Sub Tuum Praesidium

Sub Tuum Praesidium
Gold, Silver, Black, Sepia ink, watercolor, white acrylic, pencil
December 2011

This was a very difficult piece for a while, I spent probably whole days (if one were to add up the hours) just trying to lay out all the lines for the notation. But I must say I'm very pleased with how it turned out, even though Mary looks a bit forlorn in the scan... This was a Christmas gift for a good friend of mine.

This is the oldest surviving hymn to the Blessed Mother, dating back to the Third Century, c. 250 AD.

In English it reads:

Under thy protection
we seek refuge,
Holy Mother of God;
despise not our petitions
in our needs,
but from all dangers
deliver us always,
Virgin Glorious and Blessed

This is probably my favorite piece of Gregorian chant. Here it is sung [link]

I have a great personal devotion to the Blessed Mother, and this has especially nurtured that devotion. As children of Mary, we fly to her loving and motherly protection, seeking refuge under her mantle and her intercession, and she will deliver us from all dangers and lead us to her Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, who is our refuge and our strength.