Jacopo del Sellaio’s Virgin, Child, and St. John is a characteristically iconographic tempera panel painting of Madonna, the Christ Child, and the infant St. John from the early renaissance, dating to the early 1480s. Sellaio was a Florentine painter under the apprenticeship of Sandro Botticelli, which reflects through his style and symbolism in the painting. In this work, he depicts a classically devotional scene filled with biblical symbolism. Sellaio’s Virgin, Child, and St. John expresses Mary’s loving role as Christ’s mother, the protective power and warmth of her maternal bond, and the significance of the birth of Christ.
Sellaio establishes Mary’s protection and comfort of Christ through various aspects of her figure, including her posture, expression, hands, and the framing of her body. She appears to be kneeling, bringing her closer to the Child Jesus and allowing her figure to dominate
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John looks down towards the Christ Child, and he together with the child and Mary form a triangular composition on the left side of the frame with the Christ Child as the focus. St. John is the patron saint of Florence, referencing Sellaio’s Florentine origin. He holds his hands together similar to the Christ Child, in reference to praying for his wellbeing. He also smiles reverently, matching Christ and Mary to establish the happiness brought by Christ’s birth.
The immediate background consists of natural mounds of dirt and a brick wall that enclose the Virgin, Child, and St. John, amplifying the protective effect that Mary’s figure has. The dirt mounds roll inward with a brick wall bordering them on the right, drawing the viewer’s attention towards the three figures. The background is painted in broad terms, with a simple, uniform depiction of tree leaves and smooth rock faces on the horizon. This contrasts with the fine-lined detail and texture of Mary’s hair, facial features, and veil, which further contribute to her elegance and highlight her
At the top of the artwork the upper part of the cross extends beyond the altarpiece. The edge of John the Evangelist’s red robe on the left of the altarpiece and the edge of Mary Magdalene’s pale blue skirt on the right are cut off when the panel ends, giving the viewer the feeling that, rather than looking in on the scene, the viewer is actually taking part in the scene. This, added to the empathy invoked through the delicate, heart-wrenching rendering of the figures in the artwork, let the observer directly interact with the painting and places him/her within the narrative.
The sunrise in this painting is considered the vanishing point; there is no reference to clouds, sky or land. Even though there isn't any man made objects the giant rocks or mountains have parallel lines that exceed to the sunrise. There is also two focal points in this work of art. To emphasize the focal points Bartolo uses elements of design. One of the focal points is the horse which is located in the center of the picture plane. The horse does not gasp all the attention it also permits the viewers to focus on the second focal point, which is the man in red kneeling down in front of St. Dominic. The color red attracts our attention to this man. There are also line of sight directed to him by St.
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...
Caravaggio painted several paintings for this church in Rome, San Luigi dei Francesi. This painting tells the story from Matthew 9:9 in the New Testament when Matthew became a disciple of Jesus Christ. Jesus asked Matthew to follow him and he did. When looking at the painting closely you can see that Jesus was in poor clothing and Matthew and the people at his table are in what appears to be very expensive and colorful clothing.
The painting is by no means a disappointment to Da Vinci’s name in fact it followed the stylistic similarities found in his other works. It was one of the first of his Milan paintings to show the holy figures of Mary, Jesus, John, and
“The Met’s very own Mona Lisa” (Tomkins 9). That is what Duccio di Buoninsegna’s Madonna and Child painting is known as today. “The Metropolitan Museum of Art bought the Madonna and Child for forty-five to fifty million dollars” (Tomkins 1). However, the painting was not always in public hands; in fact, the Met purchased the last known work of Duccio in private hands. Originally, the painting was held in the private hands of Adolphe Stoclet and his wife. When the couple died, their house and their collection went to their son, Jacques who held onto the painting, and passed it down to his daughters who lent it to an exhibition in Siena of Duccio and his school. The painting was eventually withdrawn from the exhibition and sold (Tomkins 2). Madonna and Child painting dated 1300 and was painted by Duccio di Buoninsegna a Sienese painter, who is considered the founder of modern Italian painting. I chose to research this painting because the subject matter of religious imagery and symbols interests me. Also because when I looked at the painting the emotion on the Madonna’s face almost jumped out at me. It is as if, she is looking at her newborn child with this deep sadness, which almost makes you think that the painting is foreshadowing the death of Jesus Christ. In addition, the burns of the side of the frame peaked my interest, as to why they were there. Art critics were also interested in this work they even consider Madonna and Child one of Duccio’s perfect works, and it said to be worth all the other paintings exhibited under the name of Duccio (Christiansen 14). The Madonna and Child painting’s iconography, imagery, emotional appeal to the viewers, and meaning all make this painting still a great work of art today.
