Allegories by Delacroix are rare. If the Liberty Leading the People remains the most famous, the Virgin of the Sacred Heart (Fig.1), the most enigmatic, disappeared in Corsica for one century. In 1981, Jack Spector related its story as originally commissioned to Géricault, and tried to find why Nantes, its destination , rejected it. This article is prompted by the discovery of new document highlighting another title of the Virgin of the Sacred Heart, also known as a Triumph of Religion. It explains why the commission was rejected by Nantes to be sent to Ajaccio, and gives a new hypothesis on its signification. In the second part, the matter of its perception before its restoration will be analyzed. Indeed, this one, made in 1988, revealed an …show more content…
Indeed, Gabriel Lantivy, the prefect of Corsica, on the island since 1824, has required the government a master painting for the Ajaccio Cathedral. This one arrived on February17th 1827, and the official announcement published in Corsica is revealing: “Ce tableau représente le triomphe de la religion : celle-ci, sous la figure d’une femme, est représentée assise sur un nuage. Son bras gauche entoure une croix, sa main droite, qu’elle porte en avant tient un cœur. Parmi les anges qui se jouent autour d’elle on en remarque deux qui se tiennent embrassés, sans doute pour indiquer que le christianisme est une religion d’union et de paix .” Thus, for the first time, the subject is no longer a Virgin with a Sacred Heart, but the triumph of Religion symbolized by a woman seated on a cloud. Then, a long exegesis follows: no Virgin and no Sacred Heart are mentioned. Especially, the three enigmatic figures in the lower part of the composition are meaningful. The bearded old man with a book in his hand is a thinking philosopher: he symbolizes the intellectual reception of the Christian revelation by civilized people. The young couple on the right symbolizes Barbarian’s nations freed from slavery, but frightened by the apparition of Religion . This exegesis of the Virgin of the Sacred Heart can give us indications about the real …show more content…
Is it really because he receives the Christian revelation in an intellectual way, as indicated by the official exegesis? One of the Delacroix’s sketches could give a clue: it is the only one where a bearded man also turns his back to the Virgin, as if he was thinking his head in his hands. Originally entitled Our-Lady-of-the-Seven-Sorrows (Fig.7), Robaut considered it was not a Lady of Seven-Sorrows, but a Consolatrix afflictorum . However, could not it be an allegorical version of the Seven-Sorrows? During the nineteenth century, the lost painting was to frequently referred as the Lady of Sorrows, as related by Villot
When that room is entered all voices are hushed, and all merriment silenced. The place is as holy as a church. In the centre of the canvas is the Virgin Mother with a young, almost girlish face or surpassing loveliness. In her eyes affection and wonder are blended, and the features and the figure are the most spiritual and beautiful in the world's art.
Jeanne de Jussie, a dedicated Catholic nun, recorded events that took place in Geneva during the Reformation as the official chronicler for the Saint Clare convent. Although littered with biases, Jeanne de Jussie’s experiences reflect broader trends during the Reformation; therefore, The Short Chronicle is a valid source and not merely a personal attack against the Protestants. Her experiences and beliefs, including those concerning celibacy, reflected those of many members of the Catholic Church during the Reformation. Also, her categorization of Protestants as ‘heretics’ was consistent with the practices of the Catholic Church. Although biased, her fears about Protestant views on celibacy and marriage were legitimate and consistent with
The work depicts a family in plain clothing enclosed in a simple solitary room with a fading fire amidst the dark shadows of the background and another light source that extends from beyond the scope of the canvas. At first glance the influences of Caravaggio and Rembrandt are apparent. Their faces are neither, sad, sullen, angry, or joyful, but rather their emotional expression is plain and uncomplicated, adding a sense of timelessness to the painting. As in the description (20-34) of the piece which states; “It reflects 17th Century social theory, which celebrated the natural virtue of those that worked the soil”, (p. 609). The idea of portraying a classic simple lifestyle is a refreshing one and a concept which will reoccur in other works of the Baroque period.
The Holy Trinity by Masaccio was a painting done in approximately 1428. It is a
By most accounts, the year 1500 was in the midst of the height of the Italian Renaissance. In that year, Flemmish artist Jean Hey, known as the “Master of Moulins,” painted “The Annunciation” to adorn a section of an alter piece for his royal French patrons. The painting tells the story of the angel Gabriel’s visit to the Virgin Mary to deliver the news that she will give birth to the son of God. As the story goes, Mary, an unwed woman, was initially terrified about the prospects of pregnancy, but eventually accepts her fate as God’s servant. “The Annunciation” is an oil painting on a modest canvas, three feet tall and half as wide. The setting of the painting is a study, Mary sitting at a desk in the bottom right hand corner reading, and the angel Gabriel behind her holding a golden scepter, perhaps floating and slightly off the canvas’s center to the left. Both figures are making distinct hand gestures, and a single white dove, in a glowing sphere of gold, floats directly above Mary’s head. The rest of the study is artistic but uncluttered: a tiled floor, a bed with red sheets, and Italian-style architecture. “The Annunciation” was painted at a momentous time, at what is now considered the end of the Early Renaissance (the majority of the 15th Century) and the beginning of the High Renaissance (roughly, 1495 – 1520). Because of its appropriate placement in the Renaissance’s timeline and its distinctly High Renaissance characteristics, Jean Hey’s “Annunciation” represents the culmination of the transition from the trial-and-error process of the Early Renaissance, to the technical perfection that embodied the High Renaissance. Specifically, “Annunciation” demonstrates technical advancements in the portrayal of the huma...
