‘Madonnari’ drawings now seen on driveways or sidewalks hark back to 16th-century Italian Renaissance
Professional chalk artist Sarah Shorter works on an image at Chesterton Academy.
Since 2009, the Dogwood Arts Chalk Walk, an annual chalk art festival, has occupied Market Square in downtown Knoxville. Jim Dodson, co-chair of Chalk Walk, states: “Beginning with humble roots, this art experience has enriched our community and shown the public the importance and the power visual arts can play in our lives.”
Few people realize the rich history and Catholic tradition of sidewalk chalk art. This tradition continues at Knoxville’s Chesterton Academy of St. Margaret Clitherow, led by art and drama teacher Sonia Summers, an award-winning professional chalk artist.
Following in the footsteps of 16th-century pilgrims of the Italian Renaissance, itinerant artists traveling from one town to another would use bits of brick and charcoal to draw artworks on the ground, frequently including images of the Madonna, the Blessed Virgin Mary. This earned them the name “madonnari.” The madonnari tradition itself had roots in Italian votive artwork, in which the faithful commissioned artists to create art to commemorate or give thanks for miraculous healing and answered prayers.
Madonnari continued to create transient art through the centuries, but the art form nearly died out in the 20th century because of industrialization and World War II. Journalist Maria Grazia Fringuellini and Gilberto Boschesi, a member of the Gonzaga family of Mantua, rescued the madonnari from extinction by establishing the first madonnari festival in the town of Grazie di Curtatone. Although the first madonnari festival component took place in 1972, the location today boasts of having held the original fair for more than 600 years, coinciding with the feast of the Assumption of Mary.
Chesterton Academy freshman Cameryn Lawson depicts the Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus in her chalk art.
Chalk art has remained a popular and unique art form, bridging the innocence of children’s sidewalk chalk with the sophistication of trained professional artists. During the shutdowns of 2020, neighbors connected by decorating their driveways and sidewalks with messages of hope and humor, sharing their galleries through social media and trading ideas and techniques.
Artists now often blend pop culture with the traditional, while some events still promote the classical. One such event is the Chesterton Academy’s competition and fundraiser “Chesterton Chalk!” The event encourages classical recreative artwork, especially featuring Catholic imagery in the madonnari tradition. Now in its third year, Chesterton Chalk! will take place on March 28, led by Mrs. Summers, and monies raised will benefit the school’s fine-arts program. Mrs. Summers also offers summer camps that explore the techniques and practice of sidewalk chalk art for the next generation of madonnari.
A physically demanding performance art, sidewalk chalk artists spend the day on hands and knees, scrubbing their palms into the pavement to bring forth something beautiful. This temporary artwork exists for the enjoyment of strangers, rich or poor, in the public square. With humility and connectivity, sidewalk chalk art brings about communion among people. In this way, the art form has remained true to its Catholic roots throughout the centuries.
Participants in last year’s Chesterton Chalk! competition, including Chesterton Academy students and other local artists, pose with Chesterton fine-arts teacher Sonia Summers and Katie Schmid, who helped judge the 2025 competition.
Sonia Summers contributed to this article.