The Sacred Feminine

About This Blog

A collection of some of the most beautiful depictions of the feminine in Western art throughout the ages, with a particular emphasis on the sacred feminine. Most of the works are paintings, and most in oil.

Included are some works by non-Western artists working in the Western tradition of oil technique.

Click on images to view larger.

Comments and suggestions always welcome.

If you are the owner of any of the images and would like them removed please advise in a comment to the post.

Figurative art describes artwork - particularly paintings and sculptures - which are clearly derived from real object sources, and are therefore by definition representational. The term 'figurative art' is often taken to mean art which represents the human figure, or even an animal figure, and, though this is often the case, it is not necessarily so. Since the arrival of abstract art the term figurative has been used to refer to any form of modern art that retains strong references to the real world. This blog is about figurative art in the sense of the human figure, with particular emphasis on idealised representations of the feminine, or the feminine as sacred.

Friday, July 18, 2025

Francisco de Zurbaran, The Virgin Mary as a Child

Madonna Soccorso, San Severo, Italy

Vincenzo Catena, Judith 1520-25

Monday, May 13, 2024

Virtue

Zurbarán, The Virgin Mary as a Child Asleep

Bernadino Luini, Madonna del Roseto

Iris

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