish version can be accessed using the SAP (secondary audio program) television control.

"Picturing Mary" will be distributed to public television stations nationwide by American Public Television (APT) in December. Already more than 100 stations, including stations in all top 10 markets, have scheduled it to air in December. (For a list of air dates and times, visit http://www.picturingmary.com.) DVD copies of Picturing Mary will be available for purchase at $19.95 from USCCB publishing -- http://www.usccbpublishing.org or 800-235-8722.

"This program is a Christmas gift from the Catholic Communication Campaign to TV viewers," says CCC Director of Production Ellen McCloskey. "In fact, many stations will present it on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. Like 'The Face: Jesus in Art,' 'Picturing Mary' will become a perennial television favorite during the Advent and Christmas seasons."

Almost all of the artworks featured in "Picturing Mary" were filmed in situ, that is, in the original settings where they were intended to be viewed hundreds of years ago. Settings include the Basilica of St. Mark in Venice, Italy, home of one of the greatest paintings of the Venetian Renaissance, Titian's 22-foot- high "Assumption."

Other settings include Bruges, Belgium, where Jan van Eyck used what was then a new medium -- oil painting -- to astonishing effect on full size pictures of Mary.

The documentary also highlights Rembrandt van Rijn's work in the Dutch city of Amsterdam, where he created hundreds of etchings, prints and drawings to establish himself as the greatest illustrator of Scripture ever. Devoted to realism, Rembrandt depicts Mary in "Death of the Virgin" not as the lovely maiden traditionally pictured, but as a sick old woman.

The use of the latest widescreen high definition technology enables startlingly beautiful pictures from far away places, including Mexico City, site of the magnificent Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe; and Lake Tana, in Ethiopia, where Christians under siege took refuge in the 16th century.

"Picturing Mary" allows viewers up-close virtual visits to some of the world's greatest masterpieces. At the Vatican, for example, the filmmakers capture Michelangelo's exquisite Pieta from behind the glass shield that has protected it since the early 1970’s.

"Picturing Mary" was produced for USCCB and Thirteen/WNET by The Edge, a London-based production company. Executive producers are William F. Baker and Msgr. Francis J. Maniscalco. Scriptwriters are James Clifton and Rosemary Plum. Director is Martin Johnson, and producer, Rosemary Plum. The director of photography is Chris Hartley. Music composer is Matthew Scott.

Major funding for "Picturing Mary" was provided by the CCC with additional funding from James and Judy Boyle, Abby and George O'Neill, The Boisi Family Foundation, The Aztec Foundation, Mr. and Mrs. Mark Berner, Our Sunday Visitor Foundation and Sandra Robinson.

The Catholic Communication Campaign is an activity of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops that develops media programming, public service announcements, and other resources to promote Gospel values. Donations of Catholic parishioners make possible the work of the CCC. For more information, visit http://www.usccb.org/ccc.

Picturing Mary,’ PBS
By David DiCerto
11/17/2006
Catholic News Service

Perhaps no woman in the history of Western civilization has inspired more works of art than Mary. Her image has been venerated by emperors and peasants; loomed large in grand cathedrals and inconspicuously graced the smallest trinkets; and led armies into battle, protected cities and stirred devotion throughout the centuries.

An illuminating documentary, "Picturing Mary," surveys her depiction in art over the past 2,000 years, encompassing painting, sculpture and mosaic, as well as more exotic mediums such as Aztec featherwork. Jointly produced by the U.S. bishops' Catholic Communication Campaign and Thirteen/WNET, this companion film to 2001's "The Face: Jesus in Art" airs on public television stations starting in December (check local listings).

Narrated by Jane Seymour and her husband, James Keach, the program explores how the visual representations reflect the surrounding historical and cultural milieu.

She is the humble handmaiden of the Annunciation in sublime works by Cimabue, Giotto, Simone Martini and Lippo Memmi. But she is also the "Theotokos," or "Mother of God," envisioned as the unconquered empress -- so much for the alleged misogyny of early Christianity -- whom cities implored for protection, as rendered in the jewel bedecked icon the "Panagia Nikopoia" ("All Holy Bringer of Victory").

Director Martin Johnson and producer Rosemary Plum take viewers on a tour of (mostly) Renaissance treasures by Michelangelo -- a marble relief he crafted at age 15, "The Madonna of the Steps," is magnificent -- Titian, Duccio and Caravaggio. In addition to the predominantly Italian works, the sampling also includes pieces by northern masters like Rembrandt and Van Eyck, the latter's use of color and detail astonishing even by modern standards.

A segment at the remote monastery of Narga Selassie on an island in Ethiopia's Lake Tana demonstrates how the basic image of Mary ("endlessly varied, endlessly imagined") remains essentially the same around the globe.

Beyond an art history lesson, the film shows how, in earlier times when populations were largely illiterate, the frescoes, altarpieces, etc. served as pictorial catechisms, conveying theological truths and providing a virtual overview of Mariology.

At only an hour in length, there are omissions: There's no Asian, Celtic or East European art (Poland's "Black Madonna" of Czestochowa, a national treasure that held special significance for Pope John Paul II, didn't make the cut). And the most familiar New World image of Mary, Mexico's "Our Lady of Guadalupe," gets only cursory treatment. Two other minor quibbles: Keach's voice is monochromatic and the "morphing" effect, so inventively employed in "The Face," is hardly used at all here.

But overall, this rewarding if less ambitious follow-up is edifying in its contemplation of the meek Jewish maiden whom the poet William Wordsworth, as quoted in the film, called "our tainted nature's solitary boast."

The CCC will also provide a companion Web site at www.picturingmary.com.

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Pieta - Michelangelo Buonaratti