Countless images of Mary have been made, and these are often found in pilgrimage sites, churches, chapels, and homes. Among all these creations, there are some that appear frequently, such as the Lourdes statue, the Fatima statue, and the vesper statue. These statues vary in style, material, size, and colour, among other things.
Old depictions of Mary date from the 13th and 14th centuries and are primarily made of stone and wood. The main themes of the grace images from the period between the early 13th century and the end of the 15th century are the enthroned or seated Mother and the Pietà.
In the late Middle Ages, between 1350 and 1500, the Vesper image (Pietà) emerged as a creation of sculptors. In these depictions, Mary holds her dead Son partly on her lap and mourns Him. This imagery reached its peak in the 17th and 18th centuries. The 13th Station of the Cross expresses this as Jesus is taken down from the cross and placed on Mary's lap.
The veneration of Byzantine images of Mary reaches a peak after the Siege of Constantinople in 1453. This marks the end of the Eastern Roman Empire, which would later be known as the Byzantine Empire.
Around 1500, the depiction of the seated Virgin Mary with her Child regained prominence.
In the 17th and 18th centuries, devotion to Mary reached a new peak. The Baroque style of statues and churches contributed to this.
Through the dissemination of grace images and their copies, variants of Marian statues arise, such as the Sorrowful Mother, Help of Christians, Our Lady of the Snow, and the Weeping Mother. Then, sculpted and painted black, robed, and crowned Marian statues also emerge.
In the 19th century, images of, among others, Mary and the Miraculous Medal, the weeping Mary of La Salette, and the Lourdes statue appeared. In the 20th century, the Fatima statue and the depiction of the Mother of Perpetual Succour were added.
A gigantic statue of Mary stands in the southern part of the Philippine bay of Batangas. Including the pedestal, the whole measures 98.15 metres. This creation is often not seen as a statue, but as a large building. The names of this building are “Tower of Peace” and “Mother of All Asia”. The impressive building is located at the resort “Montemaria International Pilgrimage & Conference Center”.
The tallest statue of Our Lady is located in the Brazilian pilgrimage site of Crato. On 16 November 2025, the large statue of Our Lady of Fatima will be consecrated. The height of the statue of Mary measures a remarkable 51 metres, not including the pedestal. This is the largest depiction of a saint on Earth. The statue of Mary is an immense replica of the depiction in the Chapel of Apparitions in Fátima, Portugal, where Mary appeared multiple times to three children in 1917.
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