Madonna and contemporary arts#Acting

{{Quote box|bgcolor=white|align=left|width=20%|quote=The story of Madonna's origins as an artist is as important as the music itself in understanding the impact she's had on bringing the underground into the mainstream.|source=—Malina Bickford of Vice (2014).{{cite web|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/it-was-a-beautiful-thing-danceteria-and-the-birth-of-madonna/|title="It Was a Beautiful Thing:" Danceteria and the Birth of Madonna|first=Malina|last=Bickford|work=Vice|date=September 9, 2013|access-date=July 5, 2022|archive-date=June 8, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220608072507/https://www.vice.com/en/article/vvjawa/it-was-a-beautiful-thing-danceteria-and-the-birth-of-madonna|url-status=live}}}}

Madonna's background with the arts, and how it influenced her future career, have been documented. In a conversation with curator Vince Aletti in 1999, she said her interest in art started as a child.{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/theobserver/1999/dec/12/life1.lifemagazine1|title=Ray of light: Madonna and her love affair with the lens|date=December 12, 1999|work=The Guardian|access-date=July 6, 2022|first=Vince|last=Aletti|author-link=Vince Aletti|archive-date=May 8, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140508045055/https://www.theguardian.com/theobserver/1999/dec/12/life1.lifemagazine1|url-status=live}} She visited the Detroit Institute of Arts, which is how she found out about Frida Kahlo and started reading about her. Madonna also mentioned her Catholic education, saying "there's art everywhere" in the churches, "so you get introduced to it that way".

From early on, Madonna's father encouraged his children to take classes related to art disciplines. He wanted her to take piano lessons, which she tried. While music was on her motivations and goals, the piano wasn't.{{harvnb|Cross|2007|p=10}} She had a friend who was taking ballet lessons, and she talked her father into letting her take ballet instead of piano. For Madonna, dance was a gateway for discovery in other arts in which she has maintained a lifelong interest, wrote biographer Carol Gnojewski.{{harvnb|Gnojewski|2007|pp=27–28}} She studied in the performing arts school dance, music theory and art history. She also took a Shakespearean course.{{cite web|url=https://www.interviewmagazine.com/music/madonna-harry-dean-stanton-interview|title=Madonna talks to Harry Dean Stanton About Her Newfound Stardom|date=May 5, 2018|work=Interview|access-date=July 9, 2022|first=Harry Dean|last=Stanton|archive-url=https://archive.today/20220709042703/https://www.interviewmagazine.com/music/madonna-harry-dean-stanton-interview|archive-date=July 9, 2022|url-status=live}}

In Rochester School of Ballet, she met its instructor Christopher Flynn, who took a special interest in helping her succeed. Flynn took it upon himself to become her mentor, impressed by her talent and ambition, exposing her to Detroit's museums, operas, concerts, art galleries, and fashion shows.{{harvnb|O'Brien|2007|p=22}} Her tastes broadened to include classical music, Pre-Raphaelite painters, and poets.

File:Martha Graham - Apr 1922 Shadowland (cropped).jpg with Martha Graham (pictured in 1922) in New York and Pearl Lang.{{harvnb|Gnojewski|2007|pp=32–42}}]]

Madonna pursued a career in modern dance, moving to New York City in the late 1970s. She attended numerous museums for free, and worked as an art nude model in art schools for photographers such as Martin Schreiber and Lee Friedlander.{{cite web|url=https://www.popphoto.com/news/2009/04/madonna-1979-nudes-be-featured-brighton-festival/|title=Madonna 1979 Nudes To Be Featured at Brighton Festival|work=Popular Photography|date=April 17, 2009|access-date=June 29, 2022|archive-date=June 29, 2022|archive-url=https://archive.today/20220629192939/https://www.popphoto.com/news/2009/04/madonna-1979-nudes-be-featured-brighton-festival/|url-status=live}} This brought her into contact with painters and photographers. Madonna would later declared: "People painted me all the time".{{cite web|url=http://www.mgross.com/writing/books/my-generation/bonus-chapters/madonna-catholic-girl-material-girl-post-liberation-woman/|title=Madonna: Catholic Girl, Material Girl, Post-Liberation Woman|publisher=Official website of Michael Gross|date=1985|access-date=July 6, 2022|first=Michael|last=Gross|author-link=Michael Gross (American writer)|archive-date=July 6, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220706043021/http://www.mgross.com/writing/books/my-generation/bonus-chapters/madonna-catholic-girl-material-girl-post-liberation-woman/|url-status=live}} She briefly took classes of photography, painting and drawing.{{harvnb|Walker|2003|pp=65–89}}

While pursuing her dance career, Madonna also attended the 1978 American Dance Festival at Duke University in Durham, meeting Pearl Lang who became later her dance mentor and helped her get a work at the Russian Tea Room. About her participation in the festival, Richard Maschal, whom interviewed her for The Charlotte Observer in 1978, described the then dance student as "what the American Dance Festival is about".{{cite web|url=https://www.charlotteobserver.com/entertainment/music-news-reviews/article23418204.html|title=Madonna before she was Madonna – dancing at American Dance Festival|work=The Charlotte Observer|date=June 7, 2015|access-date=August 5, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150724220410/https://www.charlotteobserver.com/entertainment/music-news-reviews/article23418204.html|archive-date=July 24, 2015|first=David|last=Menconi}} A year later, she successfully auditioned to perform in Paris with French disco artist Patrick Hernandez as his backup singer and dancer. She was selected by Fernandez from an audition attended of 1,500 people, impressed by her stage presence.{{cite magazine|last=Anderson|first=Christopher|date=October 14, 1991|title=Madonna Rising|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EkNwz83JvvkC&q=dan+gilroy+madonna+synagogue+i&pg=PA44|magazine=New York Magazine|pages=40–51|access-date=May 15, 2021|archive-date=July 27, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230727072342/https://books.google.com/books?id=EkNwz83JvvkC&q=dan+gilroy+madonna+synagogue+i&pg=PA44|url-status=live}} Hernandez and his team, also took interest to grom her as a star, and her Parisian patrons, intended to develop and marked Madonna as a disco singer, paying her expenses, and further classes for singing, dancing and conversational French lessons. Hernandez claims that his fame motivated Madonna, as he and his friends "succeeded" in convincing her that she could become a major recording star. She grew deeply dissatisfied with the pace of her career as dictated by her managers, and she also didn't respond well to the disco music. Then she returned to New York City.

File:Madonna & Basquiat - 7.png' Urban Myths based on their relationship]]

Outlet Contemporary Art explained that Madonna made her first connection with the local art scene of New York in clubs located in the Lower East Side and SoHo, including Danceteria, The Limelight, The Roxy, Funhouse, Mudd Club and the Paradise Garage, frequented by School of Visual Arts artists and others public figures. She befriended various painters, graffiti and visual artists such as Keith Haring, Futura 2000, Fab Five Freddy and Daze. In 1978, she met graffiti artist Norris Burroughs, with whom she had a brief relationship.{{cite journal|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=05wtAQAAIAAJ|title=Madonna|journal=Contemporary Art|date=1995|volume=3|access-date=July 6, 2022|page=36|archive-date=July 11, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220711213200/https://www.google.com/books/edition/Contemporary_Art/05wtAQAAIAAJ?hl=en-419|url-status=live}}

Artist Martin Burgoyne, was her roommate on the Lower East Side, and became her best friend.{{cite web|url=https://www.interviewmagazine.com/music/madonna-1#page3|title=Madonna|work=Interview|date=November 26, 2014|access-date=July 6, 2022|first=David|last=Blaine|author-link=David Blaine|archive-date=December 1, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141201212138/http://www.interviewmagazine.com/music/madonna-1/#page3|url-status=live}} In an interview with Austin Scaggs, she said a roommate introduced her to Haring, but she was already aware of his art. Her then boyfriend Jean-Michel Basquiat, introduced Madonna to Andy Warhol, Glenn O'Brien, and Larry Gagosian.{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/madonna-looks-back-the-rolling-stone-interview-197575/|title=Madonna Looks Back: The Rolling Stone Interview|magazine=Rolling Stone|date=October 29, 2009|access-date=July 6, 2022|first=Austin|last=Scaggs|author-link=Austin Scaggs|url-access=subscription|archive-url=https://archive.today/20220706042843/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/madonna-looks-back-the-rolling-stone-interview-197575/|archive-date=July 6, 2022|url-status=live}} Gagosian recalled that Basquiat said, "She'll be the biggest pop star in the world".{{cite web|url=https://gagosian.com/media/gallery/press/2016/Lipsky-Karasz_Eliza._The_Art_of_Larry_Gagosians_Empire._WSJ._Magazine_LNvUgoE.pdf|title=The Art of Larry Gagosian's Empire|publisher=Gagosian Gallery|date=May 2016|access-date=July 6, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220706002239/https://gagosian.com/media/gallery/press/2016/Lipsky-Karasz_Eliza._The_Art_of_Larry_Gagosians_Empire._WSJ._Magazine_LNvUgoE.pdf|archive-date=July 6, 2022|first=Elisa|last=Lipsky-Karasz|page=5}} O'Brien later edited Madonna's 1992 Sex book and worked with her on The Girlie Show World Tour book in 1993.{{cite web |last=Strauss |first=Matthew |date=April 7, 2017 |title=Glenn O'Brien, Writer and "TV Party" Host, Dead at 70 |url=https://pitchfork.com/news/72720-glenn-obrien-writer-and-tv-party-host-dead-at-70/ |access-date=August 22, 2022|website=Pitchfork}}{{cite book|last=Hoskyns |first=Barney |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VoUOTSUSVZoC&q=glenn+o'brien+madonna+basquiat+thanksgiving&pg=PA111 |title=The Sound and the Fury: 40 Years of Classic Rock Journalism: A Rock's Backpages Reader |date=August 4, 2003|publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing|isbn=978-1-58234-282-5 |pages=111}} Madonna met Darlene Lutz through O'Brien, who became her personal art advisor from 1983 to 2004.{{cite web|url=https://news.artnet.com/art-world/darlene-lutz-madonna-art-advisor-1567516|title='Why Shouldn't I Be Able to Make Money Off This?': Madonna's Ex-Art Advisor on Why She's Selling the Singer's Intimate Personal Belongings|publisher=Artnet|date=July 12, 2019|first=Sarah|last=Cascone|access-date=July 7, 2022|archive-date=November 12, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191112081141/https://news.artnet.com/art-world/darlene-lutz-madonna-art-advisor-1567516|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://www.fluxmagazine.com/interview-with-glenn-obrien/|title=Interview with Glenn O'Brien – also starring Madonna, Basquiat, Viva and Warhol|access-date=July 12, 2022|date=November 26, 2013 |work=Flux}}

In an interview with American artist David Blaine in 2014, Madonna talked about the close relationship she had with Burgoyne, Haring and Basquiat, as they hung out together with Warhol joining them sometimes. She wrote an article for The Guardian in 1996, discussing her relationship with Basquiat,{{cite news|last=Madonna|date=March 5, 1996|title=Me, Jean-Michel, Love and Money|page=32|work=The Guardian}} and wrote about her friendship with Haring in Keith Haring: The Authorized Biography (1992) by art critic John Gruen.{{cite web|url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/john-gruen/keith-haring/|title=Keith Haring: By John Gruen|date=May 20, 2010|access-date=May 18, 2018|work=Kirkus Reviews|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180520023046/https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/john-gruen/keith-haring/|archive-date=May 20, 2018|df=mdy-all}} Madonna further immortalized their friendship in the song "Graffiti Heart" from her 2015 album, Rebel Heart.{{harvnb|Gnojewski|2007|p=14}} She is also mentioned in Warhol's diary The Andy Warhol Diaries.{{harvnb|Rolling Stone Press|1997|p=156}} In 2019, Sky Arts' Urban Myths dedicated an episode, Madonna & Basquiat to their relationship.{{cite web|url=https://www.sho.com/titles/3478042/madonna-and-basquiat|title=Madonna & Basquiat|publisher=ShowTime|access-date=July 7, 2022|archive-url=https://archive.today/20220706235456/https://www.sho.com/titles/3478042/madonna-and-basquiat|archive-date=July 6, 2022|url-status=live}}

During the spent time with her graffiti artist friends in New York, she used the graffiti tag "Boy Toy", making her own graffiti in walks, subways or sidewalks. The moniker referred to one of her boyfriends, RP3, a subway scratchitti artist who also used the tag and gave it to her.{{cite web|url=https://blog.vandalog.com/2012/09/05/vandalog-interviewed-cost-part-two/|title=Vandalog interviewed COST – Part two – Vandalog – A Street Art Blog |access-date=July 12, 2022|publisher=Vandalog|date=September 5, 2012|first=Caroline|last=Caldwell}}{{cite web|url=https://catalogue.swanngalleries.com/Lots/auction-lot/JEAN-MICHEL-BASQUIAT-AND-KEITH-HARING-Graffiti-Jacket?saleno=2383&lotNo=211&refNo=699410|title=Jean-Michel Basquiat and Keith Haring Graffiti Jacket |access-date=July 12, 2022|publisher=Swann Galleries}} She later used it as the name of her copyright company, as well as a belt buckle of her dress worn for her Like a Virgin-era.

{{multiple image

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| footer = Childlike animations in the style Keith Haring during the Sticky & Sweet Tour in 2008 and Tamara de Lempicka's Andromeda ({{circa|1927-1928}}) depicted at The Celebration Tour (2023)

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Her early visuals/presentation were often described as pop art. In the 1990s, critic Martha Bayles said she cultivated a "heavy-duty pop art image". Editor Paul Flynn called her "a pop artist in the Warholian sense of the word",{{harvnb|Flynn|2017|p=online}} while John R. May in 1997, from Louisiana State University describes her a "successful piece of pop art" and as "a splendor formae of aesthetic". In Pastiche: Cultural Memory in Art, Film, Literature (2001), Ingeborg Hoesterey from Indiana University, asserts: "Madonna came from the beginning very much from the plastic arts. When she splashed onto the music scene, she did so by quoting the kitsch of devotional Virgin artifacts that (Mexican) figurative painters critiqued in the seventies".{{harvnb|Hoesterey|2001|p=114}}

Madonna was considered both a visual musical artist and performer rather than a musician, with Canadian scholar Karlene Faith commenting in the late 1990s, about "her abundant talent as a visual artist".{{harvnb|Faith|Wasserlein|1997|p=119}} Thomas Harrison, from the University of Central Florida, recognized various female artists before her, but he felt she "took it to a whole other level" always embracing the visual aspects.{{harvnb|Harrison|2017|pp=68–69}} The Irish Times staffers even regarded Madonna as "the first female pop star to fully engage with the visual elements of her art".{{cite news|url=http://www.irishtimes.com/culture/music/2.681/girl-gone-wild-is-it-time-for-madonna-to-grow-up-1.487389|title=Girl gone wild: is it time for Madonna to grow up?|date=March 23, 2012|newspaper=The Irish Times|access-date=April 5, 2021|archive-date=June 12, 2015|archive-url=https://archive.today/20150612085729/http://www.irishtimes.com/culture/music/2.681/girl-gone-wild-is-it-time-for-madonna-to-grow-up-1.487389|url-status=live}}

Her "knowledge" was commented on by various during the height of her career. In 2000, American Photo{{'}}s editor-in-chief, David Schonauer commented she is perhaps "one of the most visually savvy humans on earth".{{cite journal|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qWOpWDKpUjgC&pg=PA44|title=Q&A Madonna the real views of a modern muse. On art and reality|access-date=April 16, 2021|first1=Vince|last1=Aletti|author-link1=Vince Aletti|first2=David|last2=Schonauer|pages=44–48, 55|journal=American Photo|volume=11|issue=2|issn=1046-8986|date=March–April 2000}} From John A. Walker to Vince Aletti, critics remarked her "knowledgeable" and references of photography.{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/theobserver/1999/dec/12/life1.lifemagazine1|title=Ray of light: Madonna and her love affair with the lens|date=December 12, 2009|work=The Guardian|access-date=June 29, 2022|first=Vince|last=Aletti|author-link=Vince Aletti|url-access=subscription|archive-url=https://archive.today/20150804181208/http://www.theguardian.com/theobserver/1999/dec/12/life1.lifemagazine1|archive-date=August 4, 2015|url-status=live}} In his Madonna biography, Andrew Morton commented that her "stunning visual sense" is no accident as she "spent a lifetime" studying photographs, black-and-white movies and paintings. In 1994, Richard R. Burt cites a reporter who saw her as an "astute if untrained art critic".{{harvnb|Burt|1994|p=217}} Los Angeles Times critic Patrick Goldstein once commented about her attendance at "Degenerate Art" (1991) held in Los Angeles County Museum of Art, "she's savvy enough" but her "interests are largely visual".{{cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-05-05-ca-2097-story.html|title=Cover Story: It's Not|date=May 15, 1991|work=Los Angeles Times|access-date=August 18, 2022|first=Patrick|last=Goldstein|author-link=Patrick Goldstein}} Madonna herself, declared that her primarily interest in art are "suffering, and irony and a certain bizarre sense of humour".

