Madonna and Child - Case Study Example

Madonna and Child Enthroned Gothic art is often viewed as a combination of Middle ages music, architecture, sculpture, and painting typical of Central Europe. Gothic art, which was initially derived from Romanesque art, had great influences for a number of centuries from the twelfth century to the fifteenth century. The subject of Madonna and Child can be observed throughout the western art history and is a representation of stylistic innovation from thirteenth and fourteenth century. Moreover, it represents the subject of religion, which has been evolving for centuries. The arts of Madonna and her child are key icons for both the Orthodox and the Roman Catholic churches and pervade Christian art in a fashion not paralleled by any other art. Aside from Lippo Vanni, a number of prominent artists in the history of art used their skills in the creation of Madonna paintings during the Renaissance and Gothic periods (Zeri and Elizabeth 98). These images have some similarities, as well as differences when compared to the Lippo Vanni’s one. The successful composition, the use of meticulous brushstrokes, the scale of dark and lighter tones, as well as the use of deep, medium, and bright colors in Vanni’s painting created some harmony and balance in the piece, which gives individuality to every image in the entire piece. Vanni used basic color tones consisting of black, gold, blue, and red. The central panel, which was a very important aspect of Gothic arts, depicts Madonna and her Christ Child enthroned. The black robe worn by Mary is always identical in most Gothic paintings. The triptych shows Saint Elizabeth of Hungary to the right holding roses while Saint Dominic is standing on the right, holding lilies. Other details of the painting include images of Queen Elizabeth of Hungary together with her son, Prince Andreas, who is wearing a rob and a cap decorated with flueur-de-lis. Both are genuflecting on the floor by the throne of Madonna. This painting uses a number of techniques that were typical of the Renaissance period. These include the use of balance, religious themes, balance, and one point perspective. The painting is polychromatic in the sense that it employs many colors. The use of blue, red, and gold added a rich contrast to the piece. The piece is painted on wood using gold and oil, which gives it an aura of splendor and majesty. The images in the painting are all portrayed in clothes (which is not usual with Renaissance art), possibly to show purity and propriety of manner of Vanni’s piece. The painting is composed of three pieces, with the center piece portraying Mary, Christ Child, Queen Elizabeth of Hungary, and her son, Prince Andreas. The Madonna and the Christ child are bound in the geometric shape of a dome, which in itself becomes the focal point. This draws the attention of the viewer to these images, which embody harmony, tenderness, and purity. Mary and the Christ Child are both depicted looking down, which suggests that they are in deep and profound reflection. The painting’s overall tone is rather solemn, as may be seen in the deep colors, as well as the shadow effects (Zeri and Elizabeth 98). The painting has been done in traditional portrait style, bearing a naturalistic approach to the piece’s subjects in a plain and centered orientation, which permits the focus to be on Madonna and Child. It may be deduced that Vanni wished to reveal the deep reflection that Madonna and the Christ Child are enduring. While this may be seen in the general nature of the composition, it is more evident in the physical positioning and direction of gaze of the mother and child, the color palette used, as well as the deep tone employed in the painting. The mother’s grasp of the child constitutes the piece’s focal point. It is noticeable that she is in deep reflection through the way in which she is holding the child in her arms. The fact that both mother and child are looking downward is also important in the sense that it provides a troubled intension of their thoughts. It also allows the piece to retain its sentimentality, which is meant to draw empathy from the viewer. It is noteworthy and profoundly outstanding that the depicted sentimental, reflective temperament of the painting could make the viewer empathize with the subjects, which portrays the artist as having succeeded in producing a very emotive piece (Baetjer 46). However, there piece brings out a sense of conflict between the right portion of the piece and the mother and her child. Vanni painted Madonna’s relationship with the Christ Child as a warm and affectionate one. Because religion is the central theme of the painting, Mary is depicted as humble and pure, as is the case in other altarpieces where the items and setting is representative of her purity and sacredness. As noted previously, the artist’s use of color is remarkable. The red and gold gives a feeling of warmth, calmness, and reliability. Both Vanni’s painting and the Cimabue (c. 1240-1300) Madonna Enthroned (c. 1275) view the theme as religious, although the paintings are different. The variances in styles employed reflect the manner in which societal views of Christianity evolve over time. The Cimabue painting is a single piece that is painted using bright colors. Without a doubt, the subject matter in the two paintings are the same, with both depicting the Virgin Madonna embracing the Christ child. However, while the Cimabue painting