Correggio is also known for doing other frescos, including the fresco in the dome of the church of San Giovanni Evangelista, and paintings such as The Mystic Marriage of Saint Catherine (c. 1526) and The Madonna of the Basket (c.1525). The Assumption of the Virgin is considered by many scholars to be the best of all of Correggio’s mural paintings, because of his treatments of space, his use of new techniques, and his realistic portrayal of human proportions . This work is also a new style of dome fresco, that had not yet been seen or done in Italy at this time. The assumption of the virgin is not a foreign topic for Italian artists during the Renaissance period. Artists including Bulgarini, Titian, and Fioventino have also taken of the task of depicting such a moving and religiously dedicated
One of the very first well-known portrayals of this narrative was by Giotto di Bondone. From around 1304, it is an Early Renaissance painting. Jesus is lying down, cradled by the Virgin Mary, and Mary Magdalene is cares...
As explained by Leigh Teabing to Sophie Neveu (in the Da Vinci code), the figure at the right hand of Jesus is supposedly not the apostle John, but Mary Magdalene. According to the book, Mary Magdalene was the wife of Jesus Christ and was in fact pregnant with his child when Jesus was crucified. The absence of a chalice in the painting supposedly indicates that Leonardo knew that Mary Magdalene was actually the Holy Grail (the bearer of Jesus' blood). The letter “V” that is created with the bodily positions of Jesus and Mary, as “V” is the symbol for the sacred feminine, represents this (Allen1). The apparent absence of the "Apostle John", under this interpretation, is explained by identifying John as "the Disciple Jesus loved", allegedly code for Mary Magdalene.
Piero della Francesca presented an iconic image of the Renaissance in Italy in his own way, highlighting the two most important idols of the Catholic church, Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary. Through oil paint, he connected sacred biblical meanings into his own masterpiece. He devoted Christ to portray him in a scene of blessing with his surroundings and other holy figures. The Madonna and Child with Two Angels (Senigallia Madonna), is a piece created with such emphasized meaning and such divinity of the holy, Jesus Christ and his mother the Virgin Mary.
...on top of an altar as he is visited by both men and animals. Mary shares many of the scenes with Christ but her actions are the subject of the narrative displayed. She receives the annunciation on the lower left side of the tympanum, leans up to look at the child she recently gave birth to, presents him at the temple and finally is enthroned with him as the dominate figure represented. (Fig 1) Although this is the first case of a female subject being depicted in such a way on exterior church sculpture the scenes themselves are not particularly revolutionary. Images of a seated Virgin and Child as well as the adoration of the Magi had a long history aligning with the oldest representations of these scenes dating back to early Christianity in Byzantium. In the tympanum of the southern door in the west portal these old themes are used again in a more significant way.
The painting is organized simply. The background of the painting is painted in an Impressionist style. The blurring of edges, however, starkly contrasts with the sharp and hard contours of the figure in the foreground. The female figure is very sharp and clear compared to the background. The background paint is thick compared to the thin lines used to paint the figures in the foreground. The thick paint adds to the reduction of detail for the background. The colors used to paint the foreground figures are vibrant, as opposed to the whitened colors of the Impressionist background. The painting is mostly comprised of cool colors but there is a range of dark and light colors. The light colors are predominantly in the background and the darker colors are in the foreground. The vivid color of the robe contrasts with the muted colors of the background, resulting in an emphasis of the robe color. This emphasis leads the viewer's gaze to the focal part of the painting: the figures in the foreground. The female and baby in the foreground take up most of the canvas. The background was not painted as the artist saw it, but rather the impression t...
The painting is of a young St. John the Baptist preaching to his congregation. St. John is an important figure in Catholicism not only for his preaching and baptisms in the River Jordan, but for his role as the last prophet and the forerunner of Jesus Christ. His preaching foretells the coming of Christ as the Messiah, and thereupon Christ’s baptism, the voice from Heaven told St. John that Jesus was God’s son. This piece by Calabrese captures John at the height of his oration. Fixed atop a decrepit tree trunk yet grappling for stability, John is shown here in his ascetic attire composed of camel hair, holding his staff and scroll bearing the words “Ecce Agnus Dei,” which translates into Beho...
Andrea Mantegna´s artwork, The Holy Family and the Family of St. John the Baptist, was created from 1504-06. It was originally dedicated for John the Baptist, specifically for the chapel. The painting portrays St John and his family opposite of the Holy family. The sfumato is predominantly on the women and children, while the chiaroscuro is predominantly on the men. This causes the men to slightly disappear in the background and the main focus is on the women and children.
Some areas such as Salome’s red robe and the soft green costume of the page are painted in rapid brushstrokes so that all eyes remain on the exquisite face of Salome.” (Ren, 2017) . The painting ‘Salome with the Head of Saint John the Baptist’ is about the death of Prophet Saint John the Baptist. Salome is the Girl in the yellow pink dress in the middle of the painting she is the daughter of Herodias who married King Herod, whom are not shown in the painting. Salome is holding the head of Saint John, which that night at the dance she has made a huge impression on her stepfather King Herod with her dancing who then wanted to reward her and told her she can have anything she wanted, so she asked for the head of Saint John who was imprisoned for criticizing the Marriage between her mother Herodias and her step father King Herod. The servants than brought out the reward, a platter with Saint Johns head on in. This painting is not very graphic, there is no blood on the platter with Saint Johns head which makes it much more pleasant to look at especially since it is in a museum where kids visit as