File:Portrait de Picasso, 1908.jpg one of the painters who influenced Madonna]]

Madonna is reported to be often inspired by the visual artists she collects. She once stated: "Every video I've done has been inspired by some painting or work of art".{{cite journal|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qWOpWDKpUjgC&pg=PA44|title=Q&A Madonna the real views of a modern muse|access-date=April 16, 2021|first=Vince|last=Aletti|author-link=Vince Aletti|pages=44–48|journal=American Photo|volume=11|issue=2|issn=1046-8986|date=March–April 2000|archive-date=March 7, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220307010640/https://books.google.com/books?id=qWOpWDKpUjgC&pg=PA44|url-status=live}} Decades noted art as being part of her personal life and professional career.{{cite web|url=https://www.decades.com/lists/the-many-influences-that-made-madonna-the-queen-of-pop|title=The many influences that made Madonna the Queen of Pop|access-date=July 8, 2022|publisher=Decades|date=July 18, 2017|archive-date=July 8, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220708192420/https://www.decades.com/lists/the-many-influences-that-made-madonna-the-queen-of-pop|url-status=live}} In 2020, she said: "Art has kept me alive".{{cite web|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/film-madonna-idINKBN26706S|title=Madonna to direct and co-write a movie about her life and music|access-date=July 10, 2022|publisher=Reuters|date=September 15, 2020|first1=Lisa|last1=Richwine|first2=Marguerita|last2=Choy|archive-date=July 10, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220710054709/https://www.reuters.com/article/film-madonna-idINKBN26706S|url-status=live}}

A number of observers have commented about specific artists. Scholar Kocku von Stuckrad recalls how Frida Kahlo became her role model.{{harvnb|Huss|Pasi|von Stuckrad|2010|p=296}} Some other scholars, including Pamela Robertson from the University of Notre Dame, and Georges-Claude Guilbert describes she captured the "full force of Warhol" and described him as the "virtual father of Madonna", respectively.{{harvnb|Guilbert|2015|p=68}} Scholars Sandra M. Gilbert and Susan Gubar agree that "the work of Cindy Sherman prefigured Madonna's style in the art world".{{harvnb|Gilbert|Gubar|2021|p=online}} In Understand Postmodernism: Teach Yourself (2010), Glenn Ward said work of the pair can be "compared".{{harvnb|Ward|2010|p=online}} A portrait of Lee Miller kissing another woman by Man Ray that she owns, inspired her and encouraged the use of lesbian imagery.

Walker commented that Picasso was a precedent for Madonna's reinventions, as he was an artist who changed his style a number of times. Madonna herself stated in 2015: "I like to compare myself to other kinds of artists, like Picasso". She also commented that believes there is not a time or expiration date for being creative. Like Picasso, she adds, "he kept painting and painting until the day he died".{{cite web|url=https://news.artnet.com/art-world/madonna-picasso-319347|title=Madonna Is the Latest Celebrity to Compare Herself to Pablo Picasso|access-date=July 8, 2022|publisher=Artnet|date=July 23, 2015|first=Cait|last=Munro|archive-date=June 17, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210617080541/https://news.artnet.com/art-world/madonna-picasso-319347|url-status=live}}

Since her debut, she has worked with various visual artists. For instance, her friend Martin Burgoyne designed the cover art of "Burning Up" (1983), which featured a grid of twenty postage stamp-sized portraits of Madonna in every color of the rainbow,{{harvnb|Bego|1992|p=80}} while graffiti artist Michael Stewart appeared as a dancer in her debut music video "Everybody".{{cite web|url=https://www.insideedition.com/the-case-of-michael-stewart-the-new-york-artist-some-say-was-sentenced-to-death-for-drawing-on|title=The Case of Michael Stewart, the New York Artist Some Say Was Sentenced to Death for Drawing on Subway Tile |access-date=July 12, 2022|work=Inside Edition|date=December 19, 2020|first=Sal|last=Bono}} Her brother Christopher Ciccone also collaborated with her in her early career, including as the art director of her 1990's tours.{{harvnb|O'Brien|2007|p=284}}

Street artist Mr. Brainwash entered the music scene when Madonna commissioned him to design the cover art of Celebration, its video compilation, and a special edition vinyl.{{cite web|url=https://www.wanrooijgallery.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/1705_DigitalPressKit-2017Edit.compressed.pdf|title=Mr. Brainwash|publisher=Wanrooij Gallery|access-date=July 7, 2022|date=October 17, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200919040117/https://www.wanrooijgallery.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/1705_DigitalPressKit-2017Edit.compressed.pdf|archive-date=September 19, 2020|pages=4, 12}}

• {{cite web|url=https://www.artsy.net/collection/mr-brainwash-portraits-of-musicians-|title=Mr. Brainwash: Portraits of Musicians|publisher=Artsy|access-date=July 7, 2022|archive-date=July 7, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220707015252/https://www.artsy.net/collection/mr-brainwash-portraits-of-musicians-|url-status=live}}
• {{cite web|url=https://www.mrbrainwash.com/madonnas-celebration-album-cover/|title=Madonna's "Celebration" Album|publisher=Official Website of Mr. Brainwash|access-date=July 7, 2022|date=September 9, 2009|first=Mr.|last=Brainwash|author-link=Mr. Brainwash|archive-date=July 7, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220707015252/https://www.mrbrainwash.com/madonnas-celebration-album-cover/|url-status=live}} In 2017, Madonna invited Brazilian street artist Eduardo Kobra to paint two murals at the Mercy James Institute for Pediatric Surgery and Intensive Care.{{cite web|url=https://caras.uol.com.br/musica/madonna-mostra-o-resultado-do-grafite-de-kobra-no-hospital-mercy-james.phtml|title=Madonna mostra o resultado do grafite de Kobra no hospital Mercy James|access-date=July 6, 2022|work=Caras|language=pt|date=October 7, 2017|archive-date=July 7, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220707015253/https://caras.uol.com.br/musica/madonna-mostra-o-resultado-do-grafite-de-kobra-no-hospital-mercy-james.phtml|url-status=live}} Brazilian visual artist Aldo Diaz was hired by Madonna for work on different projects, starting with the single "Bitch I'm Madonna" in 2015 and continuing through her official calendar of 2018.{{cite web|url=https://www.shock.co/cultura-pop/aldo-diaz-el-fan-brasilero-que-conquisto-con-arte-a-madonna|title=Aldo Díaz, el fan brasilero que conquistó con arte a Madonna|publisher=Shock|access-date=July 7, 2022|date=August 16, 2018|first=Alfred|last=Lord|language=es|archive-date=July 11, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220711213202/https://www.shock.co/cultura-pop/aldo-diaz-el-fan-brasilero-que-conquisto-con-arte-a-madonna|url-status=live}}
• {{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/madonna-announces-rebel-heart-tour-concert-film-live-album-date-113682/|title=Madonna Announces 'Rebel Heart Tour' Concert Film/Live Album Date|magazine=Rolling Stone|date=May 12, 2017|access-date=July 7, 2022|first=Daniel|last=Kreps|archive-date=July 7, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220707045658/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/madonna-announces-rebel-heart-tour-concert-film-live-album-date-113682/|url-status=live}} She also forged collaborative friendship with fine-art, portrait and fashion photographers.

{{Quote box|bgcolor=white|align=right|width=25%|quote=Within the art world, Madonna is almost as well known for being a collector as she is for her music.|source=—Lani Seelinger from The Culture Trip (2016).{{cite web|url=https://theculturetrip.com/europe/united-kingdom/articles/7-astounding-celebrity-art-collections/|title=7 Astounding Celebrity Art Collections|publisher=The Culture Trip|date=October 12, 2016|access-date=September 1, 2022|first=Lani|last=Seelinger}}}}

Madonna has made several appearances on the art scene. In this regard, Kriston Capps from New York magazine said that she "has arguably been edging around the corners of contemporary art her entire career".{{cite web|url=https://nymag.com/news/intelligencer/topic/madonna-2013-10/|title=The Artist Is Ever Present|work=New York|date=October 4, 2013|access-date=July 6, 2022|archive-url=https://archive.today/20220705235810/https://nymag.com/news/intelligencer/topic/madonna-2013-10/|archive-date=July 5, 2022|first=Kriston|last=Capps|url-status=live}} In 2016, Rain Embuscado from Artnet commented that she "has always had a hand in the art world".{{cite web|url=https://news.artnet.com/art-world/madonna-visit-moma-622541|title=Madonna Surprises Fans With Impromptu MoMA Visit|publisher=Artnet|date=August 26, 2016|access-date=July 7, 2022|first=Rain|last=Embuscado|archive-date=December 13, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211213081327/https://news.artnet.com/art-world/madonna-visit-moma-622541|url-status=live}}

British art historian, John A. Walker documented her life and career from the perspective of the arts in the early 2000s. In 1990, the arts-based BBC1 series Omnibus broadcast a profile on Madonna, which was watched by 7.7 million people; slightly higher than the average audience of 3.1 million.

In 2001, she presented the Turner Prize at Tate Britain in London, receiving positive comments from BBC's art correspondent, Rosie Millard.{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/1575818.stm|title=Madonna: Turner's perfect choice|date=October 2, 2001|publisher=BBC News|access-date=April 4, 2021|first=Rosie|last=Millard|author-link=Rosie Millard|archive-date=April 4, 2021|archive-url=https://archive.today/20210404175908/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/1575818.stm|url-status=live}} It was called as "a rare marriage of pop and art" by The Independent. British linguistic Roy Harris called her appearance a merger between art and showbiz.{{harvnb|Harris|2003|p=205}} In 2014, she presented The Wall Street Journal{{'}}s Innovation Award at MoMA to her former dancer, Charles Riley for his contributions to the performing arts.{{cite web|url=https://www.parismatch.com/People/Madonna-fait-son-show-au-MoMA-647246|title=Madonna fait son show au MoMA|work=Paris Match|date=November 6, 2014|access-date=March 5, 2022|archive-url=https://archive.today/20220305081157/https://www.parismatch.com/People/Madonna-fait-son-show-au-MoMA-647246|archive-date=March 5, 2022|language=fr|first=Sarah|last=Louaguef|url-status=live}} In 2017, she was the special guest with visual artist Marilyn Minter at A Year of Yes: Reimagining Feminism at the Brooklyn Museum in its special segment Brooklyn Talks: Madonna x Marilyn where both addressed topics of art and culture. The event was moderated by Anne Pasternak, Elizabeth Alexander, Shelby White and Leon Levy.{{cite web|url=https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/calendar/event/madonna_marilyn_minter_January_2017|title=Brooklyn Talks: Madonna X Marilyn Minter SOLD OUT|publisher=Brooklyn Museum|date=January 19, 2017|access-date=June 10, 2022|archive-url=https://archive.today/20220610065426/https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/calendar/event/madonna_marilyn_minter_January_2017|archive-date=June 10, 2022|url-status=live}}

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| footer = During the Re-Invention World Tour, Madonna used images of her installation X-STaTIC Pro=CeSS in its backdrop videos (left),{{cite web|url=https://nymag.com/nymetro/shopping/fashion/features/n_10371/|title=Fashion photographer seeks models/celebrities for a little rough play|work=New York|access-date=September 15, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061130004031/https://nymag.com/nymetro/shopping/fashion/features/n_10371/ |archive-date=November 30, 2006 |date=May 7, 2004|last=Dumenco|first=Simon}} and once again during her 2023-2024 Celebration Tour (right).

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Alex Greenberger from Artspace said Madonna has also made art. In 2003, she collaborated with Steven Klein on the art installation X-STaTIC Pro=CeSS which was on display at international art galleries such as Deitch Projects, Gagosian Gallery and Camera Work in Berlin.{{harvnb|Bright|Aletti|2007|p=online}} The multimedia exhibit was touted as "Madonna's art world debut".{{cite web|url=https://adage.com/article/4as-conference/immaterial-whirl/91520|title=Inmaterial Whirl|work=Ad Age|date=April 1, 2003|access-date=July 6, 2022|archive-date=July 6, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220706020651/https://adage.com/article/4as-conference/immaterial-whirl/91520|url-status=live}} According to art critic Walter Robinson, the project was "too cheesy to be art" but "philosophically speaking, no slight accomplishment in art world that privileges everything".{{cite web|url=http://www.artnet.com/Magazine/reviews/robinson/robinson4-14-03.asp|title=Weekend Update|publisher=Artnet|date=April 14, 2003|access-date=July 6, 2022|first=Walter|last=Robinson|author-link=Walter Robinson (artist)|archive-date=July 6, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220706020651/http://www.artnet.com/Magazine/reviews/robinson/robinson4-14-03.asp|url-status=live}} In Madonna: Like an Icon (2007), Lucy O'Brien described it as one of her most fascinating projects, and also considered it marked her transition into a new phase through her use of visuals.{{harvnb|O'Brien|2007|p=391}}

In 2013, Madonna co-initiated "Art for Freedom" with Vice magazine, as an effort to support independent creators of art content around the world and to promote and facilitate artistic and free expression.{{cite web|url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/madonnas-secret-project-revealed-pop-630428|title=Madonna's Secret Project Revealed: Pop Superstar to Release Short Film Via BitTorrent to Aid Global 'Artistic Expression'|work=The Hollywood Reporter|date=September 17, 2013|access-date=September 20, 2013|first=Eriq|last=Gardner|archive-date=September 20, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130920032437/http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/madonnas-secret-project-revealed-pop-630428|url-status=live}} She made a performante at Gagosian Gallery in New York, to mark the launch of the initiative, showing her bound, handcuffed, and dragged on stage by performers in police uniforms.

In 2022, along with digital artist Mike Winkelmann ("Beeple"), Madonna created a NFT project called "Mother of Creation" consisting of three videos, namely "Mother of Nature", "Mother of Evolution" and "Mother of Technology".{{cite web|first=Shanti|last=Escalante-de Mattei|url=https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/beeple-madonna-nft-1234628224/|title=Beeple and Pop Icon Madonna Band Together to Make New NFT Project|work=ARTnews|date=May 10, 2022|access-date=May 11, 2022|archive-url=https://archive.today/20220511213327/https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/beeple-madonna-nft-1234628224/|archive-date=May 11, 2022|url-status=live}}{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/music/pop/madonna-mother-of-creation-nft-collection-1235068927/|title=Madonna Preps NSFW 'Mother of Creation' NFT Collection|magazine=Billboard|date=May 10, 2022|access-date=May 11, 2022|archive-url=https://archive.today/20220511213647/https://www.billboard.com/music/pop/madonna-mother-of-creation-nft-collection-1235068927/|archive-date=May 11, 2022|first=Lars|last=Brandle|url-status=live}} Each of the digital artworks is accompanied by music and a voiceover by Madonna, who reads poetry by poet Jalaluddin Rumi and reportedly spent one year creating the project.{{cite web|url=https://www.dazeddigital.com/art-photography/article/56093/1/immaterial-girl-what-are-madonna-beeple-nsfw-nfts-actually-about-auction|title=What's the story behind Madonna's nude NFTs?|work=Dazed|date=May 12, 2022|access-date=July 9, 2022|first=Thom|last=Waite|archive-date=July 8, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220708232105/https://www.dazeddigital.com/art-photography/article/56093/1/immaterial-girl-what-are-madonna-beeple-nsfw-nfts-actually-about-auction|url-status=live}} Launched in the NTF platform SuperRare, the project became a subject of scrutiny, with Gareth Harris from The Art Newspaper saying: "There have been stranger collaborations in the art world, but not many have been as headline-hitting" of the pair partnership,{{cite web|url=https://ocula.com/magazine/art-news/beeple-madonna-nft-a-matryoshka-doll-of-nightmares/|title='A Matryoshka Doll of Nightmares' — Art World Reacts to Beeple x Madonna NFT|publisher=Ocula|date=May 12, 2022|access-date=July 5, 2022|archive-url=https://archive.today/20220705170915/https://ocula.com/magazine/art-news/beeple-madonna-nft-a-matryoshka-doll-of-nightmares/|archive-date=July 5, 2022|first=Michael|last=Irwin|url-status=live}} while art magazine Apollo said it further "raise a flicker of interest" in the NFT.{{cite web|url=https://www.apollo-magazine.com/madonna-beeple-nft-collaboration/|title=Immaterial girl – Madonna enters the metaverse|work=Apollo|date=May 15, 2022|access-date=September 3, 2022|author=Rakewell}}

Madonna "has quietly sponsored many [art] exhibitions over the years", wrote Máire Ní Fhlathúin in The Legacy of Colonialism (1998), while her then art adviser, said she "doesn't want or need the press for everything she does".{{harvnb|Fhlathúin|1998|p=206}}

