In artistic depictions of Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary, both characters are depicted in distinct colours. Jesus is regularly shown wearing Red robes, Mary in blue. Why those colours, what do they connote?
Good or evil?
Paintings of the nativity scene often bathe the baby Jesus in a brilliant divine white hue. This white hue would follow Jesus throughout later depictions. However, as Jesus is depicted in his adulthood, he is adorned in bright red or vermilion robes.
At first the use of red suggests a sign of evil, of sin, of the devil or hellfire. However, it is also considered a symbol of Jesus’ sacrifice and the blood of Christ.
With Christmas, Red has two meanings. The first, also connotes the blood and death of Christ. It became customary to add red berries to the green wreath, the green symbolising the birth of Jesus. The second use of Red at Christmas recognises the red apples of the Paradise tree and the fall of Adam. With apple trees naked during the Winter period, people would customarily tie apples to the branches. Eventually this became such a custom that people began tying them to Christmas trees.
Pure and rare
With the rarity and expense of blue dye, the colour was often given a value much greater than that of gold. These facets of the colour soon featured heavily in the depictions of figures in art, for only the most pure and godly figures.
Blue became associated with the Virgin Mary in the early 5th Century, and she was painted using the Marian Blue. This became her official colour thanks to the prevalence of religious sects like the cult of the Virgin and Mariology.
Through paintings produced in the 15th Century, the Madonna’s image took on a more maternal image. She was also painted sporting both red with blue. For her painters of this time, Rogier van der Weyden ‘The Crucifixion, with the Virgin and Saint John the Evangelist Mourning’ and Gentile da Fabriano’s ‘Nativity’, Mary was depicted with the duality of being both a royal and pure figure, as well as one exuding motherhood and passion.
Biblical roots
According to Dr R Jared Staudt, blue is the colour of the Israeli people, as mentioned in the book of Numbers in the bible.
Passage 15:38-39 of Numbers says that, ‘Speak to the people of Israel, and bid them to make tassels on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and to put upon the tassel of each corner a cord of blue; and it shall be to you a tassel to look upon and remember all the commandments of the Lord, to do them, not to follow after your own heart and your own eyes, which you are inclined to go after wantonly.’
This goes further with the suggestion that the Virgin Mary was a second Ark of the Covenant, understood to contain the Divine Presence of God within her.
‘the Levites are to ‘spread over [the Ark of the Covenant] a cloth all of blue’ (4:6). And further: ‘And over the table of the bread of the Presence they shall spread a cloth of blue’ (4:7).’, Numbers.
Heavenly colours
In the Byzantine and Orthodox depictions of Jesus and Mary, the colours are painted together as either outer or inner wear. Blue in this case is show as the symbol of the divine and of transcendence. Red is then considered more connected with blood and connection with earth.
In this case, Jesus is dressed in red and wrapped in blue. This shows his humanity wrapped in divinity. Mary is the opposite and this supposedly shows that she gave birth to a divine being despite her humanity.
Gender roles
Writer Peggy Orenstein says that this use of colour in biblical depictions, helps us understand gender colours today.
Red or more Pink was considered a hue connected with masculinity. Blue on the other hand was infused with the purity and fidelity of the Virgin Mary and therefore feminine.
Orenstein proposes that, although we now recognise these colours as distinct to the male and female genders, they were in fact connected with the relationship between mothers and sons.
This is why in classical art, males including Jesus are adorned in a Reddish/Pink pastel shade.
Fast forward over a millennia, and the colours blue and pink are symbolic with children’s marketing, Orenstein says.
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FAQs
Heavenly colours
Why is Mary depicted in red and blue? ›
While the blue represents the Virgin's purity, and connotes her royal status, the red garment signifies traits connected with motherhood, including love, passion, and devotion.
Why is Jesus always wearing red and blue? ›
Jesus, in such religious icons, is usually depicted in colors opposite those of his mother — with a blue tunic, to show his divine nature, and a red sash or mantle, showing that he took on humanity and, in his human body, offered the sacrifice of his blood.
