Throughout history, Christian artists faced a special challenge of depicting the heavenly realm through the human language of visual communication. How could the unseen realm of divine become seen through the artistic product of human hands? Images of the Virgin Mary pose an interesting lens for thinking about this question because Mary, as a human being who has won God’s special favor in heaven, lies at the heart of the mystery of Incarnation in which human beings could encounter the divine. Images of Mary in art depict this intimate correlation between heaven and earth.

Dr. Hansol Goo is an Assistant Professor of Liturgical Theology at the Saint John’s Graduate School of Theology and Seminary. She received her Ph.D. in Theology from University of Notre Dame, with specialization in liturgical and sacramental theology. Her research areas include Sacramental Theology, Theology of Migration, Asian American Theology, Global Catholicism, and Christian Art and Spirituality.