In 1992, Madonna sponsored the first Jean-Michel Basquiat museum retrospective at the Whitney Museum of American Art.{{cite magazine |last=Larson |first=Kay |date=November 9, 1992 |title=Wild Child |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BeUCAAAAMBAJ&q=madonna&pg=PA74 |magazine=New York |pages=74–75 |access-date=July 5, 2022 |archive-date=June 10, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220610063924/https://books.google.com/books?id=BeUCAAAAMBAJ&q=madonna&pg=PA74 |url-status=live }}{{cite web|url=https://www.theartnewspaper.com/1992/11/01/whitney-compares-basquiat-to-leonardo-da-vinci-in-new-retrospective|title=Whitney compares Basquiat to Leonardo da Vinci in new retrospective|access-date=February 16, 2022 |work=The Art Newspaper|last=D'Arcy |first=David |date=October 31, 1992|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211025194747/https://www.theartnewspaper.com/1992/11/01/whitney-compares-basquiat-to-leonardo-da-vinci-in-new-retrospective |archive-date=October 25, 2021}} In 1995, she sponsored the first major retrospective of Tina Modotti at the Philadelphia Museum of Art on which curator and art historian Anne d'Harnoncourt commented: "She seemed a natural sponsor for an exhibition that introduces the artist to a broader public".{{cite web|url=https://www.mcall.com/news/mc-xpm-1995-11-12-3063752-story.html|title=Modotti Photos Capture Mexican Life|date=November 12, 1995|work=The Morning Call|access-date=April 4, 2021|first=Myra Y.|last=Outwater|archive-url=https://archive.today/20210404174741/https://www.mcall.com/news/mc-xpm-1995-11-12-3063752-story.html|archive-date=April 4, 2021|url-status=live}} In 1996, Madonna sponsored an exhibition of Basquiat's paintings at the Serpentine Gallery in London.{{cite news|date=February 17, 1996|title=Madonna Sponsors Show|page=5|work=The Guardian}} Madonna was the only sponsor for the Cindy Sherman's first retrospective Untitled Film Stills at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in 1997.{{cite web|url=https://www.moma.org/interactives/exhibitions/1997/sherman/|title=The complete Untitle Film Stills Cindy Sherman|publisher=Museum of Modern Art (MoMA)|date=September 26, 1997|access-date=April 19, 2021|archive-date=December 9, 2012|archive-url=https://archive.today/20121209075825/http://www.moma.org/interactives/exhibitions/1997/sherman/|url-status=live}}{{harvnb|Guilbert|2015|p=76}}{{harvnb|Cody|Cheng|2015|p=online}}

She has visited numerous museums, including various attendances at MoMA launch parties, and at Tate galleries while she lived in the United Kingdom. For the latter museum, she lent Kahlo's Self-Portrait with Monkey at Tate Modern, which was the first British exhibition dedicated to Frida Kahlo.{{cite web|url=https://www.tate.org.uk/press/press-releases/madonna-lends-painting-frida-kahlo-tate-modern|title=Madonna lends painting by Frida Kahlo to Tate Modern|date=October 4, 2001|publisher=Tate|access-date=June 11, 2022|archive-url=https://archive.today/20220611174759/https://www.tate.org.uk/press/press-releases/madonna-lends-painting-frida-kahlo-tate-modern|archive-date=June 11, 2022|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://www.standard.co.uk/showbiz/madonna-shows-us-her-collection-7081004.html|title=Madonna shows us her collection|date=April 12, 2012|work=Evening Standard|access-date=June 11, 2022|archive-url=https://archive.today/20220611180801/https://www.standard.co.uk/showbiz/madonna-shows-us-her-collection-7081004.html|archive-date=June 11, 2022|url-status=live|first=Luke|last=Leitch}} The decision to loan the painting only came after several weeks of negotiation, which was partly delayed due the September 11 attacks. Commenting on the loan, Madonna felt "the exhibit would not be complete without" that painting.

File:Man Ray Salvador Dali.jpg (left) and Man Ray (right)]]

Madonna is an art collector, with a collection worth between $100 million and $160 million.{{cite news|first=Alex|last=Greenberger|url=https://www.artspace.com/magazine/news_events/newsmaker/madonna-51822|title=Why Does Madonna Want to Make "Art for Freedom?"|publisher=Artspace|date=November 7, 2013|access-date=February 20, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151229203948/https://www.artspace.com/magazine/news_events/newsmaker/madonna-51822|archive-date=December 29, 2015}} Artnet deemed her possessions a blue-chip collection.{{cite web|url=https://news.artnet.com/art-world/madonnas-art-collection-277970|title=Take a Look Inside Madonna's $100 Million Blue-Chip Art Collection|date=March 17, 2015|publisher=Artnet|access-date=June 10, 2022|archive-date=June 10, 2022|archive-url=https://archive.today/20220610061758/https://news.artnet.com/art-world/madonnas-art-collection-277970|url-status=live}} She started collecting after receiving her first paycheck in the early 1980s and hired Darlene Lutz as her personal art dealer, who worked with her from 1983 to 2004.{{cite web|first=Vince|last=Aletti|author-link=Vince Aletti|url=https://www.theguardian.com/theobserver/1999/dec/12/life1.lifemagazine1|title=Ray of light: Madonna and her love affair with the lens|work=The Guardian|date=December 12, 1999|access-date=March 5, 2022|archive-url=https://archive.today/20150804181208/http://www.theguardian.com/theobserver/1999/dec/12/life1.lifemagazine1|archive-date=August 4, 2015|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://www.artspace.com/magazine/news_events/how_i_collect/express-yourself-like-madonna-and-collect-artists-from-her-collection-54158|title=Who Does Madonna Collect? See Artists in the Material Girl's Private Collection|date=September 7, 2016|publisher=Artspace|access-date=June 10, 2022|archive-date=June 10, 2022|archive-url=https://archive.today/20220610062220/https://www.artspace.com/magazine/news_events/how_i_collect/express-yourself-like-madonna-and-collect-artists-from-her-collection-54158|url-status=live}} Both Darlene and Madonna's brother Christopher Ciccone, bid at auctions on her behalf, with a budget no larger than $5 million. Called by a spokesman of Tate Gallery in 2001, as a "distinguished art collector",{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/artlover-madonna-agrees-to-present-this-year-s-turner-prize-9132841.html|title=Art-lover Madonna agrees to present this year's Turner Prize|date=October 3, 2001|work=The Independent|first=Arifa|last=Akbar|access-date=July 6, 2022|url-access=subscription|archive-url=https://archive.today/20220706165224/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/artlover-madonna-agrees-to-present-this-year-s-turner-prize-9132841.html|archive-date=July 6, 2022|url-status=live}} she appeared among the 100 Biggest Collectors by Art & Antiques, circa 1996, and The Hollywood Reporter{{'}}s Top 25 Art Collectors in 2013.{{harvnb|Rolling Stone Press|1997|p=215}}

Her collection is based primarily on modernists, and include over 300 pieces of artists such as Salvador Dalí, Pablo Picasso, Fernand Léger and Frida Kahlo.{{cite web|url=http://abcnewsradioonline.com/music-news/2013/11/1/elton-john-madonna-among-entertainment-industrys-top-25-art.html|title=Elton John, Madonna Among Entertainment Industry's "Top 25 Art Collectors"|date=November 1, 2013|publisher=ABC News|first=Randy|last=Holmes|access-date=April 5, 2021|archive-date=April 5, 2021|archive-url=https://archive.today/20210405001838/http://abcnewsradioonline.com/music-news/2013/11/1/elton-john-madonna-among-entertainment-industrys-top-25-art.html|url-status=live}}

• {{cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/lists/hollywood-reporter-reveals-industrys-top-651911/pharrell-williams-2/|title=The Hollywood Reporter Reveals the Industry's Top 25 Art Collectors|date=October 31, 2013|work=The Hollywood Reporter|first1=Mark|last1=Miller|first2=Degen|last2=Pener|first3=Jeanie|last3=Pyun|access-date=July 8, 2022|archive-date=July 8, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220708225600/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/lists/hollywood-reporter-reveals-industrys-top-651911/pharrell-williams-2/|url-status=live}} She also acquired works by Old Masters, including Italian painter Master of 1310. Austin Scaggs asked Madonna if she has paintings of her friends Warhol and Haring and her former boyfriend Basquiat; "Have a few of each", she replied. During an interview with Howard Stern in 2015, she explained why she didn't have various of the paintings Basquiat had given her during their relationship.{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/madonna-on-howard-stern-10-things-we-learned-61642/|title=Madonna on 'Howard Stern': 10 Things We Learned|date=March 12, 2015|magazine=Rolling Stone|access-date=July 9, 2022|archive-date=July 9, 2022|archive-url=https://archive.today/20220709053948/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/madonna-on-howard-stern-10-things-we-learned-61642/|first=Brittany|last=Spanos |url-access=subscription|url-status=live}} In 2021, she posted a series of photos of herself at home with a Basquiat drawing of her portrait.{{cite web|date=July 22, 2021|title=Madonna on Instagram: "Visiting My Past which is never gone.....................#jmb #research 🎥🎬🎞🖤" |url=https://www.instagram.com/p/CRo3UmLBXZG/ |access-date=August 22, 2022|publisher=Instagram}} Madonna also collects artistic portrait pictures. In the 1990s, she paid $165,000 for Modotti's Roses then the highest price ever commanded by a print at auction.{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/in-brief-5586478.html|title=In Brief|date=January 5, 1997|work=The Independent|access-date=July 9, 2022|archive-date=July 9, 2022|archive-url=https://archive.today/20220709063651/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/in-brief-5586478.html|first=Amanda|last=Hopkinson|url-access=subscription|url-status=live}}

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The works Untitled (1985) by American painter Julia Wachtel and The Six Second Epic (1986) by Kenji Fujita were bought by the Brooklyn Museum with funds from Madonna "Ciccone Penn".{{cite web|url=https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/opencollection/objects/113668|title=Untitled|publisher=Brooklyn Museum|access-date=August 16, 2022}}{{cite web|url=https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/opencollection/objects/113817|title=The Six Second Epic|publisher=Brooklyn Museum|access-date=August 16, 2022}} In the early 2000s, she was both regarded as an "art-lover" and supporter of modern art.{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/1575158.stm|title=Madonna to present Turner prize|date=October 2, 2001|publisher=BBC|access-date=July 10, 2022|archive-date=July 5, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220705191008/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/1575158.stm|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/turnerprize2001/story/0,7369,562491,00.html|title=Madonna to present Turner Prize|date=October 3, 2001|work=The Guardian|access-date=July 6, 2022|archive-date=July 5, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220705191306/https://www.theguardian.com/turnerprize2001/story/0,7369,562491,00.html|url-status=live}} In the early 1990s, anthropologist Néstor García Canclini recognized her support for feminist art.{{harvnb|García Canclini|1991|p=304}} According to Tate Gallery, she has a long-standing interest in contemporary British art. Madonna later supported or benefited a number of unknown artists, by exposing their works on social media or purchasing their works. Some examples were reported by media.{{cite web|url=https://greekreporter.com/2017/10/20/madonna-posts-greek-graffiti-of-herself-on-her-instagram-account/|title=Madonna Posts Greek Graffiti of Herself on her Instagram Account|date=October 20, 2017|publisher=Greek Reporter|first=Theo|last=Ioannou|access-date=July 5, 2022|archive-date=July 5, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220705192030/https://greekreporter.com/2017/10/20/madonna-posts-greek-graffiti-of-herself-on-her-instagram-account/|url-status=live}}{{cite news|url=https://nationalpost.com/pmn/entertainment-pmn/madonna-buys-work-from-montreal-vandal-artist-shows-it-off-on-instagram|title=Madonna buys work from Montreal 'vandal' artist, shows it off on Instagram|date=November 23, 2018|work=National Post|first1=Jean Philippe|last1=Angers|author2=The Canadian Press|access-date=July 5, 2022}}{{cite web|url=https://www.levante-emv.com/cultura/2019/09/08/arrue-valenciano-conquistado-madonna-11758714.html|title=Arrúe, el valenciano que ha conquistado a Madonna|work=Levante-EMV|date=August 9, 2019|access-date=July 5, 2022|archive-url=https://archive.today/20220706005334/https://www.levante-emv.com/cultura/2019/09/08/arrue-valenciano-conquistado-madonna-11758714.html|archive-date=July 6, 2022|first=Amparo|last=Barbeta|language=es|url-access=subscription|url-status=live}}

• {{cite web|url=https://www.abc.es/cultura/arte/abci-jesus-arrue-pintor-espanol-madonna-utilizado-contra-putin-armas-pinceles-202203021253_video.html|title=Jesús Arrúe, el pintor español que Madonna ha utilizado contra Putin: "Mis armas son los pinceles"|work=ABC|date=March 3, 2022|access-date=July 5, 2022|first=María|last=Lozano|language=es|archive-date=March 2, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220302231659/https://www.abc.es/cultura/arte/abci-jesus-arrue-pintor-espanol-madonna-utilizado-contra-putin-armas-pinceles-202203021253_video.html|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/15039667.scottish-artist-whose-trump-painting-shared-madonna-unveils-new-portrait/|title=Scottish artist whose Trump painting was shared by Madonna unveils new portrait|work=The Herald|date=January 21, 2017|access-date=July 5, 2022|archive-url=https://archive.today/20220705215915/https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/15039667.scottish-artist-whose-trump-painting-shared-madonna-unveils-new-portrait/|archive-date=July 5, 2022|first=Judith|last=Duffy|url-status=live}}
• {{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-38662225|title=Madonna shares Scottish artist's Donald Trump painting|publisher=BBC|date=January 18, 2017|access-date=July 5, 2022|first=Steven|last=McKenzie|archive-date=July 5, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220705223305/https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-38662225|url-status=live}}
• {{cite web|url=https://news.artnet.com/art-world/madonnas-posts-artists-trump-artwork-822830|title=Madonna's Post of Scottish Artist's Trump Artwork Goes Viral|publisher=Artnet|date=January 19, 2017|access-date=July 5, 2022|first=Caroline|last=Elbaor|archive-date=July 5, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220705223305/https://news.artnet.com/art-world/madonnas-posts-artists-trump-artwork-822830|url-status=live}} In 2024, according to media reports, she will fund a youth art project in Pompeii, Italy, named "Sogno di Volare" (in English: "Dream of Flying") for 2025.{{cite web|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory/madonna-fund-youth-art-project-celebrate-66th-birthday-112912833|title=Madonna will fund a youth art project to celebrate her 66th birthday|date=August 17, 2024|publisher=ABC News|access-date=August 27, 2024|author=The Associated Press}}

During the Rebel Heart era, she invited her fandom through an online contest to create fan art to display in backdrop videos for her Rebel Heart Tour.{{cite web|url=https://www.madonna.com/news/title/show-us-your-basquiat|title=Show Us Your Basquiat!|date=July 24, 2015|publisher=Official Website of Madonna|access-date=July 5, 2022|archive-date=May 27, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220527225415/https://www.madonna.com/news/title/show-us-your-basquiat|url-status=live}} Some of the artworks became part of an art exhibition in Italy at the Palazzo Saluzzo di Paesana titled Iconic – Portraits & Artwork inspired by The Queen with 50 pieces from 20 international artists and chosen by Madonna.{{cite web|url=https://torino.repubblica.it/cronaca/2015/11/17/foto/la_barbie_bionda_con_il_neo_madonna_e_una_bambola-127545698/1/#12|title="Iconic", tutti i volti di Madonna: la regina del pop vista dagli artisti|date=November 17, 2015|access-date=February 16, 2022|work=la Repubblica|language=it|archive-date=November 18, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151118154623/https://torino.repubblica.it/cronaca/2015/11/17/foto/la_barbie_bionda_con_il_neo_madonna_e_una_bambola-127545698/1/#1}}

• {{cite web|url=https://www.exibart.com/speednews/madonna-che-passione-a-torino-in-occasione-delle-date-italiane-della-popstar-arrivano-le-opere-tributo-dei-fan-si-salvi-chi-puo/|title=Madonna, che passione!|date=November 17, 2015|access-date=July 7, 2022|work=Exibart|language=it|archive-date=July 7, 2022|archive-url=https://archive.today/20220707055130/https://www.exibart.com/speednews/madonna-che-passione-a-torino-in-occasione-delle-date-italiane-della-popstar-arrivano-le-opere-tributo-dei-fan-si-salvi-chi-puo/|url-status=live}} In Life with My Sister Madonna, her brother also recognized how she encouraged him, while also lent him $200,000 to buy a studio where he began to paint regularly.{{harvnb|Ciccone|2008|p=120}}{{harvnb|Ciccone|2008|pp=150–153}} Before his identity was revealed, she showed support to "Rhed" (Rocco Ciccone), her son with British filmmaker Guy Ritchie.{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2022/jan/04/talents-madonna-son-divide-critics-secret-artist-rocco-ritchie|title=Talents of Madonna's son divide critics after he is revealed as secret artist|date=January 4, 2022|work=The Guardian|first=Nadia|last=Khomami|access-date=July 5, 2022|archive-date=July 4, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220704154622/https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2022/jan/04/talents-madonna-son-divide-critics-secret-artist-rocco-ritchie|url-status=live}} Once his identity was revealed, in 2022, art critic Jonathan Jones made the suggestion "that the artist had been put into the public eye too soon".