shows the Christ child positioned on Mary’s lap with prophets and angels surrounding them, Vanni’s painting is lacking in this distinct portrayal. Other key differences also exist, out of which the increased detail in Madonna’s clothing and body is the most prominent. The Cimabue rendition portrays Madonna as a slender figure, even though her clothing does not appear to adhere to her body. Her countenance in the Vanni rendition, however, also shows greater detail, with the lineation of her mouth, the whites of the eyes, as well as the protrusion of her chin lucidly defined with relatively smaller brushstrokes. The Christ child is also portrayed with such detail in the Cimabue painting, with the facial lineaments emphasized as those of Madonna. In addition, the Vanni rendition portrays the Christ child as less obsequious, although more natural, and with an excess of mass added to the cheek and pectoral area. Religion is the main focus of Byzantine art (Cameron 96). Individual attributes are substituted with standard type, and draperies are portrayed rather symbolically. Human figures are represented in a manner that makes them stand for their spiritual presence. Cimabue adheres to this lexis of Byzantine traditions. In the painting, the artist uses a golden background and arranges the angels symmetrically around Madonna without assigning them location in the space. They have been made into rather flat figures that lack any interaction. They frame Madonna’s throne and are represented in simplified, symbolic form with little emotion. The throne is barely visible and only serves as the skeleton for the dense piece. Even though the painting maintains the medieval attributes and techniques, there are certain improvements that are discernible. In addition, the draperies are of schematic linear designs, making them more realistic. The artist achieves a solid effect through the wimpling and elaboration of folds. Cimabue attempted to break from Byzantine art by introducing a novel emotive content. His painting depicts a cautious experimentation with lines and an examination of the body and human anatomy. The early periods of the Renaissance signified an ideological shift from the concept of idealism that was founded upon envisioning objects in their ideal and faultless forms towards realism, which was founded on pragmatic representation. The shift towards realism led to a decrease in flattery and increase in detail with respect to the portrayal of images. Nonetheless, the differing perspectives of the two pieces did not appear consistent with the events of the Renaissance period when the division between the church and the people began to take root, although this difference may be accounted for by indicating the likelihood that Cimabue was endeavoring to destroy do away with the singular perspective rather than produce multiple viewpoints in which the throne could be drawing away into the background, below, or even above the viewer (Brooke 302). Such distinct lack of a lucid perspective gives Cimabue’s painting a divine feel. Both Cimabue and Vanni’s paintings use gold as a way of “reflecting heavenly lights,” which is consistent with the spirituality of the depicted scenes. In addition, the analysis confirms some differences in the figures of the two Madonnas, with that of Cimabue having a lean and thin structure while Vanni’s portrayal is more hulky and realistic. The analysis of Cimabue’s piece also reveals the employment of the tempera paint, as well as the challenges of being unable to mix together the fine lines with some background information that can easily escape the eye of the observer. Cimabue’s painting made use of a hierarchical scale in depicting the character. In fine art, the hierarchical scale concept holds that bigger objects are better and most important. It simply means arranging objects according to their relative importance with respect to size. In the painting, the angels, who appear in the upper section, cannot be included in the hierarchical scale since the scale is used in comparing human beings, and not celestial beings. The prophets depicted at the bottom seem to be old testament prophets. Prophets can usually be picked out from paintings by the fact that they are frequently depicted holding scrolls, which indicates a reference to ancient roman times when scrolls were widely used prior to the codex invention. The prophets are a representation of the order of the cosmos in the sense that the prophets are portrayed as the masters of knowledge, which has been given to them by God. The analysis of Vanni’s and Cimabue’s pieces presents certain information that is crucial in understanding the motive behind the subtle refinements of each painting, permitting a better discernment of the altarpieces. Works Cited Baetjer, Katharine. European Paintings in the Metropolitan Museum of Art by Artists Born Before 1865: A Summary Catalogue. New York, NY: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1995. Print. Brooke, Rosalind B. The Image of St Francis: Responses to Sainthood in the Thirteenth Century. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2006. Print. Cameron, Averil. The Byzantines. Malden, MA: Blackwell Pub, 2009. Print. Zeri, Federico, and Elizabeth E. Gardner. Italian Paintings: Sienese and Central Italian Schools : a Catalogue of the Collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, NY: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1980. Print. Read More