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Canuti was perhaps influenced by the ideally sentimentalized
sweetness of Guido Reni, but his image of the Virgin as Queen of Heaven
combines two traditions which offer different sorts of nourishment to the
pious. The ancient tradition of the Queen of Heaven reigning with her Son
imposes awe, but is here tempered with the tenderness of the Virgin as
human mother. The rosary is upheld almost like a child's plaything, but it
is the most honored instrument for communicating with the Virgin, who is
the rose without thorns. The Virgin is simultaneously wife, mother, and
queen in her relationship with her Son. Their power is almost reciprocal
for, as Christine de Pizan says to the
Virgin: "...your son refuses you nothing. Moreover, as Queen of Heaven,
Mary has ministry and dominion over all created powers after the only Son
whom she conceived of the Holy Spirit.." Is Mary mediatrix or
Co-creator?
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