{{See also|Philanthropy and activism of Madonna}}

She has used art for charity. A canvas painting by Madonna went to a charity auction in 1991, and was bought by actor Jason Hervey.{{cite magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5zrzfgLFgUYC&dq=madonna&pg=RA1-PA29|title=Spin Patrol|date=December 1991|access-date=November 22, 2022|magazine=Spin|page=29|volume=7|number=9}} She hosted a family art sale with two of her children to raise money for victims of the 2020 Beirut explosion.{{cite web|url=https://www.thenationalnews.com/arts-culture/music/madonna-hosts-family-art-sale-to-raise-money-for-lebanese-charity-following-beirut-explosion-1.1062605|title=Madonna hosts family art sale to raise money for Lebanese charity following Beirut explosion|date=August 19, 2020|access-date=November 12, 2022|work=The National|first=Farah|last=Andrews}} In 2022, Madonna and Anthony Vaccarello curated and organized Sex by Madonna at Art Basel from November 29 to December 4, a free-pass pop-up exhibition honoring the 30 years of her first book Sex.{{cite web|url=https://www.artbasel.com/events/detail/39652/SEX-by-Madonna-Saint-Laurent/25904?lang=en|title=SEX by Madonna|date=August 19, 2020|access-date=December 3, 2022|publisher=Art Basel|archive-date=December 3, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221203205451/https://www.artbasel.com/events/detail/39652/SEX-by-Madonna-Saint-Laurent/25904?lang=en|url-status=dead}} A re-edition of 800 copies was released with the proceeds going to her charitable organization Raising Malawi.{{cite web|url=https://www.thecut.com/2022/12/inside-saint-laurents-art-basel-party-with-madonna.html|title=Art Basel Was Made for Madonna|date=December 2, 2022|access-date=December 3, 2022|work=The Cut|first=Brock|last=Colyar}}{{cite web|url=https://people.com/style/madonna-wears-lingerie-riding-crop-art-basel-sex-party-with-lourdes/|title=Madonna Wears Lingerie, Carries a Riding Crop to Art Basel 'Sex' Party — and Daughter Lourdes Joins!|date=December 2, 2022|access-date=December 3, 2022|work=People|first=Valerie|last=Nome}} When her project "Art for Freedom" was operating, she donated $10,000 each month to a nonprofit organization of a featured artist's choice.{{cite web|url=https://www.hollywood.com/celebrities/madonna-art-for-freedom-56954040-60233986|title=How Madonna is Changing the World with Art For Freedom|publisher=Hollywood.com|date=April 21, 2014|access-date=July 5, 2022|author=Hollywood.com Staff|archive-date=July 5, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220705232125/https://www.hollywood.com/celebrities/madonna-art-for-freedom-56954040-60233986|url-status=live}} Her NFT project with "Beeple" generated primary auction sales volume of $612,000, destined to three charities picked by the pair.

In 2013, Madonna sold Three Women at the Red Table (1921) by Fernand Léger which she bought in 1990 for $3.4 million, raising $7.2 million. This was in support of female education through her Ray of Light Foundation.{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-22447002|title=Madonna sells Leger painting for $7.2m|publisher=BBC|date=May 8, 2013|access-date=July 5, 2022|archive-date=July 5, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220705223305/https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-22447002|url-status=live}} The action was reportedly a combination of her passions for art and education, with Madonna declaring: "I want to trade something valuable for something invaluable – Educating Girls!".{{cite web |date=April 3, 2013 |title=Madonna sells abstract painting to fund girls' education |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/entertainment-us-madonna-idUSBRE9320RO20130403 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220705223305/https://www.reuters.com/article/entertainment-us-madonna-idUSBRE9320RO20130403 |archive-date=July 5, 2022 |access-date=July 5, 2022 |website=Reuters }} In 2016, during her Madonna: Tears of a Clown at Art Basel, Miami she held an art auction to benefit Raising Malawi and art and education initiatives. She auctioned pieces of artists such as Damien Hirst and Tracey Emin. Combined with other personal belongings, she raised more than $7.5 million.{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2016/dec/02/madonna-art-collection-benefit-raising-malawi|title=Madonna's art collection and more on sale at starry benefit|work=The Guardian|date=December 2, 2016|access-date=July 5, 2022|first=David|last=Batty|url-access=subscription|archive-date=July 5, 2022|archive-url=https://archive.today/20220705225829/https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2016/dec/02/madonna-art-collection-benefit-raising-malawi|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2016/12/03/madonna-raises-75m-for-malawi-slams-trump-in-miami-show.html|title=Madonna raises $7.5M for Malawi, slams Trump in Miami show|publisher=CNBC|date=December 3, 2016|access-date=July 5, 2022|agency=Associated Press (AP)|archive-date=December 4, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161204000752/http://www.cnbc.com/2016/12/03/madonna-raises-75m-for-malawi-slams-trump-in-miami-show.html|url-status=live}}

File:Madonna - RHT 2015 - Montreal Opening.jpg

Madonna has been reported to use shock art/value, and supports artists whom push the "barriers of social norms".{{cite web|url=https://okmagazine.com/p/madonna-artists-disturb-peace-vitamin-d-photos-instagram/|title=Madonna Declares 'Artists Are Here To Disturb The Peace' While Bizarrely Shoving A Clementine In Her Mouth: Photos|work=OK!|date=March 23, 2023|access-date=November 17, 2023|first=Rebecca|last=Friedman}} Around 2012, during her stance on the arrest of Pussy Riot in Russia, she stated "art should be political", and in her understanding, "art, historically speaking, always reflects what's going on socially".{{cite web|title=Madonna calls for leniency in Pussy Riot trial during Russian leg of world tour |url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newsvideo/9458246/Madonna-calls-for-leniency-in-Pussy-Riot-trial-during-Russian-leg-of-world-tour.html |work=The Daily Telegraph |access-date=October 16, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120809135015/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newsvideo/9458246/Madonna-calls-for-leniency-in-Pussy-Riot-trial-during-Russian-leg-of-world-tour.html |archive-date=August 9, 2012 |date=August 7, 2012}} The title of her album Rebel Heart (2015) explores her belief that contemporary music artists are not encouraged or inspired to be "rebellious": take risks or speak-up.{{cite news|url=http://www.nrj.fr/artistes/madonna/actus/madonna-craque-encore-pour-un-francais-322648|title=Madonna Interview Again for NRJ|date=January 30, 2015|access-date=January 31, 2015|work=NRJ|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151024023508/http://www.nrj.fr/artistes/madonna/actus/madonna-craque-encore-pour-un-francais-322648|archive-date=October 24, 2015}}

Madonna created controversy when she presented the Turner Prize in 2001 to Martin Creed and told the audience: "Right on, motherfuckers— everyone is a winner!". In Is Art History Global? (2013), art historian James Elkins quotes Glyn Davis by saying on the event: "It would, of course, be inappropriate to see this as a radical intervention in art historical discourse. However, the clash of Nicholas Serota and pop icon Madonna produces its own pleasurable frisson; seeing a woman talk about art on television remains a rare sight, and it always to be welcome".{{harvnb|Elkins|2013|p=online}} British art historian Julian Stallabrass was convinced that the intention without doubt of having Madonna announce the Tate's Turner Prize, was to raise the profile of the event further. However, Stallabrass stated that the effect and the art displayed took on the role of more or less interesting diversions to the main spectacle of the "singer's publicity-hungry misbehaviour".{{harvnb|Stallabrass|2006|p=99}} Madonna's NFT videos produced along with "Beeple", received criticism from art critics like Ben Davis for her fully nude digitalized 3D character, while giving birth to butterflies, trees, and insects such as robotic centipedes through an actual scan of her genitals. She defended the project by saying: "I'm doing what women have been doing since the beginning of time, which is giving birth. But on a more existential level, I'm giving birth to art & creativity & we would be lost without both".{{cite web|url=https://finance.yahoo.com/news/madonna-defends-nude-nft-im-182016962.html|title=Madonna defends nude NFT: 'I'm giving birth to art and creativity, and we would be lost without both'|publisher=Yahoo! Finance|date=May 12, 2022|access-date=June 11, 2022|archive-url=https://archive.today/20220611032100/https://finance.yahoo.com/news/madonna-defends-nude-nft-im-182016962.html?guccounter=1|archive-date=June 11, 2022|first=Andrea|last=Towers|url-status=live}}

After allegedly refusing to loan a painting by Frida Kahlo to the Detroit Institute of Arts, she garnered some criticism.{{cite web|url=https://news.artnet.com/art-world/basquiat-took-back-madonna-paintings-277735|title=Madonna Says Jean-Michel Basquiat Took Back and Destroyed Paintings He Gave Her|publisher=Artnet|date=March 16, 2015|access-date=July 9, 2022|first=Sarah|last=Cascone|archive-date=February 2, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210202191426/https://news.artnet.com/art-world/basquiat-took-back-madonna-paintings-277735|url-status=live}} However, cultural critic Vince Carducci in one conclusion said that "my suspicion is that the request never bubbled up to her".{{cite web|url=https://www.detroitnews.com/story/entertainment/arts/2014/12/25/madonna-holds-dias-kahlo-exhibit/20902881/|title=Madonna holds out on DIA's Kahlo exhibit|work=The Detroit News|date=December 25, 2014|access-date=July 8, 2022|first=Michael H.|last=Hodges|archive-date=December 19, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211219205351/https://www.detroitnews.com/story/entertainment/arts/2014/12/25/madonna-holds-dias-kahlo-exhibit/20902881/|url-status=live}} Art journalist Lindsay Pollock openly questioned her after Andreas Gursky's work originally given to her as a gift was subsequently sold at Sotheby's.{{cite web|url=https://www.artmarketmonitor.com/2010/01/28/madonna-is-not-sentimental/|title=Madonna is Not Sentimental|publisher=ArtMarketMonitor|date=January 28, 2010|access-date=July 8, 2022|first=Marion|last=Maneker|archive-date=July 9, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220709004043/https://www.artmarketmonitor.com/2010/01/28/madonna-is-not-sentimental/|url-status=live}} In January 2023, Brigitte Fouré, major of French city Amiens asked her to lend Jérôme-Martin Langlois's lost painting Diana and Endymion to the city, as it may be in her private collection. Thinking of Madonna as the possible owner, Fouré believes the singer obtained the artwork without permission, by saying "Clearly, we don't contest in any way that you have acquired this work legally".{{cite web|url=https://www.politico.eu/article/material-girl-madonna-french-city-amiens-asks-madonna-painting-believed-lost-war/|title=Material girl: French city asks Madonna to lend it painting believed lost in the war|work=Politico Europe|date=January 17, 2023|access-date=January 17, 2023|first=Paul|last=Dallison}}{{cite web|url=https://www.rockandpop.cl/2023/01/la-delato-una-foto-francia-le-exige-a-madonna-devolver-esta-iconica-pintura-de-la-primera-guerra-mundial/|title=La delató una foto: Francia le exige a Madonna devolver esta icónica pintura de la Primera Guerra Mundial|publisher=Rock & Pop|date=January 17, 2023|access-date=January 17, 2023|first=Adolfo|last=Jesús}}

{{Quote box|bgcolor=white|align=left|width=20%|quote=Madonna's performances are art, after all—art that incorporates a play of sometimes conflicting social and political ideas|source=—Paul Thom, dean of arts at Australian National University (2000).{{harvnb|Thom|2000|p=47}}}}

The development of her body of work from a creative perspective and her footprints within different performing arts were commented on by different sociologists and commentators, including American poet Jane Miller and editor Mark Watts.{{harvnb|Rudden|2009|p=240}} Speaking about the critical interest she aroused, author Jason Hanley commented in 2015 that her performances made critics and scholars "stand up" and take note of her sound, style and message.{{harvnb|Hanley|2015|p=90}}

Rather than a musician, Madonna was considered a performer. In 2007, Paul Rutherford, professor at the University of Toronto considered her a visual performer with "extraordinary stage presence". In 2022, Italian scholars from University of Macerata, concurred saying she has constructed an innovative "poetics of performances".{{cite journal|url=https://revista.uclm.es/index.php/cuadernosdeinvestigacionmusical/article/view/2817|title=Madonna's Music Videos as Audiovisual "Performances".|date=May 11, 2022|journal=Cuardernos de Investigación Musical|access-date=July 7, 2022|first1=Massimiliano|last1=Stramaglia|first2=Tommaso|last2=Farina|pages=151–162|number=15|publisher=University of Macerata|doi=10.18239/invesmusic.2022.15.13|s2cid=249446022 |archive-date=June 23, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220623123010/https://revista.uclm.es/index.php/cuadernosdeinvestigacionmusical/article/view/2817|url-status=live|doi-access=free}} The same year, Samuel R. Murrian from Parade considered her the "modern master of performance art".{{cite news|url=https://parade.com/1248664/samuelmurrian/madonna-net-worth/|title=She Is a Material Girl! Find Out Madonna's Massive Net Worth and How She Earned It|date=February 24, 2022|work=Parade|access-date=July 8, 2022|first=Samuel R.|last=Murrian|archive-date=July 8, 2022|archive-url=https://archive.today/20220708065422/https://parade.com/1248664/samuelmurrian/madonna-net-worth/|url-status=live}} In 2018, Kyra Belán, an art historian and professor from Broward College, stated she achieved major success as an artist within several art forms, further labeling her as a female achievement.{{harvnb|Belán|2018|p=online}} In Women in Russian Theatre (2013), however, Catherine Schule explained that various "avant-garde critics regard her performances as trendy schlock rather than legitimate art".{{harvnb|Schuler|2013|p=138}}

File:Madonna Adi 4 (cropped).jpg and theatrical shows]]

During best part of her career, she attracted significant praise for her stage shows; they were regarded as "organized sequences of events, scripts, known texts and movements". According to author Michael Heatley in 2008, she "always set high standards with her stage shows".{{harvnb|Heatley|2008|p=239}} Described as tableaux vivants, senior lecturer Ian Inglis said in 2013 that her live performances have been celebrated as "theatrical events", while others deem them "immaculate performances".{{harvnb|Inglis|2013|p=129}}{{cite web|url=https://www.ft.com/content/5fdc8177-db34-4283-9e9c-257fff7c955c|title='She can't be stopped!' — 40 years of Madonna|work=Financial Times|date=June 14, 2022|access-date=June 24, 2022|first=Helen|last=Brown|archive-date=June 15, 2022|archive-url=https://archive.today/20220615010944/https://www.ft.com/content/5fdc8177-db34-4283-9e9c-257fff7c955c|url-access=subscription|url-status=live}} Writing for Slant Magazine in 2015, Sal Cinquemani considered her "the greatest performer of our time", saying she is a "showgirl" with theatrical shows of "narrative storytelling".{{cite web|url=https://www.slantmagazine.com/music/10-things-i-learned-at-madonnas-rebel-heart-tour/|title=10 Things I Learned at Madonna's Rebel Heart Tour|work=Slant Magazine|date=September 21, 2015|access-date=July 10, 2022|first=Sal|last=Cinquemani|archive-date=July 10, 2022|archive-url=https://archive.today/20220710055623/https://www.slantmagazine.com/music/10-things-i-learned-at-madonnas-rebel-heart-tour/|url-status=live}}

Madonna has been credited with helping propel artistic concepts for stage shows and tours in her generation, mainly for mainstream pop music shows. Some pointed out, how she divided into "thematic categories" her concerts in unusual forms.{{cite web|url=https://people.com/celebrity/madonnas-blond-ambition-tour-25-years-later/|title=25 Reasons Madonna's Blond Ambition Tour Still Rules, 25 Years Later|work=People|first=Drew|last=Mackie|access-date=June 8, 2022|archive-date=June 8, 2022|archive-url=https://archive.today/20220608014633/https://people.com/celebrity/celeb-spring-celebrations-2022/|url-status=live}} In William Baker's words, the splitting of sections derived that pretty much everyone copies or everyone is inspired by, and further mentioned "the modern pop concert experience was created by Madonna really".{{harvnb|Chatzipapatheodoridis|2021|p=online}} Lester Brathwaite from Logo TV, said she "transformed the concept of a rock concert from a mere live show into true performance art".{{cite web|url=https://www.logotv.com/news/i65xvc/the-re-invention-tours-30-years-of-madonna-live-in-concert|title=Re-Evolution: 30 Years of Madonna in Concert|date=March 4, 2015|access-date=August 4, 2022|publisher=Logo TV|first=Lester Fabian|last=Brathwaite}} Scholars and journalists, including Berrin Yanıkkaya and Matt Cain, detailed how she "paved the way" of extravaganza in concerts as a theatrical spectacle and having the female figure at center stage.{{harvnb|Yanıkkaya|Nairn|2020|pp=138–140}}{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/music/artists/eight-ways-madonna-changed-world-exploring-female-sexuality/|title=Eight ways Madonna changed the world, from exploring female sexuality to inventing reality TV|work=The Daily Telegraph|date=July 27, 2018|access-date=April 3, 2021|archive-date=June 10, 2020|archive-url=https://archive.today/20200610022635/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/music/artists/eight-ways-madonna-changed-world-exploring-female-sexuality/|first=Matt|last=Cain|author-link=Matt Cain (writer)|url-status=live}} If a specific title is mentioned, it is generally the Blond Ambition World Tour, for which Jacob Bernstein of The New York Times recognized other contemporary musicians, but with Madonna, he says, she set the tone.{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/08/16/arts/music/madonna-birthday-impact.html|title=60 Times Changed Our Culture|work=The New York Times|date=August 16, 2018|access-date=March 30, 2021|archive-date=July 22, 2020|archive-url=https://archive.today/20200722122146/https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/08/16/arts/music/madonna-birthday-impact.html|url-status=live}} Speaking about her perceived influence, in The Twisted Tale of Glam Rock (2010), Stuart Lenig wrote: "Over the decades, Madonna's carefully choreographed and performed shows became a gold standard of pop theatre, inspiring others to re-embrace the stage".{{harvnb|Lenig|2010|p=144}}

