Analysis of Virgin and Child with Lilies by Luca Della Robbia

When comparing and contrasting, Cimabue’s Madonna Enthroned with Angels and Prophets and Giotto’s Madonna Enthroned, the main idea of Mary is the same just the subject matter differs. Cimabue’s painting shows angels surrounding the throne. In Giotto’s work, the angels are in a more horizontal-like appearance.. These angels are all visibly showing their distinctive features and emotions. In Cimabue’s work, the throne is on a platform and in Giotto’s painting a roof is just above Madonna. These differences add to the painting. Giotto’s Mary looks attached to the ground, while in Cimabue’s Mary is floating. I also notice that Cimabue’s Mary shows lines to define her clothing. I believe to show Mary’s presence dark and light contrast on her to

Although the surface of the artwork has been fairly damaged by smoke from burning candles and incense, there is still a suggestion of the bright circular halos which had once ‘crowned’ both the Virgin and the child. Cooper relates the symbolism of the circle as “one which expresses archetypal wholeness and totality and therefore divinity” (1982:19). The upper body of Mary appears very large, especially in comparison with the Christ-child, whose body ‘fits’ into her bosom, which is generally associated with comfort. Almost as though she tries to console him concerning his future death (Tansey & Kleiner, 1996: 312).

In the artwork, lilies are displayed to symbolise motherhood, which Mary is about to embark on and also symbolises purity and faith. The dove on the roof of the neighbor's house represents the Holy Spirit, showing that God is looking over her, awaiting her response. This is displayed in scripture as ”the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form, like a dove” (Luke 3:22). Mary is also holding the book “Prophet Isaiah” which states that a virgin will conceive a child. This foreshadows the events about to unfold. Under Mary’s feet, there is a welcoming mat which symbolises that Mary will welcome Gabriel’s news and the path God has chosen for her with open

The two figures of the Archangel and Virgin Mary are close together and it shows a scene of almost touching fingers while they try to reach for one another but seems like they would never join hands. The male figure of the archangel would carry a long feather like pen and it would bow down to the Virgin marry and tries to respectable speak to her. On the other hand, the Virgin Mary seems to be in authority because she is standing up and looking down at the Archangel. This creates tension in the painting while we question the social distinction between the two. Looking closely at the Virgin Mary, her eyes would be close. It is almost like she is resisting the contact from the Archangel and tried to stay away from him. Looking on the left, the Archangel have white wings and there is green-yellowish light that surrounds him and the red clothing on him show that he is there for good news. But the resistance from the Virgin Mary seem like she is unaware of what is happening and is unable to accept the annunciation from the angel.

Barna da Siena’s Mystic Marriage of Saint Catherine and Other Scenes from 1340 is vastly different in content, composition, and a number of other attributes from Fra Carnevale’s 1467 painting Presentation of the Virgin in the Temple. It is clear between the roughly hundred years between when the two were painted that advancements in realistic painting soared and a further appreciation for realism and humanism developed. The need to portray more than just the holy subjects, and to show how far painting had evolved is evident in the differences between Barna and Fra Carnevale’s works. Although, the emotion behind Barna’s work, and its significance are, in my eyes, far greater than that of Fra Carnevale’s.

One of the most effective principles Paolo de Matteis uses in this painting is his use of lines and invisible lines to direct the viewer’s attention to the child in his mother’s arms. The shepherds and their animals, the Virgin Mary, and Saint Joseph are all instances of invisible lines in this painting, as their outstretched hands and lines of vision are all pointing to the baby Jesus. For example, the three women and the child kneeling to the bottom right side of the manger are all staring or pointing to the upper left, toward Jesus. Moving to the upper right corner of the painting, the ox and the donkey are directing their gaze to the bottom left, once again at Jesus. The two men to the right of the animals also point in that direction. In the top and center, Mary and Joseph watch their child, creating yet another invisible line pointing toward the point of emphasis, while the angels

In the painting The Immaculate Conception (Figure 1) painted by Antonio de Palomino y Velasco, there is a prominent central figure found in the middle of the canvas. The figure is a woman draped in white and blue garments with red accents and surrounded by cherubs and doves. The woman is the Virgin Mary and has a crown of 12 stars around her head. Both cherubs and doves are often used as religious symbols and this piece of art is Biblical in that it illustrates Mary very much like she is described in the book of Revelation. Revelation 12:1 reads that “…a great sign appeared in heaven: A woman clothed with the sun and, the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars.” During the time period that Antonio Palomino created this piece, there were countless other artists painting similar works with their own spin on things. Notable artists include the likes of Juan de Valdes Leal and Bartolome Esteban Murillo. In this time period, the counter-reformation was taking place and I believe that, as a response to the protestant reformation, the painting of religious images was used to reignite growth in the Catholic Church.

