Photo Hunt - Protection

Today's photo hunt theme is protection. My selction is a picture of religious paintings that were commisioned to thank for protection. . .

These votive paintings are in the the Santuario della Consolata, which is often described as the most loved church in Torino. The Sanctuary of the church houses a collection of over 2000 votive offerings, which are tangible evidence of the gratitude of the devotees of the Madonna for favours received. This series of paintings, known as "the sorrows," have been placed by parishioners and depict the series of life-threatening scenes from which they have been saved by prayers to the Madonna. They thank the Madonna for her benevolent protection.

It was fascinating for us to view the various scenes that ranged from laying ill in a hospitable bed to being tortured by Nazi agents in World War II.

More on votive paintings . . .

An ex-voto is an offering made as part of a promise to a holy personage in expectation of or in thanksgiving for an answered prayer. The practice of offering a votive object to a god or other sacred entity dates back, at least in Europe, to the ancient Greeks. Such practices were common in other parts of the ancient world as well, such as India and pre-Columbian America. The term ex-voto is Latin, meaning “from a vow,” indicating that these offerings are related to a promise made to a sacred personage, whether god or saint.

Votive paintings were typically commissioned as the result of an answered prayer; perhaps, for example, by a mother who had prayed to the Virgin for the recovery of her child from an illness. After the prayer was answered, the petitioner sought out a local folk painter and described to him the problematical incident (the illness, injury, etc.) that stimulated the prayer. The painter would then use his imagination to depict the scene described. The number of details included in the picture was partly dependent on the client’s ability to pay.

Lots of the slow travel  community members also photo hunt when they aren't traveling. You can find their posts by clicking the links below. 

• Old Shoes, New Trip
• Eden's Wanderings and Wonderings
• My Place in the Sun
• Churches in Venice – Mosaics, Marble, and Miracle-Working Madonnas
• Palmabella's Passions
• What I Really Think
• shave Ice and Gelato
• Jerry's Thoughts, Musings, and Rants!
• Keep your Feet in the Street
• Baked Alaska
• That's my story...and I'm stickin' to it!
• Postcards from the Trail
• Cooking at the Whistlestop Cafe
• Candi's Corner
• Trekcapri's Blog
• A Wine Lover's Wanderings
• Destination Anywhere

Comments

[Kim]

Cool Jerry. So do people still do them today or do you think they've died out in recent years?

[SnoopyTheGoon]

That's an amazing collection you got here. Thanks for sharing.

Have a great weekend!

[sandi @ the whistlestop cafe]

great photohunt!

[Annie]

Excellent! I love ex votos. Your photos has some very nice ones.

I don't know about Italy but I know people still make them in Mexico for sure.

Have a nice weekend!

[sheri]

Fascinating post,Jerry. I really enjoyed reading it.It is not uncommon for me to see personal ads in my local paper saying "Thank You" to a particular Saint for answering a prayer.

[Marta]

This is a great post. I loved reading about the drawings. I've never seen the drawings. I have seen little tokens given but not the paintings. Very cool.

[Candi]

Beautiful! Great for the theme.

[Jerry]

Kim - the most recent one that we saw was from the 1970's. In fairness there was another room nearby that was locked. For all we know it oculd ahve been full of more recent paintings.

Thanks snoopy, Candi, and Sandi.

Annie - my rsearch said a great deal about the paintings that are common in Mexico. I guess thta these are a bit like your Venetian shrines . . .

Sheri - come to think of it, those are common here as well. I always wonder what it was that someone prayed for . .

Marta - we were both fascinated by these. Some of the portrayed such significant events i.e. a bomb exploding nearby. Now that I think about it - it would have to be something significant for one to go through the expense of getting a painting made!

[María I.]

I like your interpretation of the theme. Even though I’ve seen plenty of ex votos, I’ve never seen this type of paintings. Some are very intriguing (there’s one that looks like someone was saved from an explosion). Interesting post.

Ex votos can be seen in small churches in Mexico and in the American West. I went recently to the old mission in Tucson and there’s a entire chapel dedicated to ex votos.

Have a fun weekend!

[nancyhol]

I love your take on the theme. And the historical aspect was great.

Where did you find the information for this, if I may ask? I need to put it on my Torino to-do list!

[Kathy (Trekcapri)]

Hi Jerry, wonderful take on this week's PH theme and that's a great photo of the votive paintings. I found it really interesting to learn more about them.

Thanks you for this great post Jerry!

[Jerry]

Maria - the paintings above show everything from a motorcycle accident to falling off of a ladder to a plane crashing tino a ship to what looks like a 'simple' heart attack. We spent far longer than we had planned on just looking at the paintings and the 'impending death'. Morbid perhaps!

Nancy - it is on my blog and my trip report. The church is in the Roman Quarter when I bet you'll spend a lot of your time! LOL

Thanks for visiting Kathy!

[sandrac]

Very interesting post, Jerry! I've always been curious about the origins of ex-voto.

A great take on the theme!

[Jerry]

Thanks Sandra. If you're ever in Torino you should check the votives out. The famous Bicerin cafe is RIGHT across the piazza from the church too. :-)

[girasoli]

I remember passing this church on my way to the Bicerin cafe. I wish I went inside now. Great take on the theme and very interesting post.

[Jerry]

It is a gorgeous church - in addition to the fascinating votive paintings. We have a 'rule' - we don't pass a church without popping inside to see what lays inside. We have had some great surprises that way!