File:MAdonna - Celebration Tour Antwerp Sportpaleis 21 10 2023 (53287940311).jpg" on her 2023–24 The Celebration Tour. Briefly the most expensive music video in history, it shows references of numerous surrealists.{{harvnb|Rißler-Pipka|Lommel|Cempel|2015|p=225}}]]

Madonna's videos have received considerable critical attention since the MTV generation of the 1980s. Reviews of her music videos have played a major role in her academic scrutiny,{{harvnb|Gardner|2016|p=online}} and a scholar has argued that she became "the most analyzed" figure among female music video stars.{{harvnb|King|King|2000|p=144}} On the point, Martha Bayles said in the mid-1990s, "pundits, professors and preachers" tried to interpret Madonna "taking her far more seriously than others", further explaining that it was "more important one's relation to the visual arts instead one's musical statement".{{harvnb|Bayles|1996|p=334}}

Her videos were considered not merely commercial productions, but visual performances. On this, Rutherford, said her videos have been part of her visual presentation and artistic renditions. Rutherford noted how she put "considerable time" and money into crafting what were often "elaborate productions" (she owns some of the most expensive videos).{{harvnb|Rutherford|2007|pp=174–189}} Her influence in the videos as an art form, was commented on by critic Armond White in 2015, who said "she elevated this into a memorable expressive art form" and perceived her "art-consciousness" influence in artists such as Björk or Lady Gaga. He called Madonna's connection with that zeitgeist "historic". By diverse measurements, Madonna was credited as "the first female artist to exploit fully the potential of the music video".{{cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.britannica.com/explore/100women/the-women/profiles|title=100 Women|author=Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.|encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica|access-date=June 7, 2022|archive-date=June 8, 2022|archive-url=https://archive.today/20220608010827/https://www.britannica.com/explore/100women/profiles/madonna|url-status=live}} Scholar Norman Fairclough made the suggestion that "the evolution of the music video could indeed be studied through Madonna".{{cite journal|url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1540-5931.2011.00917.x|title=The Semiotics of Performance and Success in Madonna|date=February 22, 2012|journal=The Journal of Popular Culture|access-date=May 19, 2022|first=José I.|last=Prieto-Arranz|pages=173–196|volume=45|number=1|publisher=Wiley-Blackwell|doi=10.1111/j.1540-5931.2011.00917.x|archive-date=May 19, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220519200903/https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1540-5931.2011.00917.x|url-status=live}} White even credited Madonna for helping "popularize" the music video format.{{cite web|url=https://www.out.com/music/2015/3/11/advertisements-herself-how-madonna-perfected-art-form|title=Advertisements for Herself|first=Armond|last=White|author-link=Armond White|work=Out|access-date=March 30, 2021|date=March 11, 2015|archive-date=August 11, 2016|archive-url=https://archive.today/20160811231827/http://www.out.com/music/2015/3/11/advertisements-herself-how-madonna-perfected-art-form|url-status=live}} Her impact in the format was compared to that of Michael Jackson by Sarah Frink from Consequence, while she further credited her for set "the standard".{{cite web|url=https://consequence.net/2010/05/rock-history-101-madonna-like-a-prayer/|title=Rock History 101: Madonna – "Like a Prayer"|first=Sarah|last=Frink|work=Consequence|access-date=July 9, 2022|date=May 2, 2010|archive-date=July 9, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220709212459/https://consequence.net/2010/05/rock-history-101-madonna-like-a-prayer/|url-status=live}} Similar connotations were discussed by editors from VH1,{{cite web|url=https://www.vh1.com/news/psh2dk/madonna-underrated-music-videos|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220803190928/https://www.vh1.com/news/psh2dk/madonna-underrated-music-videos|url-status=live|archive-date=August 3, 2022|title=Madonna's 10 Most Underrated Music Videos|first=Christopher|last=Rosa|publisher=VH1|access-date=March 18, 2023|date=August 16, 2016}} and Slant Magazine.{{cite web|url=http://www.slantmagazine.com/features/article/100-greatest-music-videos|title=100 Greatest Music Videos|first=Sal|last=Cinquemani|work=Slant Magazine|access-date=March 18, 2023|date=June 30, 2003|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130430165845/http://www.slantmagazine.com/features/article/100-greatest-music-videos|archive-date=April 30, 2013}}

• {{cite web|url=https://www.slantmagazine.com/music/madonna-greatest-music-videos-ranked/|title=Madonna's 25 Greatest Music Videos|author=Slant Magazine Staff|work=Slant Magazine|access-date=July 29, 2023|date=October 6, 2022}} Retrospectively, she has been critically appreciated by mentions or rankings by music-targeted publications such as MTV, Billboard and Nerdist who have listed her among the most significant music video artists.{{cite web|url=http://nerdist.com/the-13-greatest-madonna-music-videos-of-all-time/|title=The 13 Greatest Madonna Music Videos Of All Time|first=Eric|last=Diaz|publisher=Nerdist|access-date=July 29, 2023|date=February 8, 2015|archive-date=March 4, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304194350/http://nerdist.com/the-13-greatest-madonna-music-videos-of-all-time/|url-status=dead}}{{cite magazine|date=August 27, 2020|title=The 100 Greatest Music Video Artists of All Time: Staff List|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/list/9440075/100-best-music-video-artists|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200827203952/https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/list/9440075/100-best-music-video-artists|archive-date=August 27, 2020|access-date=August 28, 2020|magazine=Billboard}} Her contemporary reception is also attested by publications such as The Vindicator and Montreal Gazette in the early 1990s.{{cite web|date=September 28, 1991|title=Rock around the house: Why so many young Montrealers are buying music videos instead of concert tickets|url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/432166007|page=E1|access-date=August 14, 2023|first=Kelly|last=Brendan|work=Montreal Gazette|id={{ProQuest|432166007}}}}{{cite web|date=June 20, 1990|title=Madonna reigns as music video superstar|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7WRKAAAAIBAJ&dq=Madonna&pg=PA22&article_id=3284,1993885|page=E1|access-date=August 29, 2023|first=Jonathan|last=Takiff|work=The Vindicator}}

File:DSCN3751 (7675815390) 2.jpg. She is credited with popularizing various dance styles, including voguing and krumping]]

Her role as a dancer also defined best part of her career; according to professor Thomas Harrison of Jacksonville University in 2011, "others have considered that her role as a musician and producer is secondary to her role as a dancer".{{harvnb|Harrison|2011|pp=8–12}} The same year, Rolling Stone staffers commented she is "entirely synonymous with dancing".{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/rolling-stone-readers-pick-their-10-favorite-dancing-musicians-18885/7-madonna-178280/|title=Rolling Stone Readers Pick Their 10 Favorite Dancing Musicians|magazine=Rolling Stone|date=July 4, 2011|access-date=June 13, 2022|archive-date=June 13, 2022|archive-url=https://archive.today/20220613162757/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/rolling-stone-readers-pick-their-10-favorite-dancing-musicians-18885/10-thom-yorke-178401/|url-status=live}} Various scholars and dance critics have reviewed her in the artistic discipline; American sociologist Cindy Patton was one of the first in articulate the "cultural" and "proto-political" effects of dance culture with her.{{harvnb|Miklitsch|1998|p=13}} In 2015, a The Guardian dance critic, noted her forays within several dance forms from "serious art" to club trends.{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2015/nov/24/into-the-groove-how-we-taught-madonna-to-krump-and-thrust|title=Into the groove: how we taught Madonna to krump and thrust|work=The Guardian|date=November 24, 2015|access-date=June 13, 2022|first=Lyndsey|last=Winship|archive-date=June 8, 2022|archive-url=https://archive.today/20220608015129/https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2015/nov/24/into-the-groove-how-we-taught-madonna-to-krump-and-thrust|url-status=live}}

However, as a dancer, Madonna met mixed responses. In Popular Music and the Politics of Hope (2019) authors observed that she is "routinely dismissed by scholars, critics, and fellow artists alike as someone who 'can't sing and can't dance'".{{harvnb|Jennex|Fast|2019|p=online}} In late twentieth century, critic Lucy Sante called her "a graceless dancer".{{harvnb|Sexton|1993|p=5}} Others, including Interview magazine staffers in 2011, referred to her as "the best dancer/performer since Michael Jackson".{{cite magazine|url=https://www.interviewmagazine.com/music/madonna-covers|title=Madonna Through the Years|magazine=Interview|access-date=September 28, 2023|date=August 17, 2011}}

{{Quote box|bgcolor=white|align=right|width=20%|quote=Madonna's greatness has always hinged on how she channeled dance trends into pop songs [...] which provided a neat way to sneak underground club trends into the mainstream.|source=—Stephen Thomas Erlewine from Hard Candy{{'}}s review.{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/hard-candy-mw0000782718|title=Hard Candy > Overview|last=Erlewine|first=Stephen Thomas|date=April 25, 2008|publisher=AllMusic|access-date=April 27, 2010|author-link=Stephen Thomas Erlewine}}}}

Included among Rolling Stone{{'}}s poll of the "10 Favorite Dancing Musicians" in 2011, she was credited by the magazine to help bringing many underground dancing or its elements into the mainstream culture. Similarly, John Leland wrote for Newsweek in 1992, how Madonna embraced "underground nightclub subcultures" throughout her career and "taking them mainstream".{{cite web|url=https://www.newsweek.com/madonnas-sex-book-new-voyeurism-196758|title=Madonna's 'Sex' Book: The New Voyeurism|date=November 1, 1992|access-date=October 28, 2023|work=Newsweek|first=John|last=Leland|author-link=John Leland (journalist)}} Publishing company, DK noted her influence in dance styles such as voguing and krumping saying she helped made them "globally popular".{{harvnb|DK|2012|p=137}} O'Brien noted her influence in rave culture in the 1990s, and Public Culture in gay ball dance form.{{harvnb|O'Brien|2007|pp=485–489}}{{cite journal|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sqPbAAAAIAAJ|title=Ball Culture|journal=Public Culture|year=1994|access-date=March 5, 2022|page=236|url-access=limited|archive-date=July 11, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220711213203/https://www.google.com/books/edition/Public_Culture/sqPbAAAAIAAJ?hl=en|url-status=live}} The Smithsonian Institution said Madonna helped transform pop concerts into dance spectacles, further crediting her with popularizing the use of headset microphones to allow greater movement and used choreography. Though she was not the first artist to use the technology, due to her prominent usage, a model became known as "Madonna mic".{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/wimbledons-no-1-seat-455502.html|title=Wimbledon's No 1 seat|last=Castle|first=Andrew|date=July 2, 2007|work=The Independent|access-date=March 17, 2010|author-link=Andrew Castle |location=London}} The institution also deemed Madonna as the first performer to use her tours as reenactments of her music videos.{{cite web|url=https://music.si.edu/object/npg_NPG.2012.67|title=Madonna|publisher=Smithsonian Institution|access-date=June 20, 2021|archive-date=June 20, 2022|archive-url=https://archive.today/20220620011110/https://music.si.edu/object/npg_NPG.2012.67|url-status=live}}

Madonna's acting career was also analyzed from film studies, with British cultural theorist Angela McRobbie, adding she was analyzed from perspectives of feminist film theory.{{harvnb|McRobbie|2003|p=176}} Madonna was considered by journalists of publications like Portland Mercury and Vanity Fair as an "unusual case",{{cite web|url=https://www.portlandmercury.com/Feature/2015/10/14/16698413/the-woeful-cinematic-career-of-madonna|title=The Woeful Cinematic Career of Madonna|work=Portland Mercury|first=Robert|last=Ham|date=October 14, 2015|access-date=July 18, 2023}}{{cite web|url=https://www.revistavanityfair.es/cultura/entretenimiento/articulos/todas-las-peliculas-de-madonna-ordenadas-ranking/22955|title=Todas las películas de Madonna, ordenadas de horrible a mediocre|work=Vanitify Fair|first=Juan|last=Sanguino|date=August 18, 2018|access-date=July 18, 2023|language=es}} while authors Lou Harry and Eric Furman concurred saying in 2005, that "there are few actors or actresses in the movies who have bombed in as many genres as Madonna has".{{harvnb|Harry|Furman|2005|p=96}} Her industry reception, however, at best was "mixed" according to a The Daily Telegraph contributor.{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1404361/Is-Madonnas-new-film-a-stinker.html|title=Is Madonna's new film a stinker?|work=The Daily Telegraph|access-date=June 13, 2022|archive-date=June 13, 2022|archive-url=https://archive.today/20220613013242/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1404361/Is-Madonnas-new-film-a-stinker.html|first=Hugh|last=Davies|date=August 14, 2002 }} Los Angeles Times echoed criticisms and counter-criticisms,{{cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-03-02-vw-1778-story.html|title=Thoroughly Modern Madonna|work=Los Angeles Times|first=Barbara|last=Foley|date=March 2, 1990|access-date=June 29, 2022}} with editors of Encyclopedia of Women in Today's World (2011), noting how some have seen her films or acting as "notable".{{harvnb|Stange|Oyster|Sloan|2011|p=877}} Publications and authors, including Australian writer Clint Morris and website Queerty have elaborated listicles of her best movies or acting roles,{{cite web|url=https://www.hollywood.com/movies/desperately-seeking-susan-tops-madonna-s-birthday-film-list-57176252|title='Desperately Seeking Susan' Tops Madonna's Birthday Film List|publisher=Hollywood.com|access-date=July 18, 2023|author=WENN|author-link=World Entertainment News Network|date=June 7, 2014}}{{cite web|url=https://www.queerty.com/15-no-um-10-no-seven-times-madonna-was-a-really-great-actress-20150816|title=15... No, Um, 10... No, Seven Times Madonna Was A Really Great Actress|publisher=Queerty|access-date=July 18, 2023|first=Graham|last=Gremore|date=August 16, 2015}} while others have included her among best acting performances by musicians in movies, including Far Out, Collider and Billboard.{{cite web|url=https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/best-acting-performances-musicians-bowie-cher-madonna/|title=From Tupac to David Bowie: The 13 best acting performances by musicians in films|work=Far Out|access-date=August 8, 2023|first=Jack|last=Whatley|date=June 28, 2021 }}{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/media/lists/musician-movie-performances-top-100-8477854/|title=The 100 Best Acting Performances by Musicians in Movies|magazine=Billboard|access-date=August 8, 2023|date=October 4, 2018}}{{cite web|url=https://collider.com/galleries/best-acting-performances-by-famous-musicians/|title=The 30 Best Acting Performances by Famous Musicians|work=Collider|access-date=August 8, 2023|first=Greg|last=Smith|date=June 30, 2019}} For commentators like Kellner and Fresán, Madonna was better received as an actress in her music videos.{{harvnb|Kellner|2003|p=268}}{{harvnb|Aguilar Guzmán|2010|pp=84–87}}

Her films such as Madonna: Truth or Dare,{{harvnb|Tannahill|2015|p=84}}{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/26/arts/music/madonna-truth-or-dare-alek-keshishian.html|title=After 25 Years, How Well Has Madonna's 'Truth or Dare' Aged?|work=The New York Times|access-date=June 12, 2022|archive-date=February 9, 2022|archive-url=https://archive.today/20220209105949/https://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/26/arts/music/madonna-truth-or-dare-alek-keshishian.html|first=Joe|last=Coscarelli|date=August 25, 2016}} and Desperately Seeking Susan,{{harvnb|Deutsch|2000|p=2}}{{harvnb|Greenberg|Watts|Greenwald|2008|p=232}} garnered cult status in some audiences. Madonna also collected various number-one songs from motion pictures, with Billboard{{'}}s Fred Bronson saying in 1995, that only Bryan Adams, Phil Collins, Prince and Madonna belongs to the very small club of artists who have had four soundtrack singles hit the top.{{cite magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rgsEAAAAMBAJ&dq=Madonna&pg=PA122|title=Adam's 'Woman' Holds At No. 1|magazine=Billboard|access-date=August 7, 2023|first=Fred|last=Bronson|author-link=Fred Bronson|date=July 1, 1995|volume=107|number=26}}

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| footer = Madonna-inspired dance performances, Justify by Clara Furey (left) at Festival TransAmériques, and Madonna by two performing artists (right) in Germany.