The virgin and child is known as Morgan Madonna as well. The sculpture was made in the twelve century and is Romanesque Art. The Morgan and child is a sculpture made out of painted wood that was used to adorn church portals. It was made during the Romanesque period. Mary is as the throne for Christ since she is seated on the throne. Any depiction of Mary with Jesus on her lap is known as the thrown of wisdom. Christ’s wisdom is depicted in his adult head and small body. Is figure was used as a religious drama because of its context. Both of Jesus hands are missing but, it is assumed that he might be blessing and with the other holding the book of the word of god since it’s in a church. Jesus represents the priesthood, humankind and god. Mary

The painting, ‘Virgin and Child with Donor’, by Antoniazzo Romano, despite painting a similar scene, possesses several differences. The most notable difference is the fact that the work of art was crafted on an entirely different medium, which was the ‘Tempera and gold leaf on wood’, according to the museum’s description. The painting is similar to Rogier van der Weyden’s work in its depiction of the Virgin Mary with very soft, blended features. The facial expression of the Virgin Mary is also very like that of Rogier van der Weyden’s painting as well, conveying a sense of peace and

The subject matter of this piece is the Virgin Mary, the baby Jesus, the young Saint John the Baptist and the angels who are up in the clouds. The Virgin Mary is looking at baby Jesus with the love of a mother. We see her dressed in a long white dress and a long blue robe for cover. We see the baby Jesus wrapped in warm blankets seeming to be enjoying the closeness of his mother. We see the young Saint John the Baptist sitting off to the right wearing a sheepskin, with his hands together, most likely praying to the baby Jesus and the Lord himself. The young Saint John the Baptist is also followed by a young lamb. The angels are watching over the group on earth but enjoying each other’s company as well. We see the angel on the far right kissing the angel to the left of them on the head. The two angels to the far

Stylistic concern is not the only argument that objects the painting’s attribution to Raphael, but also the inferior quality in the rendition of Mary and Christ. Observations of Beck suggest that Mary’s hair looks confusing and unsolved , while the underdrawing revealed by IR investigation shows a clearer representation of the braids that possibly the painter-in-question became more “exclusive on this own during the painting stage that he dropped the refinement of her hair” stemming from mimicking Raphael’s painting when drafting. Furthermore, the current depiction conveys a sense of obfuscation in posing of Mary’s right thigh compared to Small Cowper Madonna (fig. 2) or the Bridgewater Madonna (fig.4), with statically drawn Infant balancing difficultly on the invisible leg of Mary . It is inexplicable that the engravings (fig. 6 and 7) after the painting look more convincing that they have complemented the unnaturalness of the original.

Fig. 1 captures the very moment that the archangel Gabriel comes down from the heavenly realm to earth to announce to Mary that she will conceive the Christ-child and he shall be called Jesus. The gold of his crown is representative of the “celestial realm that he has left to deliver this message” (Kleiner, 2010:387). The announcement is depicted very much in the moment as the words are quite literally illustrated with the text "Ava gratia plena Dominus tecum" (Van Dijk, 1999:420), which leave his mouth from left to right as if they were encapsulated in a speech bubble. The phrase is in fact inscribed in Latin and reads as "Hail, Mary, full of grace, blessed art thou among women” (Van Dijk, 1999:420). The draping cloth around Gabriel’s gold-infused light blue robe whips around the angel as if he had just land and his wings, which are still erect, depict an effortless grace of divine delicacy in the way that Martini executed them. Making use of undulating, long curved linear lines, they are almost liquid-like in their fluidity. The angel is painted holding a branch of olive leaves in his left hand. This is a symbol of the Christ-head and his coming to earth as the “Prince of Peace” (Emmerson, 2006:456), and also makes a reference to the traditional biblical story of Noah, the ark and the dove returning with an olive branch as a promise of the covenant of peace made by God with man (Genesis 8:11, English Standard Version)

The Virgin and Child was created by Barnaba da Modena in 1360, and is deemed Gothic in style. It depicts The Virgin Mary holding a Child Christ in her arms, and rests undamaged to this day in Boston's Museum of Fine Arts. In terms of formal elements, it is 39.4 inches in height and 24.8 inches in width (100 x 63 cm), a religious painting executed by means of tempera on panel. The enduring framing edges might indicate that the painting was initially planned to be the central piece of a polyptych. A first impression is that of anachronism: its opulent golden background and the intricate striation outlines on the Madonna's mantle seem to indicate a much earlier conception, mainly Byzantine in nature. However, the Byzantine herring-bone pattern is clearly endowed with a more modern linear roundness.

It is moreover pyramidal in structure with the vertex coinciding with Mary’s head. The base of the sculpture depicts the rock of Golgotha and is broader than the progressive

Portraits of the Madonna and Child depicting Mary holding the infant Christ provide a recurrent image in art throughout the ages. In prevalent portrayals over the span of centuries, artists reflect a wide diversity in their representations of the iconic duo. In particular, two works found in the National Gallery of Ireland in the early Italian Renaissance gallery, The Virgin and Child, Saint John the Baptist and Prophets by an unknown artist (1325-1450) and The Virgin and Child by Paolo Uccello (1435-1440), highlight the transition between Byzantine and early Renaissance paintings of the Madonna and Child, particularly in relation to subject matter, composition, material, style and meaning. Although each of these paintings of the Madonna and Child depicts the same Christian iconography of Mary and Jesus, their differences in composition and style influence their meaning, with each painting reflecting the individual artist who painted it and the different time period during which it was created.