Madonna & Child (Mary & Jesus) - Dean's Mews, London, UK - Statues of Religious Figures on Waymarking.com

This larger-than-life sculpture is located above an arch. The creator, Jacob Epstein, made the Madonna and Child sculpture from lead that was salvaged from the nearby roof of a building bombed in the Second World War. It should come as no surprise that it weighs in the region of three tons.

The Kings Fund website tells us:

During the First World War, the convent escaped damage despite some scares, including nearby Zeppelin raids. In 1932, a large new building designed by E W Banfield was constructed to extend the classroom accommodation and student bedrooms. The buildings, especially No. 12, suffered bomb damage in the Second World War, evidence of which can still be seen on the exterior stonework. Repairing the damage required the skill of the architect, Louis Osman, to restore the interior of the Georgian house.

Osman’s best-known contribution is the bridge link between Nos.12 and 13, and the commission he gave to Jacob Epstein to execute a sculpture for the façade.

Madonna and child

Osman wanted a sculpture of the Madonna and Child that would appear unsupported and ‘levitate’ above the arch. In 1952, he asked Epstein to create a maquette, with the sole specification that the sculpture should be cast in lead from the bombed roof of No.12. The sisters approved the maquette without knowing the identity of the sculptor, and Epstein began work on the piece. But before he could complete the work, so the story goes, a near-crisis occurred when the Arts Council congratulated the convent on their innovative choice of artist.

t the time, it would have been considered near-sacrilege to allow a non-Christian to execute a Christian icon. The convent withdrew the commission and Louis Osman, devastated, offered to resign. But the Arts Council persuaded Osman to try again. The Mother Superior agreed to view the work a second time and, after much contemplation, a compromise was reached whereby Epstein would remodel the Madonna’s head to give her a more serene expression. He also agreed to come before the community of nuns to be ‘catechised on his attitude to the work’.

The figures were cast in lead; three tons were used from the old guttering on the houses. Epstein’s Madonna and Child was finally unveiled by R A Butler, Chancellor of the Exchequer, on 14 May 1953.

Wikipedia tells us about Mary:

According to the Bible, Mary (c. 18 BC – c. 41 AD), also known as Saint Mary or Virgin Mary, was a Jewish woman of Nazareth in Galilee. She is identified in the New Testament[Mt 1:16,18-25][Lk 1:26-56][2:1-7] as the mother of Jesus through divine intervention. Mary (Maryam) also has a revered position in Islam, where a whole chapter of the Qur'an is devoted to her. Christians hold her son Jesus to be Christ (i.e., the messiah) and God the Son Incarnate. By contrast, Muslims regard Jesus as one of the prophets of God sent to humanity; not as God himself nor the Son of God.

The canonical gospels of Matthew and Luke describe Mary as a virgin (Greek παρθ?νος, parthénos). Traditionally, Christians believe that she conceived her son miraculously by the agency of the Holy Spirit. Muslims believe that she conceived her son miraculously by the command of God. This took place when she was already betrothed to Saint Joseph and was awaiting the concluding rite of marriage, the formal home-taking ceremony. She married Joseph and accompanied him to Bethlehem, where Jesus was born. In orthodox Jewish custom, it is possible for marriage to take place at the age of twelve for a girl or thirteen for a boy. In the absence of any direct evidence of Mary's age at betrothal or in pregnancy, Dale Allison cites this Jewish custom to assert that Mary became pregnant at about 12, although the minimum age was not compulsory and higher marriage age is recommended by orthodox Jewish tradition in the Talmud.

The Gospel of Luke in the New Testament begins its account of Mary's life with the Annunciation, when the angel Gabriel appeared to her and announced her divine selection to be the mother of Jesus. Although she does not seem to have been present in Jesus' public ministry, Mary was present at the crucifixion and is depicted as a member of the early Christian community in Jerusalem. Apocryphal writings tell that she never died but assumed into Heaven, both her body and soul in the assumption.

Mary is the most respected female figure in Christianity, venerated since early times, and is considered by millions to be the most meritorious saint of the Church. Christians of the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, Oriental Orthodox Church, Anglican Communion, and Lutheran churches believe that Mary, as Mother of Jesus, is the Mother of God and the Theotokos, literally "Bearer of God". There is significant diversity in the Marian beliefs and devotional practices of major Christian traditions. The Catholic Church holds distinctive Marian dogmas; namely her status as the mother of God, her Immaculate Conception, the perpetual virginity of Mary, and the Assumption of Mary into Heaven. Many Protestants see a minimal role for Mary within Christianity, based on the argued brevity of biblical references.