What colors represent Mary? ›
Background. In paintings, Mary is traditionally portrayed in blue. This tradition can trace its origin to the Byzantine Empire, from circa 500 AD, where blue was "the color of an empress".
What are the symbols of Mary in art? ›
The palm : The Virgin is symbolized by the palm tree since she is the image of the triumph of God's salvation, of his hope and of his justice. The Granada : In Christian art, the pomegranate is a fruit of great symbolism. On the one hand, it represents fertility, as it is one of the fruits that contains the most seeds.
What does the blue Mary mean? ›
God's Presence would “rest” on the Ark as a king sits on his throne (Exodus 25:22). When Mary agreed to be the Mother of Jesus (i.e. God), she became is living “resting place.” In art, Mary's blue mantle signals she is the new Ark of the Covenant.
What color was Jesus in the Bible? ›
In her 2018 book What Did Jesus Look Like?, Taylor used archaeological remains, historical texts and ancient Egyptian funerary art to conclude that, like most people in Judea and Egypt around the time, Jesus most likely had brown eyes, dark brown to black hair and olive-brown skin. He may have stood about 5-ft.-5-in.
What is Jesus true color? ›
Many scholars and archeologists now agree that Jesus was most likely a brown-skinned, brown-eyed man — more akin to a “Middle Eastern Jewish” or an Arab man. A commentator once said that if Jesus was taking a flight today “he might be profiled for additional security screening” by the TSA.
What is the symbolic color of Jesus? ›
Red. The color red represents the blood of Jesus Christ, which, in the context of Easter, is shed for the sake of humanity. It signifies love, suffering, and ultimate sacrifice.
What skin color is Mary? ›
Typically, she's represented with dark hair and white skin, but throughout the world, one can find paintings and statues of the Virgin Mary with brown or dark skin.
Roses are a symbol of Mary. The four Marian dogmas of Mother of God, Immaculate Conception, perpetual virginity, and Assumption form the basis of Mariology.
How old was Mary when she gave birth to Jesus? ›
Some scholars hold the view that among them it typically happened between their mid and late teen years or late teens and early twenties.
Why did Jesus wear red? ›
The Old Testament prophet Isaiah, whose words Teichert was fond of quoting, prophesied that Christ would return to earth wearing red, symbolizing His sacrifice for all (see Isaiah 63:1–3). Christ descends dramatically, clothed in scarlet, while figures fall at His feet.
What is the symbol of Mary and Jesus? ›
A Marian Cross is a term to describe a symbolic representation of the close connection of Mary, with the redemptive mission of Jesus. The letter "M" below the cross indicates Mary's presence at the foot of the cross.
What does Mary symbolize in the Bible? ›
Mary is the mother of Jesus who is the Messiah and Savior in Christian belief. She gives birth to Jesus miraculously and together with her husband Joseph protects him from the murderous hands of Herod.
What are the symbols associated with Mary the Mother of Jesus? ›
THE SYMBOLS OF MARY. The Rose and the Violet: The Rose, is the symbol of the Blessed Virgin of prophecy, the rose plant bearing the flower, Christ, and exquisite beauty, and the fragrance left behind in her empty tomb when opened. The Violet represents Mary's humility "regarded by the Lord".
Why did Queen Mary wear red? ›
On the day of her execution, Mary wore a black cloak, with a white veil over her head. Just before her death, she dropped the cloak to reveal a brilliant, crimson red dress beneath, the colour of Catholic martyrdom, a final act of triumphant defiance.
When did Mary start wearing blue? ›
"Mary's dark blue mantle, from about 500 A.D., is of Byzantine origin and is the color of an empress." Blue has stayed in vogue, but red has also become a prominent color for Mary as represented by artists since the tenth century.
What color is Marian Blue in the Bible? ›
Marian blue became the official color of Jesus's mother in the early fifth century. This color, unlike my supposed angel, is bright and vivid. It's a Mediterranean blue, a stony-jewel blue.
What color was Mary wearing when Jesus was born? ›
Mary was often portrayed wearing blue to show she was very important. Luke 2:11-12 says, “Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.