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According to English writer Andrew Morton in 2001, various of her films have been exhibited in museums around the world as "modern works of art", including the Pompidou Center in Paris.{{harvnb|Morton|2001|p=15}} In 2016, MoMA PS1 screened Madonna: Truth or Dare celebrating its 25th anniversary and impact.{{cite web|url=https://www.moma.org/explore/inside_out/2016/08/23/on-the-25th-anniversary-of-madonna-truth-or-dare/|title=On the 25th Anniversary of Madonna: Truth or Dare|publisher=MoMA PS1|date=August 23, 2016|access-date=July 10, 2022|first=Izzy|last=Lee|archive-date=May 9, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210509172635/https://www.moma.org/explore/inside_out/2016/08/23/on-the-25th-anniversary-of-madonna-truth-or-dare/|url-status=live}} Her film career have been part of some tributes, including a comedic tribute in 2009 named Almost Human: Madonna on Film, hosted by David Schmader at Central Cinema,{{cite web|url=https://www.seattletimes.com/entertainment/movies/almost-human-madonna-on-film-festival-celebrates-bad-acting/|title='Almost Human: Madonna on Film' festival celebrates bad acting|work=The Seattle Times|access-date=June 12, 2022|archive-date=June 12, 2022|archive-url=https://archive.today/20220612200339/https://www.seattletimes.com/entertainment/movies/almost-human-madonna-on-film-festival-celebrates-bad-acting/|first=Laurie|last=Dunlap|date=December 6, 2009}} while Metrograph devoted the Body of Word: A Madonna Retrospective in 2016, a five-days retrospective celebrating her film career.{{cite web|url=http://metrograph.com/series/series/32/body-of-work-a-madonna-retrospective|title=Body of Work: A Madonna Retrospective|publisher=Metrograph|access-date=June 12, 2022|archive-date=October 22, 2016|archive-url=https://archive.today/20161022103022/http://metrograph.com/series/series/32/body-of-work-a-madonna-retrospective}} A month-thematic Madonna film series was announced to be held at The Roxy Cinema in New York starting on July 27 and running through August 2023.{{cite web|url=https://www.timeout.com/newyork/news/a-month-long-madonna-film-festival-is-coming-to-manhattan-071723|title=A month-long Madonna film festival is coming to Manhattan|work=Time Out|access-date=June 12, 2022|first=Melissa|last=Kravitz Hoeffner}}

Some of her videos were part of art exhibitions, notoriously, "Bedtime Story" on display permanently at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) and then in Museum of the Moving Image of London.{{harvnb|Sexton|2007|p=34}}{{harvnb|O'Brien|2007|p=204}} Other entities like the School of Visual Arts screened the video as well.{{cite magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OOECAAAAMBAJ&dq=Madonna&pg=PA154|title=Fourth Annual Digital Salon Show|magazine=New York|date=November 18, 1996|access-date=July 10, 2022|page=154|volume=29|number=45|archive-date=July 9, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220709212519/https://books.google.com/books?id=OOECAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA154&dq=Madonna|url-status=live}} The 2000 article Madonna and Hypertext, published by the National Art Education Association in their Studies in Art Education, explored two Madonna's videos.{{cite journal|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/1320680|title=Madonna and Hypertext: Liberatory Learning in Art Education|journal=Studies in Art Education|access-date=July 8, 2022|pages=376–389|volume=41|number=4|date=2000|publisher=National Art Education Association|first=Pamela G.|last=Taylor|doi=10.2307/1320680|jstor=1320680 |archive-date=May 27, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220527025743/https://www.jstor.org/stable/1320680|url-status=live}}

She has inspired some dance visuals performances. For instance, Singaporean composer, painter and poet, Mark Chan displayed the "Dreaming of Kuanyin, Meeting Madonna" (2007) at the Singapore International Festival of Arts, a dance and visual poem that combined dance moves, inspired by Kuanyin, Virgin Mary and Madonna.{{cite news|url=https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/today20070522-2.2.47.1?ST=1&AT=search&K=Madonna&P=3&Display=0&filterS=0&QT=madonna&oref=article|title=under the arts fest|newspaper=Today|access-date=September 16, 2023|date=May 22, 2007|page=36}} In 2018, Madonna was awarded by the High School of Performing Arts in Malaga (in Spanish: Escuela Superior de Artes Escénicas de Málaga, ESAEM). They rendered a performance tribute called Madonna Revolution.{{cite web|url=https://www.esaem.com/noticias/premios-esaem-2018-madonna-revolution/|title=Premios ESAEM 2018 «Madonna Revolution»|publisher=High School of Performing Arts in Malaga|date=2018|access-date=July 9, 2022|language=es|archive-date=July 9, 2022|archive-url=https://archive.today/20220709212927/https://www.esaem.com/noticias/premios-esaem-2018-madonna-revolution/|url-status=live}}

• {{cite web|url=https://www.europapress.es/andalucia/malaga-00356/noticia-escuela-superior-artes-escenicas-malaga-premia-madonna-carrera-artisticas-accion-social-20180615150847.html|title=La Escuela Superior de Artes Escénicas de Málaga premia a Madonna por su carrera artísticas y su acción social|publisher=Europa Press|date=June 15, 2018|access-date=July 9, 2022|language=es|archive-date=July 9, 2022|archive-url=https://archive.today/20220709212920/https://www.europapress.es/andalucia/malaga-00356/noticia-escuela-superior-artes-escenicas-malaga-premia-madonna-carrera-artisticas-accion-social-20180615150847.html|url-status=live}} In 2015, she received a tribute in the Canadian's L'International des Feux Loto-Québec.{{cite web|url=https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/linternational-des-feux-loto-quebec-presents-the-jupiter-award-winners-for-its-31st-edition-gold-for-england-silver-for-france-and-bronze-for-hong-kong-china-520407222.html|title=L'International des Feux Loto-Québec presents the Jupiter Award Winners for its 31st edition: Gold for England, Silver for France and bronze for Hong Kong, China|publisher=CNW Group|access-date=March 20, 2023|date=August 1, 2015|author=L'International des Feux Loto-Québec}}

Postmodernism encompasses a variety of approaches and movements, including aesthetics. In the early 2000s, Arthur Asa Berger noted how it was popular in academic circles discussing her within postmodernism and further explains that a "simple way" of thinking about postmodernism is the way in which "our contemporary artists and culture produce art".{{harvnb|Berger|2018|p=155}}

She has been estimated both immediately and retrospectively. Some, including author Shara Rambarran in 2021, labeled her both icon and "Queen of Postmodernism".{{harvnb|Rambarran|2021|p=94}} In the 1990s, American philosopher Susan Bordo described her as a "postmodern heroine".{{harvnb|Chancer|1998|p=93}} In 2007, O'Brien held that "much has been made of Madonna as a postmodern icon", as well as that her reference points have been resolutely modernist.{{harvnb|O'Brien|2007|p=27}} According to Glenn Ward, "Madonna has been important to postmodernism for her ability to plunder the conventions".{{harvnb|Ward|2011|p=online}} Academics Sudhir Venkatesh and Fuat Firat described her as "representative of postmodern rebellion". She epitomizes posmodernism said Olivier Sécardin from Utrecht University.{{cite journal|title=The passing of the postmodern in pop? Epochal consumption and marketing from Madonna, through Gaga, to Taylor|first1=Brendan|last1=Canavan|first2=Claire|last2=McCamley|journal=Journal of Business Research|date=February 2020|pages=222–230|volume=107|doi=10.1016/j.jbusres.2018.12.005|doi-access=free}} In similar remarks, Graham Cray once considered her as perhaps "the most visible example", while Martin Amis said she was "perhaps the most postmodern personage on the planet".{{cite news|url=https://labri.org/england/resources/05052008/JM01_Madonna.pdf|title=Madonna: Icon of Postmodernity|publisher=L'Abri|last=McGregor|first=Jock|year=2008|pages=1–8|access-date=March 29, 2021|archive-date=December 7, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101207061754/https://labri.org/england/resources/05052008/JM01_Madonna.pdf|url-status=dead}}

File:7247-Madonna-Rebel-Heart-Tour (26397754254).jpg,{{harvnb|Guilbert|2015|p=148}} and has been criticized for her usage of religious art and imagery]]

Late-twentieth-century perspectives on Madonna engaged some viewers, and some from art and academic communities by discussing low and high culture value in her figure and works.{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/mastering-madonna-189134/|title=Mastering Madonna|magazine=Rolling Stone|access-date=July 10, 2022|first=Elizabeth|last=Tippens|date=September 17, 1992|url-access=subscription|archive-date=May 5, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220505145434/https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/mastering-madonna-189134/|url-status=live}} In the early 1990s, three academics conducted a survey by college students, where Madonna was seen as "all artifice and no art" and "as emblematic of the lowest form of aesthetic culture".{{harvnb|Schwichtenberg|1993|pp=17, 19}} They compared her art to being "suspicious, because unlike the works of Vincent van Gogh or Henri Matisse, it is readily available for purchase at any record or video store", implying that she did not belong to a high art tradition of selflessness.

{{Quote box|bgcolor=white|align=left|width=20%|quote=Her enormous commercial success is often held against her [...] as evidence that she prostitutes her art (and, by extension, herself).|source=—Genders, University of Texas Press' journal (1988).{{cite journal|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TpPUjJaUGw4C|title=Madonna|journal=Genders|date=1988|access-date=July 12, 2022|page=6|number=7–9|publisher=University of Texas Press}}}}

English art critic John Berger noted the criticisms, commenting her work's accessibility to a mass public may have contributed to a decrease in its perceived value. Scholar Douglas Kellner made the suggestion she should be interpreted in both terms, and her works by implication can be read either as works of art or analyzed as "commodities" that shrewdly exploit markets.{{harvnb|Kellner|2003|p=281}} In 2013, Kriston Capps from New York said Jeff Koons made conspicuous consumption a concern of fine art, but Madonna immortalized it with "Material Girl". Italian art critic Achille Bonito Oliva describes her song as a perfect for a time when art, money and politics were "electronically entwined".{{harvnb|Bonito Oliva|2000|p=251}} Citing three scholars' poll, Simon Frith stated "clearly, pushing Madonna to the bottom rungs of the pop cultural ladder makes a space at the top for pop music 'art'".{{harvnb|Frith|2004|p=403}}

Her broadcast profile as an artiste in the arts-based BBC One series Omnibus in 1990, divided some from art community and public of the time, and according to Walker, "letters and articles subsequently appeared in the press both for and against" her. Michael Ignatieff claimed that her conception of art was false.{{harvnb|Walker|1993|p=188}} He was quoted as saying, "I certainly don't mind that she is obscene [...] What I can't stand about Madonna is that she thinks she's an artist". Prior that, in 1988, professor of media arts John Ellis questioned the idea of having Madonna in Omnibus.{{cite magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hclLAQAAIAAJ|title=Will Madonna take over Omnibus?|magazine=Modern Painters|date=1988|access-date=July 9, 2022|pages=60–61|volume=4|archive-date=July 11, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220711213204/https://www.google.com/books/edition/Modern_Painters/hclLAQAAIAAJ?hl=en|url-status=live}}

Madonna's sexuality has worked both for and against her. In Madonnaland (2016), Alina Simone denotes that "her art is highly sexualized because she is highly sexualized". Her first book, Sex was considered an art book; but outlet Contemporary Art pointed out that by "bringing together arty images" the book raised interesting questions about when art is acceptable.{{cite magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=05wtAQAAIAAJ|title=Madonna|magazine=Contemporary Art|date=1995|access-date=July 10, 2022|pages=34–38|volume=3|archive-date=July 11, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220711213217/https://www.google.com/books/edition/Contemporary_Art/05wtAQAAIAAJ?hl=en|url-status=live}} In using religious art, Madonna has been called an iconoclast, and has received criticism from the religious sector.

Through her career, as Dahlia Schweitzer explains in 2019, many critics have long resisted using the words "Madonna" and "artistic" in the same sentence.{{cite web|url=https://www.thisisdahlia.com/2019/06/27/how-madonna-became-gaga-and-gaga-became-stefani/|title=How Madonna Became Gaga (and Gaga Became Stefani)|publisher=Official Dahlia Schweitzer website|date=June 27, 2019|access-date=July 6, 2022|author-link=Dahlia Schweitzer|first=Dahlia|last=Schweitzer|archive-date=July 27, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210727032043/https://www.thisisdahlia.com/2019/06/27/how-madonna-became-gaga-and-gaga-became-stefani/|url-status=live}} Back in 2013, Sandra Barneda from the website The Objective, observed that for many "she is far" from art.{{cite web|url=https://theobjective.com/elsubjetivo/opinion/2013-11-20/madonna-arte-o-sopa/|title=Madonna, ¿Arte o Sopa?|work=The Objective|date=November 20, 2013|access-date=July 7, 2022|language=es|first=Sandra|last=Barneda|archive-date=July 11, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220711213209/https://theobjective.com/elsubjetivo/opinion/2013-11-20/madonna-arte-o-sopa/|url-status=live}} Michael Love wrote for Paper magazine in 2019, that both her music and visuals "have always been interpreted as 'good' or 'bad' based on what's relevant in the moment".{{cite web|url=https://www.papermag.com/madonna-madame-x-2638904579.html?rebelltitem=5#rebelltitem5|title=Madonna's 'Madame X' Creates New Possibilities For the Future|work=Paper|date=June 21, 2019|access-date=August 28, 2022|first=Michael|last=Love}}

In On Fashion (1994) by scholars Shari Benstock and Suzanne Ferriss, it was concluded that she challenges and "puts in question and tests one's aesthetic categories and commitments", but she can be viewed as a modernist.{{harvnb|Benstock|Ferriss|1994|p=176}} In 1993, Walker suggested the debate she provoked after Omnibus{{'}}s episode was a perhaps "sign of its cultural significant", and retrospectively recognizes her a decade later, for seemingly understands "art depends upon artifice, creation, invention, imagination and masquerade". According to book The Connection Madonna (1993), other scholars compared how "Madonna's failure" to conform to established rules and commentary have led to her dismissal as a "serious artist" and "fueled attacks" on her.{{harvnb|Schwichtenberg|1993|p=75}} In the 1990s, Robertson suggested "Madonna's art and its reception by critics and fans reflect and shape some of our culture's anxieties about identity and power inequalities".{{harvnb|Leibetseder|2016|p=69}} During this decade, American musicologist Susan McClary was quoted questioning some of the criticisms she faced, and provided arguments in her area to "refute" some of them, explaining that the framework in which Madonna operates is somewhat different from that of the Western art tradition, in which "feminine subjects must be destroyed", and further recognized her to "exercises control over her art".{{harvnb|Beard|Gloag|2004|pp=48–49}} In 2023, author Mary Gabriel argued to "really understand" her career, you need to understand the New York club scene that fostered her talent, as a "community that was intent on breaking taboos and boundaries" while she continues with that "sensibility".{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/audio/2023/dec/15/how-madonna-changed-pop-culture-for-ever-podcast|title=How Madonna changed pop culture for ever|date=December 15, 2023|access-date=December 18, 2023|work=The Guardian}}

Writing for The New York Times in 1990, music critic Jon Pareles invited the audience to see her as a "continuous multi-media art project".{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/06/11/arts/critic-s-notebook-on-the-edge-of-the-permissible-madonna-s-evolving-persona.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm|title=Critic's Notebook; On the Edge of the Permissible: Madonna's Evolving Persona|date=June 11, 1990|work=The New York Times|access-date=June 11, 2022|first=Jon|last=Pareles|author-link=Jon Pareles|archive-url=https://archive.today/20220611011154/https://www.nytimes.com/1990/06/11/arts/critic-s-notebook-on-the-edge-of-the-permissible-madonna-s-evolving-persona.html?|archive-date=June 11, 2022|url-access=subscription|url-status=live}} Years later, in 2002, Black Belt editor Sara Fogan mentioned she "challenges herself as an artist",{{cite magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qtsDAAAAMBAJ&dq=Madonna+martial+arts&pg=PT17|title=Madonna Makes Her Martial Arts Debut|magazine=Black Belt|date=August 2002|access-date=July 10, 2022|first=Sara|last=Fogan|page=20|volume=40|number=8|archive-date=July 11, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220711213203/https://books.google.com/books?id=qtsDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PT17&dq=Madonna+martial+arts|url-status=live}} and by 2022, Italian academics from the University of Macerata considered her an artist of a "hypertrophic system of signs and symbols bound to the worlds of spectacle, art, music, cinema and fashion". Writing for The Observer in 2023, O'Brien referred to her as "one of the most vivid, confrontational and imaginative female artists in the music industry".{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2023/aug/20/madonna-evolution-of-the-zeitgeist-capturing-dance-diva|title=Madonna: evolution of the zeitgeist-capturing dance diva|first=Lucy|last=O'Brien|author-link=Lucy O'Brien|work=The Guardian|date=August 20, 2023|access-date=August 22, 2023}}

In 1996, music critic J. D. Considine wrote that both Madonna and Michael Jackson redefined our notions of "artistic impact".{{cite web|url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-1996-10-20-1996294063-story.html|title=Rock of Ages Music: Prepare yourself. The '70s, those dark years of polyester and disco, were also the greatest decade for rock and roll.|work=The Baltimore Sun|date=October 20, 1996|access-date=June 13, 2022|archive-date=June 13, 2022|archive-url=https://archive.today/20220613054133/https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-1996-10-20-1996294063-story.html|url-status=live|first=J. D.|last=Considine|author-link=J. D. Considine}} Following Michael Jackson's death, a panel of Argentine art journalists and critics considered her at that time as "the only universal artist left standing" of an entire era. Those critics, including Daniel Molina, Graciela Speranza and Alicia de Arteaga explained that she is herself "a multimedia expression that condenses fashion, dance, photography, sculpture, music, video and painting".{{cite web|url=https://www.lanacion.com.ar/cultura/la-ultima-revolucion-del-arte-nid1215025/|title=La última revolución del arte|date=December 26, 2009|work=La Nación|access-date=June 11, 2022|archive-date=June 11, 2022|archive-url=https://archive.today/20220611010648/https://www.lanacion.com.ar/cultura/la-ultima-revolucion-del-arte-nid1215025/|url-status=live|first=Daniel|last=Molina|language=es}} She was also complimented by some fellow musicians; Kanye West commented in 2014: "Madonna, I think, is the greatest visual musical artist that we've ever had".{{cite web|url=https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2014/01/kanye-west-madonna-greatest-visual-musical-artist|title=Kanye West: Madonna Is "Greatest Visual Musical Artist" of All Time|first=Josh|last=Duboff|work=Vanity Fair|date=January 22, 2014|access-date=July 10, 2022|archive-date=July 10, 2022|archive-url=https://archive.today/20220710213026/https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2014/01/kanye-west-madonna-greatest-visual-musical-artist|url-access=subscription|url-status=live}} She is the "perfect example" of the visual artist once commented Fab Five Freddy. Shania Twain also praised her vision of aesthetics in 2023.{{cite web|url=https://www.eonline.com/news/1363473/find-out-what-shania-twain-really-thinks-of-cher-madonna-and-more-music-icons|title=Find Out What Shania Twain Really Thinks of Cher, Madonna and More Music Icons|first=Paige|last=Strout|publisher=E!|date=February 2, 2023|access-date=February 4, 2023}}

