Statue of the Madonna on the Oud St.Jan Souvenir Shop – Katelijnestraat 1, Bruges, Belgium.
Posted by: 
greysman
N 51° 12.229 E 003° 13.479
31U E 515694 N 5672514
This statue of the Madonna stands in a niche on the corner of this old building.
Waymark Code: WMXF0J
Location: West-Vlaanderen, Belgium
Date Posted: 01/04/2018
Views: 6
Many Bruges buildings have religious statues in niches on street corners or above doorways. The majority of these statues are of the Madonna with Child.
From Wikipedia. 'Images of the Madonna and the Madonna and Child or Virgin and Child are pictorial or sculptured representations of Mary, Mother of Jesus, either alone, or more frequently, with the infant Jesus. These images are central icons of Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodox Christianity where Mary remains a central artistic topic. No image (in either the Western or the Eastern Church) permeates Christian art as the image of Madonna and Child. While Mary, the Mother of Jesus, may be referred to as "the Madonna" in other contexts, in art the term is applied specifically to an artwork in which Mary, with or without the infant Jesus, is the focus, and central figure of the picture. Mary and the infant Jesus may be surrounded by adoring angels or worshiping saints. Images that have a narrative content, including those of the many scenes which make up the Life of the Virgin, are not correctly referred to as "Madonnas" but are given a title that reflects the scene such as the Annunciation to Mary.'
In this case Mary is looking down and right dressed in what is considered to be traditional dress with long head scarf.
Below the Madonna is a white flower bowl with the inscription 'Ave Maria' - 'Hail Mary'.