Father Robert Maloney, C.M. writes:

“Christians, reflecting on the New Testament, regard Mary as the ideal disciple, the first among the saints. Her influence has deeply affected art, music, and poetry. We need only to recall some of the striking paintings of the Virgin Mary, like the Madonnas of Botticelli, of Lippo Lippi, of Murillo. And of course we have all often heard wonderful Ave Marias like those of Schubert and Gounod, as well as countless other Marian hymns. Dante, Shakespeare, and many others all wrote beautiful poetic tributes to the Virgin Mary. But perhaps nowhere has Mary flourished so much as in the popular imagination… I offer these five Marian faces as a way of reflecting on the rich, varied tradition surrounding the Virgin Mary.”

– Five Faces of Mary, from Vincentiana Vol. 43, No. 2 (starting on page 51 of the PDF)