In the mid-2010s, Madonna classified herself as an artist and not a "pop act",{{cite web|url=https://www.standard.co.uk/showbiz/celebrity-news/madonna-claims-she-s-an-artist-not-a-pop-act-as-she-slams-famehungry-singers-a3321456.html|title=Madonna claims she's an 'artist' not a 'pop act' as she slams fame-hungry singers|first=Jennifer|last=Ruby|work=Evening Standard|date=August 16, 2016|access-date=February 18, 2023}} while during the program of Council of Fashion Designers of America in 1992, she stated being a good artist "it's about taking chances" rather than being "powerful" or "rich".{{harvnb|Rettenmund|1995|p=116}} During this decade, she was also quoted as saying: "I am my own experiment. I am my own work of art".{{harvnb|Falco|2010|p=282}} Writing for Interview in 2014, American illusionist David Blaine suggested that perhaps she "is herself her own greatest work of art—something so vastly influential as to be unfathomable". In 1997, May considered her a gesamtkunstwerk becoming a work of pop-art herself.{{harvnb|May|1997|p=169}} In 2008, Scottish music blogger Alan McGee proposes that she is "post-modern art, the likes of which we will never see again".{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2008/oct/28/madonna-pop-art|title=Madonna Pop Art|first=Alan|last=McGee|author-link=Alan McGee|work=The Guardian|date=August 20, 2008|access-date=April 1, 2021|archive-date=October 14, 2016|archive-url=https://archive.today/20161014004510/https://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2008/oct/28/madonna-pop-art|url-status=live}}

According to Stephanie Eckardt from W in 2018, her impact and influence in the arts have been "made almost entirely behind the scenes".{{cite web|url=https://www.wmagazine.com/story/madonna-art-collection-basquiat|title=Madonna Is Secretly an Art World Influencer|date=August 16, 2018|work=W|access-date=June 10, 2022|archive-date=June 10, 2022|archive-url=https://archive.today/20220610060244/https://www.wmagazine.com/story/madonna-art-collection-basquiat|url-status=live|first=Stephanie|last=Eckardt}} In 2023, editor Jordan Robertson called it "a significant impact in the world of art".{{cite web|url=https://finance.yahoo.com/news/music-masterpieces-impressive-art-collection-182410506.html?|title=From Music to Masterpieces: The Impressive Art Collection of Pop Icon Madonna Worth Over $100 Million|date=February 22, 2023|publisher=Yahoo|access-date=February 22, 2023|first=Jordan|last=Robertson}} Italian art critic Francesco Bonami, called her the Picasso from music world.{{cite magazine|url=https://www.vanityfair.it/article/cantante-madonna-trasformazioni-artista|title=Madonna: Salve regina|magazine=Vanity Fair|access-date=January 25, 2023|date=January 19, 2023|language=it|author-link=Francesco Bonami|first=Francesco|last=Bonami}} Ana Monroy Yglesias from the Grammy Awards website called her the Art-pop queen.{{cite web|url=https://www.grammy.com/grammys/news/grammy-rewind-watch-madonna-win-best-pop-album-ray-light-1999|title=GRAMMY Rewind: Watch Madonna Win Best Pop Album For 'Ray Of Light' In 1999|publisher=Grammy.com|access-date=July 8, 2022|date=August 14, 2020|archive-date=October 26, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201026074313/https://www.grammy.com/grammys/news/grammy-rewind-watch-madonna-win-best-pop-album-ray-light-1999|first=Ana|last=Monroy Yglesias}} In the early 1990s, Mark Bego commented she has "turning everything she touches into classic pop art".{{harvnb|Bego|1992|p=3}}

A number of publications, authors and editors have discussed how Madonna helped influence the link between art and pop stage. Some noted how she brought art from the streets into the mainstream. For instance, referring to her formative years in New York, Malina Bickford from Vice commented on her influence in bringing the underground to the mainstream. Marissa G. Muller from W magazine also noted her contribution and credited her for help bridging the worlds of pop music and fine art.{{cite web|url=https://www.wmagazine.com/story/madonna-influence-culture-trends-yoga-fashion|title=The 9 Things Madonna Invented That You Didn't Realize Madonna Invented|work=W|date=August 16, 2018|access-date=March 29, 2021|first=Marissa G.|last=Muller|archive-date=September 1, 2019|archive-url=https://archive.today/20190901030214/https://www.wmagazine.com/story/madonna-influence-culture-trends-yoga-fashion|url-status=live}} She also suggested that Madonna helped making collaborations with pop artists routine. In this aspect, Eckardt similarly argued she pioneered the crossover between pop and art by hanging with the likes of Warhol, Basquiat or Haring. Editors of Enciclopedia Gay (2009) also recognized her footprints in different art forms, and credited her for pushing the boundaries of pop music into the art world.{{cite web|url=http://archivo.lavoz.com.ar/nota.asp?nota_id=579489|title=Madonna, Lady Di y Britney en la Enciclopedia Gay|work=La Voz del Interior|access-date=July 8, 2022|date=December 29, 2009|archive-date=July 8, 2022|archive-url=https://archive.today/20220708020820/http://archivo.lavoz.com.ar/nota.asp?nota_id=579489|language=es|author=EFE|url-status=live}}

Regarding inspirations Madonna took from plastic artists, music journalist Ricardo Pineda in a conversation with news agency EFE in 2019, describes her mentions and references were favorable for their legacies.{{cite web|url=https://listindiario.com/entretenimiento/2019/07/14/573946/madonna-una-ferviente-fan-de-la-vida-y-obra-de-frida-khalo|title=Madonna, una ferviente fan de la vida y obra de Frida Khalo|date=July 14, 2019|work=Listín Diario|access-date=June 13, 2022|archive-date=June 13, 2022|archive-url=https://archive.today/20220613072152/https://listindiario.com/entretenimiento/2019/07/14/573946/madonna-una-ferviente-fan-de-la-vida-y-obra-de-frida-khalo|url-status=live|first1=Inés|last1=Amarelo|author2=EFE}} Her own influence has been found in some contemporary artists; in 2015, Italian newspaper la Repubblica noted how various artists admire her. Mateo Blanco, commented: "Madonna has always been a great inspiration to me".{{cite web|url=https://www.sun-sentinel.com/features/fl-fea-miami-artist-madonna-portraits-20171121-story.html|title=Miami artist pays homage to Madonna in Coral Gables exhibit|date=November 28, 2017|work=Sun-Sentinel|access-date=June 26, 2022|archive-date=June 26, 2022|archive-url=https://archive.today/20220626012018/https://www.sun-sentinel.com/features/fl-fea-miami-artist-madonna-portraits-20171121-story.html|first=Johnny|last=Diaz|url-status=live}}

• {{cite web|url=https://247newsbulletin.com/entertainment/76070.html|title=Madonna and other "edible" works by artist Mateo Blanco on display|date=January 7, 2022|publisher=247 NewsBulletin|access-date=June 26, 2022|archive-date=June 26, 2022|archive-url=https://archive.today/20220626012020/https://247newsbulletin.com/entertainment/76070.html|author=Robert|url-status=live}} American installation artist Trisha Baga has a "longstanding fascination" with her which "is often manifested in her work", according to Dundee Contemporary Arts' website.{{cite web|url=https://www.dca.org.uk/whats-on/event/holiday|title=Holiday|date=2013|publisher=Dundee Contemporary Arts|access-date=June 25, 2022|archive-date=June 26, 2022|archive-url=https://archive.today/20220626011000/https://www.dca.org.uk/whats-on/event/holiday|url-status=live}} In 2018, Pegasus told the Evening Standard that he always listens to Madonna while working, and his works "tends to have elements of her character".{{cite web|url=https://www.standard.co.uk/showbiz/celebrity-news/street-artist-pegasus-marks-queen-of-pop-madonna-s-60th-birthday-with-colourful-mural-a3911536.html|title=Street artist Pegasus marks Queen of Pop Madonna's 60th birthday with mural|date=August 14, 2018|work=Evening Standard|access-date=June 26, 2022|archive-date=June 26, 2022|archive-url=https://archive.today/20220626013034/https://www.standard.co.uk/showbiz/celebrity-news/street-artist-pegasus-marks-queen-of-pop-madonna-s-60th-birthday-with-colourful-mural-a3911536.html|first=Natasha|last=Sporn|url-status=live}} Madonna has been an inspiration for Spanish painter Jesús Arrúe, according to Saatchi Art's website.{{cite web|url=https://www.saatchiart.com/art/Painting-Madonna-Ocean/1817552/8556584/view|title=Madonna Ocean Painting|publisher=Saatchi Art|access-date=July 6, 2022|archive-date=July 6, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220706011452/https://www.saatchiart.com/art/Painting-Madonna-Ocean/1817552/8556584/view|url-status=live}} In 2014, curator Jefferson Hack dedicated an article in which she was "interpreted by contemporary artists" with portraits in art forms and their feelings about her.{{cite web|url=https://www.dazeddigital.com/music/gallery/18361/2/madonna-interpreted-by-contemporary-artists|title=Madonna interpreted by contemporary artists|first=Jefferson|last=Hack|author-link=Jefferson Hack|date=August 16, 2014|page=8|work=Dazed|access-date=April 4, 2021|archive-date=July 7, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190707204718/https://www.dazeddigital.com/music/gallery/18361/2/madonna-interpreted-by-contemporary-artists|url-status=live}} Inside the article, Silvia Prada, described: "For me, Madonna has became even more important than any art movement in terms of history and popular culture".

Different media reports have shown her influence on other lesser-known artists, and from the underground scene. In terms of influence, the Greek Reporter said that Greek graffiti artist George Callas has a "creative obsession" with her. Brazilian visual artist, Aldo Diaz, who also collaborated with her, talked about Madonna's influence for him to the point he began to study photography, arts and became a graphic designer. Most of them have depicted Madonna.

Madonna attracted media headlines when she revealed her interest in Frida Kahlo during the late 20th-century; Kahlo was considered to be a relatively lesser-known figure on the international stage outside the arts. Andrew Morton reflected: "How many pop singers have ever heard of Frida Kahlo?". In 1993, Janis Bergman-Carton published in Texas Studies in Literature and Language an article that examined how "both women have become part of standard journalistic reportage", with mutual benefit, but also reminds the "interpenetration of the domains of art and celebrityhood has a lengthy history in Western culture, dating back to the Renaissance".{{cite journal|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/40755024|title=Strike a Pose: The Framing of Madonna and Frida Kahlo|year=1993|journal=Texas Studies in Literature and Language|access-date=May 19, 2022|first=Janis|last=Bergman-Carton|pages=440–452|volume=35|number=4|publisher=University of Texas Press|jstor=40755024 |archive-date=May 20, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220520033548/https://www.jstor.org/stable/40755024?seq=1|url-status=live}}

Some credited Madonna's significant role for developing public's interest in Kahlo. In 2005, The Daily Telegraph staffers credited her with transforming Kahlo into a "collector's darling".{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/art/3643520/Riding-high-on-a-Mexican-wave.html|title=Riding high on a Mexican wave|date=June 11, 2005|last=Baring|first=Louise|access-date=March 29, 2021|archive-date=August 21, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090821151910/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/art/3643520/Riding-high-on-a-Mexican-wave.html|url-access=subscription|work=The Daily Telegraph}} Walker also argued that partly due to her, the Mexican painter became a posthumous celebrity not only in the domain of art history but also in popular culture. In 2005, Canadian author and art historian Gauvin Alexander Bailey also concurred she helped spark a "wide interest" in the artist.{{harvnb|Bailey|2005|p=online}} Back in 1993, historian Hayden Herrera added the mention of Madonna sets the tone for the entire piece.{{cite journal|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DlFUAAAAMAAJ|title=Kahlo|year=1993|journal=Art in America|access-date=June 26, 2022|page=36|volume=81|archive-date=July 11, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220711213204/https://www.google.com/books/edition/Art_in_America/DlFUAAAAMAAJ?hl=en|url-status=live}} In 1991, magazine Artes de México also referred to the importance of her in the "Fridomania cult".{{cite magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LrhYAAAAMAAJ|title=Guia de la Estación|year=1991|access-date=May 2, 2021|page=112|magazine=Artes de México|publisher=Frente Nacional de Artes Plásticas|issue=11–13|language=es|archive-date=July 11, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220711213205/https://www.google.com/books/edition/Artes_de_M%C3%A9xico/LrhYAAAAMAAJ?hl=en|url-status=live}} Anthropologist Néstor García Canclini (sic) "Madonna's role in the Kahlo cult is pleasantly exciting". According to El Sol de Tampico, Madonna drew media attention to Alejandro Gómez Arias, a former Kahlo boyfriend.{{cite web|url=https://www.elsoldetampico.com.mx/analisis/alejandro-gomez-arias-3926455.html|title=Alejandro Gómez Arias|date=July 20, 2019|last=Salazar Gonzales|first=Rodolfo|access-date=July 9, 2022|archive-date=July 9, 2022|archive-url=https://archive.today/20220709072423/https://www.elsoldetampico.com.mx/analisis/alejandro-gomez-arias-3926455.html|language=es|work=El Sol de Tampico|url-status=live}}

{{image frame|content={{Photomontage

| photo1a = Another Stencil of Madonna.jpg

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| size = 200

| text = Madonna has been depicted by known artists. She has been also represented in street and fan art. From the second to fourth image, Madonna is depicted as: Girl with a Pearl Earring, the Vitruvian Man, and Medusa}}}}

Madonna has been depicted by various artists around the world, including those who were influenced by her. Speaking about her artistic depictions of over two decades, in 2003, Walker said: "Naturally [...] many visual artists have been inspired to depict Madonna". The book Madonna in Art (2004) compiled portraits and paintings by over 116 artists from 23 countries, including Andrew Logan, Sebastian Krüger and Al Hirschfeld.{{cite web|url=http://www.thejournal.co.uk/culture/theatre/madonna-in-art-4642913|title=Madonna in art|work=The Journal|access-date=April 3, 2021|archive-date=May 14, 2020|archive-url=https://archive.today/20200514032159/http://www.thejournal.co.uk/culture/theatre/madonna-in-art-4642913|date=August 31, 2004}} Madonna in Art which contains over 244 artworks and 190 pages, is noted by its author as a "tribute to Madonna and her remarkable career in art".{{cite web|url=http://www.madonnatribe.com/idol_03/minart.htm|title=Madonna|publisher=Madonna Tribe|access-date=July 8, 2022|date=2004|archive-date=July 11, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220711213216/http://www.madonnatribe.com/idol_03/minart.htm|url-status=live}}

Others depicted her multiple times. Scottish painter Peter Howson, who dedicated numerous pieces to her, commented in 2002: "She's a subject everyone is drawn to".{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2002/apr/11/artsfeatures.madonna|title='It's only my seedy mind'|date=April 11, 2002|work=The Guardian|access-date=June 11, 2022|archive-date=June 11, 2022|archive-url=https://archive.today/20220611183552/https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2002/apr/11/artsfeatures.madonna|first=Elisabeth|last=Mahoney|url-access=subscription|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1390453/Artist-reveals-the-good-and-bad-Madonna.html|title=Artist reveals the 'good and bad' Madonna|date=April 11, 2002|work=The Daily Telegraph|access-date=July 11, 2022|archive-date=July 11, 2022|archive-url=https://archive.today/20220711074349/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1390453/Artist-reveals-the-good-and-bad-Madonna.html|first=Tom|last=Peterkin|url-access=subscription|url-status=live}} Scottish academic Alan Riach, noted the Madonnas of Howson address the question of "assertion, strength and power".{{harvnb|Moffat|Riach|Macdonald-Lewis|2020|p=online}} In his final years, Mexican painter Alberto Gironella devoted almost all his works to Madonna, or took inspiration from her, further labeled her "more than pop [she] is the last surrealist".{{cite web|url=https://www.milenio.com/espectaculos/el-pintor-al-que-madonna-desprecio|title=El pintor al que Madonna despreció|date=December 13, 2012|work=Milenio|access-date=June 11, 2022|archive-date=June 11, 2022|archive-url=https://archive.today/20220611183702/https://www.milenio.com/espectaculos/el-pintor-al-que-madonna-desprecio|url-status=live|first=Juan Alberto|last=Vázquez}} According to the Museum of Contemporary Art of Monterrey he started with his Madonnas in 1991.{{harvnb|MARCO|2002|p=365}} Jean-Michel Basquiat's A Panel of Experts (1982) was inspired by his lovers, Madonna and Canadian painter Suzanne Mallouk.{{harvnb|Clement|2016|p=online}}