Mathias Grunewald (c. 1470-1528) was a German painter who created the Isenheim Altarpiece between 1512 and 1516. This work consists of different wings that fold out to reveal more of the work (Collings, 2007) (including the crucifixion of Christ), is on the display at the Unterlinden Museum at Colmar, Alsace, France, and was commissioned for the Monastery of Saint Anthony in Isenheim, near Colmar. On one of these wings is the figure of Saint Anthony of Egypt, whose temptation has been the inspiration for many works of art as well as literature. Unlike other artists of the Renaissance period, Grunewald’s paintings depict religious figures as artists of the middle ages had done, creating imagery for the Church in Rome. And while the Isenheim Altarpiece, and indeed the Temptation of Saint Anthony, was commissioned b...
This is displayed in Parmigianino’s painting, Madonna of the Long Neck. During this time the Catholic Church was in a transition period, moving from their recent reputation and becoming a well-respected organization. During this reform, an autobiography written by Layola about Saint Teresa of Avila set a new tone for Catholics to follow. This influenced people to have a more spiritual outlook on life.
...tism. The dove which has been tactfully placed above the Christ’s head, symbolizes the Holy Spirit. The other characters are angels who believed to be witnessing the baptism. The nakedness of the Christ on the other hand symbolizes humility. The general landscape in this picture displays an extraordinary naturalism. The Francesca’s work also marked the era of excessive antiquarian style of sculpturing and tactful use of oil in painting (Prescott, 2005).
The painting depicts two figures, the one of a woman and of a man. The dominating central figure is the one of the woman. We see her profile as she looks to the left. Her hands are crossed in a graceful manner. She has blonde hair and her figure is lit by what seems to be natur...
Peter Paul Rubens’ masterpiece, Venus and Adonis, is not only a significant artwork of the baroque-period in Europe during the 17th century, but it also tells the mythological story that begins with love, and ends in tragedy. Displayed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, this painting is admired for representing the unique baroque-style of this era, as well as Rubens’ particular use of the medium and how it reaches those who are viewing it. His attention to detail and crafty use of symbolism within the painting assist viewers in deciphering the story, along with the values of the time period in which Rubens was living. In studying the composition of the work and noting the historical context from which it came, one can ultimately understand Rubens’ point-of-view and thus, connect to the painting in a way he or she has never imagined.
Although the painting itself displays many impressive artistic styles, it is also important to consider the artwork’s historical context. The Raft of the Medusa depicts the aftermath of the shipwreck of the French naval frigate Médusa, which crashed off the African coast. The desperate passengers then built a makeshift raft from the pieces of the destroyed ship, which is the moment depicted in Géricault’s painting. Particularly, The Raft of the Medusa was a contemporary piece that commented on the practice of slavery and the incompetence of the new French government in the early 19th century. Géricault, an abolitionist, sought ways to end the slave trade in the colonies. The anti-slavery cause was well known at the time and was highly promoted by the abolitionists throughout France. Thus, due to Géricault’s repugnance towards slavery, it is only fitting ...
...h Giovanni Boccaccio’s comments in the Decameron may be interpreted as anticlerical, his portrayal of clerics is fitting of many members of the clerical and religious state in the Late Middle Ages. Through this analysis, and Boccaccio’s support of the Church through the story of Abraham the Jew, Boccaccio in fact seems to be devoted to the Church, and seeks to reform it through his suggestions.
The tendencies of Baroque translated differently in parts of Europe. In Italy, it reflected the return of intense piety through dense church ornamentations, complex architecture, and dynamic painting. Calabrese’s work exhibits the combined artistic stimuli of the 17th century and culminates in the acquired Caravagesque style that alters how paintings were composed from then on. Executed at the height of Calabrese’s most creative phase, St. John the Baptist Preaching is indicates the monumentality of change in urbanization as well as the return of Catholic permanence in the 1600’s. Aside from the Baroque power of the artwork, Calabrese’s St. John is a piece worth gravitating to and stands as reminder of the grandiose excesses of Baroque art.
... the way that the artwork is resembled in the religious background of the gospel but reconstructed in to a celebrating impression. Throughout the fresco painting it depicts the myth of the Christ’s three fold temptations relating back to the article that “distinction between fresco and panel painting is sharp, and that painters are seen as competitors amongst themselves discriminating also, between the difference in genuine attempts in being better then the other.” Baxandall, “Conditions of Trade,” 26. in relation, the painting concerns the painter’s conscious response to picture trade, and the non-isolation in pictorial interests.
The ability to create a picture of The Annunciation in one’s mind is a key factor in understanding the analysis of the work. Francisco de Zurbaran approaches the painting with a naturalistic style. The painting features a room in which a woman – like angel is seen at the left kneeling on the ground before the Virgin Mary. The figure of Mary is placed between a chair and a small wooden table draped with a green cloth. Mary disregards an open Bible on the table, as she appears solemn while staring at the floor. Floating above the two main figures in the upper left side of the painting are cherubs resting on a bed of clouds. They happily gaze down at Mary with eyes from Heaven.