Mater Amabilis - Mother Most Loveable

Mater Amabilis - Mother Most Loveable
© Cecilia Lawrence
June 13th 2017
Watercolor and Ink
8x10 inches
11 ½ Hours

"Ave, Maria! thy children are kneeling,
words of endearment are murmured to thee;
softly thy spirit upon us is stealing,
Sinless and beautiful, star of the sea!

Mater amabilis, ora pro nobis!
Pray for thy children who call upon thee;
Ave, sanctissima! Ave, purissima!
Sinless and beautiful, star of the sea!

Ave, Maria! thou portal of heaven,
harbor of refuge, to thee do we flee;
lost in the darkness, by stormy winds driven,
Sinless and beautiful, star of the sea!

Mater amabilis, ora pro nobis!
Pray for thy children who call upon thee;
Ave, sanctissima! Ave, purissima!
Sinless and beautiful, star of the sea!"
~ from Ave Maria, O mother, O Maiden

Sorry everyone, I've been getting behind on my June sketches, but I had to finish this commission for a client. He wanted me to do an image of the Madonna and Child under the title of Mater Amabilis (Latin for "Mother Most Amiable," or better translated, "Mother Most-Loveable"). My first page of sketches were actually for this piece to try and figure out what I wanted Mary's pose to be. I sort of settled on the first one, but changed the angle of her head and Jesus' pose. The face is very obviously very Botticellian inspired.