In 2019, Spanish plastic artist Mikel Belascoain, created the first art building of Pamplona, capital city of Navarra, Spain with several paintings of her, calling the artwork Madonna 1986. Belascoain reported to be more interested in Madonna as an artist than in Marcel Duchamp.{{cite web|url=https://www.noticiasdenavarra.com/2019/07/08/ocio-y-cultura/cultura/madonna-1986-art-building-en-pamplona|title='Madonna 1986': 'Art building' en Pamplona|date=July 8, 2019|work=Diario de Noticias|access-date=July 8, 2022|archive-date=July 8, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190708123812/https://www.noticiasdenavarra.com/2019/07/08/ocio-y-cultura/cultura/madonna-1986-art-building-en-pamplona|language=es|first=Ana Oliveira|last=Lizarribar}} In 2005, South African artist Candice Breitz created Queen (Portrait of Madonna), a multichannel video installation featuring 24 Italian Madonna fans performing their way individually on a grid of monitors. It was exhibited in museums like SCAD Museum of Art or Museum of Fine Arts (Boston), while art critic Roberta Smith reviewed the artwork for The New York Times.{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/21/arts/art-in-review-candice-breitz.html|title=Art in Review; Candice Breitz|date=October 21, 2005|work=The New York Times|access-date=July 9, 2022|archive-date=July 9, 2022|archive-url=https://archive.today/20220709035530/https://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/21/arts/art-in-review-candice-breitz.html|author-link=Roberta Smith|url-access=subscription|first=Roberta|last=Smith|url-status=live}}

• {{cite web|url=https://www.scadmoa.org/exhibitions/2013/queen-a-portrait-of-madonna|title=Candice Breitz: Queen (Portrait of Madonna)|publisher=SCAD Museum of Art|access-date=July 9, 2022|archive-date=July 9, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220709042100/https://www.scadmoa.org/exhibitions/2013/queen-a-portrait-of-madonna|url-status=live}}
• {{cite web|url=https://collections.mfa.org/objects/524868|title=Candice Breitz: Queen (Portrait of Madonna)|publisher=Museum of Fine Arts, Boston|access-date=July 9, 2022|archive-date=November 29, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211129211934/https://collections.mfa.org/objects/524868|url-status=live}} In Madonnaland (2016), Alina Simone noted graffiti artist Adam Cost had begun wheat pasting his "Cost Fucked Madonna" mantra all over Manhattan in the 20th century. Simone discovered that "Cost" was his pseudonym, and his stickers reading "Cost Fucked Madonna" became an underground catch-phrase in the 1990s, "spurring a healthy trade" in knock-off T-shirts and other merchandise. Following his comeback after his arrest, "Cost Fucked Madonna" posters began reappearing on the streets of New York in 2012.{{harvnb|Simone|2016|pp=27–28}} On October 25, 2024 British singer Boy George painted Madonna as part of a series of artworks titled "Fame" with Castle Fine Art. It depict Madonna wearing an eyepatch, which was the signature piece to her Madame X album era. The picture resembles her look from the Crave music video.https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-boy-george-launches-debut-art-collection-portraying-madonna-prince-bowie

{{For|portraits, portrayals and fashion-related exhibitions|Fashion of Madonna}}

{{multiple image

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| image2 = Exposición Como una oración. Las madonnas de Javier Restrepo Cuartas - 8208911485.jpg

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| footer = Left to right: a 2017's Madonna exhibition (Italy), 2012's Como una oración: Las Madonnas de Javier Restrepo Cuartas (Colombia), and 2014's M- de Marilyn à Madonna (Brazil)}}

Her likeness has been exhibited in museums,{{harvnb|Guilbert|2015|p=88}} and other exhibitions. In honor of Madonna, Johnnie Walker organized the art exposition Arte urbana – Projeto Keep Walking Brazil in 2012. It featured works by 30 different graffiti artists.{{cite web|url=https://www.antena1.com.br/noticias/madonna-inspira-exposi-o-de-arte-urbana-no-mis|title=Madonna inspira exposição de arte urbana no mis|publisher=Antena 1|access-date=July 8, 2022|date=November 13, 2012|language=pt|archive-date=July 8, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220708205107/https://www.antena1.com.br/noticias/madonna-inspira-exposi-o-de-arte-urbana-no-mis|url-status=live}} The same year, a Colombian art exhibition was presented at EAFIT University's arts centre, under the title Como una oración (in English: Like a Prayer), to show the Madonnas of pop artist Javier Restrepo, and demonstrating how "Madonna's universality" touched the plastic arts.{{cite web|url=https://www.eafit.edu.co/agencia-noticias/historico-noticias/2012/noticias-noviembre/Paginas/cultura-exposicion-madonna-restrepo-cuartas.aspx|title=En EAFIT se elevará una oración por Madonna|publisher=EAFIT University|access-date=July 8, 2022|date=November 13, 2012|language=es|archive-date=December 17, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151217113732/http://www.eafit.edu.co/agencia-noticias/historico-noticias/2012/noticias-noviembre/Paginas/cultura-exposicion-madonna-restrepo-cuartas.aspx|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=http://www.elmundo.com/portal/resultados/detalles/?idx=207403|title=Las Madonas de un solitario|work=El Mundo|access-date=January 26, 2023|date=November 25, 2012|language=es|first=Sara|last=Restrepo|url-status=dead|archive-date=July 19, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230719155525/http://www.elmundo.com/portal/resultados/detalles/?idx=207403}}

In 2013, the Guayaquil Municipal Museum hosted a multidisciplinary exhibition, titled Madonna: Ícono cultural-arte, moda y filatelia exploring her impact and references in art, fashion, philately and numismatics.{{cite web|url=https://www.eluniverso.com/2013/04/08/1/1380/exposicion-multidisciplinaria-sobre-madonna.html/|title=Una exposición multidisciplinaria sobre Madonna|work=El Universo|access-date=July 8, 2022|date=April 8, 2013|language=es|archive-date=July 7, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220707221854/https://www.eluniverso.com/2013/04/08/1/1380/exposicion-multidisciplinaria-sobre-madonna.html/|url-status=live}}

• {{cite web|url=http://archivo.eluniversal.com.mx/notas/916963.html|title=Los diferentes rostros de Madonna|work=El Universal|access-date=July 8, 2022|date=April 16, 2013|language=es|archive-date=October 25, 2015|archive-url=https://archive.today/20151025185240/http://archivo.eluniversal.com.mx/notas/916963.html|author=El Comercio|url-status=live}} In 2017, Lea & Flò Palace hosted the Italian contemporary art exhibition Thank you Madonna – I miei sogni in technicolors.{{cite web|url=https://www.ilpescara.it/eventi/thank-you-madonna-i-miei-sogni-in-technicolors-14-gennaio-2017.html|title='Thank you Madonna – I miei sogni in technicolors', Prencipe al Lea & Flò Palace|work=ilPescara|access-date=July 8, 2022|date=January 10, 2017|language=it|archive-date=July 8, 2022|archive-url=https://archive.today/20220708194905/https://www.ilpescara.it/eventi/thank-you-madonna-i-miei-sogni-in-technicolors-14-gennaio-2017.html|url-status=live}} In 2023-2024, the Canberra Museum and Gallery hosted the Madonna 40: A Celebration, a career retrospective,{{cite web|url=https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/canberra-saturdaybreakfast/madonna-exhibition-cmag/102976818|title=Madonna in Canberra?|publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC)|access-date=February 28, 2024|date=October 13, 2023}}
• {{cite web|url=https://www.cmag.com.au/exhibitions/madonna40-a-celebration|title=Madonna40: A Celebration|publisher=Canberra Museum and Gallery|access-date=February 28, 2024}} including screening of film Desperately Seeking Susan.{{cite web|url=https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/8491122/madonnas-desperately-seeking-susan-screening-at-cmag/|title=Desperately Seeking Susan screening at CMAG on Saturday|work=The Canberra Times|access-date=February 28, 2024|date=January 18, 2024|url-access=subscription}}

Madonna was included in other different thematic exhibitions. She had a special segment in Alberto Gironella's retrospective of 2004, Alberto Gironella. Barón de Betenebros (Palace of Fine Arts), and in his 1994 display, Más que pop, Madonna es la única surrealista.{{cite web|url=https://www.nacion.com/archivo/exponen-obra-de-alberto-gironella-dedicada-a-madonna/JVXIIGAANFBQHEKJPPVTF3TNM4/story/|title=Exponen obra de Alberto Gironella dedicada a Madonna|work=La Nación|access-date=July 9, 2022|date=January 31, 2004|language=es|archive-date=July 9, 2022|archive-url=https://archive.today/20220709074133/https://www.nacion.com/archivo/exponen-obra-de-alberto-gironella-dedicada-a-madonna/JVXIIGAANFBQHEKJPPVTF3TNM4/story/|url-status=live}} In 2014, M- de Marilyn à Madonna was on display in Brazil to commemorate Marilyn Monroe's death and Madonna's birthday, both of which occurred in the month of August. It featured 46 artworks of different artists.{{cite web|url=https://www.terra.com.br/diversao/arte-e-cultura/marilyn-monroe-e-madonna-sao-reinventadas-em-obras-de-arte-em-sao-paulo,c7aac77392328410VgnCLD200000b1bf46d0RCRD.html|title=Marilyn Monroe e Madonna são reinventadas em obras de arte em São Paulo|publisher=Terra|access-date=July 8, 2022|date=August 29, 2014|language=pt|archive-date=July 8, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220708210605/https://www.terra.com.br/diversao/arte-e-cultura/marilyn-monroe-e-madonna-sao-reinventadas-em-obras-de-arte-em-sao-paulo,c7aac77392328410VgnCLD200000b1bf46d0RCRD.html|url-status=live}}

• {{cite web|url=https://guia.folha.uol.com.br/passeios/2014/08/1506360-mostra-sobre-madonna-e-marilyn-monroe-tem-obra-feita-de-preservativos.shtml|title=Mostra sobre Madonna e Marilyn Monroe tem obra feita de preservativos|work=Folha de S.Paulo|access-date=July 8, 2022|date=August 28, 2014|language=pt|archive-date=July 8, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220708210157/https://guia.folha.uol.com.br/passeios/2014/08/1506360-mostra-sobre-madonna-e-marilyn-monroe-tem-obra-feita-de-preservativos.shtml|url-status=live}} Madonna was part of the exhibition De Madonna a Madonna (in English: From Madonna to Madonna) installed in countries such as Chile (Centro Cultural Matucana 100), Spain (MUSAC) and Argentina (Juan B. Castagnino Fine Arts Museum) to approach the role of women throughout history.De Madonna a Madonna (From Madonna to Madonna):
• {{cite web|url=http://www.rosariocultura.gob.ar/la-secretaria/prensa/noticias/de-madonna-a-madonna.-muestra-en-el-museo-castagnino|title=Muestra De madonna a Madonna en el Museo Castagnino|publisher=Gobierno de Rosario|access-date=September 29, 2021|archive-date=October 14, 2016|archive-url=https://archive.today/20161014004521/http://www.rosariocultura.gob.ar/la-secretaria/prensa/noticias/de-madonna-a-madonna.-muestra-en-el-museo-castagnino|date=April 14, 2016|url-status=live}}
• {{cite web|url=http://oasisfm.cl/oasisfm/panoramas/arte-de-madonna-a-madonna-en-matucana-100/2015-11-13/194039.html|title=De Madonna a Madonna en Matucana 100|publisher=Oasis FM|access-date=September 29, 2021|archive-date=December 5, 2015|archive-url=https://archive.today/20151205203634/http://oasisfm.cl/oasisfm/panoramas/arte-de-madonna-a-madonna-en-matucana-100/2015-11-13/194039.html|date=November 13, 2015|url-status=live}}

Around 1988, in the town of Pacentro, Italy (the city of her paternal grandparents) some residents proposed putting up a 13-foot statue of a bustier-wearing Madonna, hoping as much to attract tourists as to bestow honorary citizenship on its "most famous descendant", but the proposal was vetoed by the mayor and others.{{harvnb|Cross|2007|p=43}} The Italian sculptor Walter Pugni, who planned to erect the bronze statue, showed a 2-foot clay model to the media.{{cite web|url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1988/01/04/LIKE-A-STATUE/6355568270800/|title=Like a Statue|publisher=United Press International (UPI)|access-date=July 8, 2022|date=January 4, 1988|first=William C.|last=Trott}} In 1993, Brazilian plastic artist Nico Rocha, created a 2.3-foot statue of her to commemorate her 10-year career and her first visit to Brazil.{{cite journal|url=http://memoria.bn.br/docreader/DocReader.aspx?bib=100439_13&pagfis=33322|title=Presentinho gaúcho para Madonna|journal=O Fluminense|access-date=July 8, 2022|date=October 28, 1993|language=pt|page=11|archive-date=July 8, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220708074607/http://memoria.bn.br/docreader/DocReader.aspx?bib=100439_13&pagfis=33322|url-status=live}}

She is represented through various wax sculptures internationally, including France's Musée Grévin.{{cite web|url=https://www.lefigaro.fr/musique/2015/07/31/03006-20150731ARTFIG00147-ouverture-du-musee-grevin-de-seoul.php|title=Madonna, Psy... Le musée Grévin de Séoul est ouvert|work=Le Figaro|access-date=December 4, 2022|language=fr|date=July 31, 2017|author1=AFP|agency=Reuters}} Several wax figures of Madonna are found at Madame Tussauds in the U.S. and around the world.{{cite web|url=https://www.viveusa.mx/articulo/2015/08/17/showbiz/madonna-de-cera-sus-mejores-y-peores-replicas|title=Madonna de cera: sus mejores –y peores- réplicas|publisher=Vive USA|access-date=December 4, 2022|archive-date=August 17, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150817230743/https://www.viveusa.mx/articulo/2015/08/17/showbiz/madonna-de-cera-sus-mejores-y-peores-replicas|language=es|date=August 17, 2015|first=Eder|last=Corona O}} In 1999, Estonian outlet Sõnumileht ranked a Madonna's wax figure at number third, on their best-of list of Tussauds' wax sculptures.{{cite web|url=https://dea.digar.ee/?a=d&d=sonumilehtsl19990508.2.23.7&srpos=1&e=-------et-25-sonumilehtsl-1--txt-txIN%7ctxTI%7ctxAU%7ctxTA-Madonna+Cher------------|title=TOP 10 XX sajandi ja millenniumi valguses|work=Sõnumileht|access-date=December 4, 2022|page=105|date=March 8, 1999|language=et}} In the mid-2010s, Madame Tussauds Sydney launched simultaneously three different Madonna's wax statues, making the first time they revealed that amount of one female performer in their history according to themselves.{{cite web|url=https://www.madametussauds.com/Sydney/NewsAndEvents/Madonna.aspx|title=Madonna Arrives In Sydney: Meet the Queen of Pop!|publisher=Madame Tussauds Sydney|access-date=July 7, 2022|archive-date=June 29, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150629180455/https://www.madametussauds.com/Sydney/NewsAndEvents/Madonna.aspx}}

File:Paul Harvey, Madonna.jpg|Madonna by Paul Harvey

File:MADONNA TOAST & MARMITE PAINTING MDNA NATHAN WYBURN.png|Nathan Wyburn elaborating a toast portrait of Madonna

File:Life is Beautiful by Mr Brainwash.jpg|Life is Beautiful by Mr. Brainwash

File:Cost fucked madonna (14883412323).jpg|Madonna's wheatpastes by Adam Cost

File:100 Faces by Stoyko Gagamov (Madonna).jpg|100 Faces of the Tenerife Auditorium by Bulgarian artist Stojko Gagamov

File:Close up BT Artbox.jpg|Madonna represented in Art boxes

• Madonna and religion

{{reflist}}

{{See also|Bibliography of works on Madonna|List of academic publishing works on Madonna}}

{{refbegin|30em}}

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{{refend}}

• [https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/term/BIOG252704 Madonna] at The British Museum
• [https://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/person/mp60590/madonna-madonna-louise-veronica-ciccone Madonna] at National Portrait Gallery, London
• [https://detroithistorical.org/learn/encyclopedia-of-detroit/madonna Madonna] at Detroit Historical Museum
• [http://collections.vam.ac.uk/search/?id_person=N1373 Madonna] at Victoria and Albert Museum
• [https://superrare.com/series/0x28b19a2885b68613d89c4e38eaf5cf3849978d70 "Mother of Creation"] series at SuperRare

• [https://govettbrewster.com/media/files/Midwest%202.pdf Madonna, no sweat] — Govett-Brewster Art Gallery (1993, pp 9–10 by artist Ruth Watson)

{{Madonna}}

Category:Madonna

Category:American art collectors

Category:Private art collections

Category:People associated with the arts