When considering the options given to me the piece that caught my attention the most was the Shrine of the Virgin. The piece is a wooden sculpture made in Germany in the year ca. 1300 and is currently being exhibited at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in gallery 304. It has dimensions of (open): 14 1/2 x 13 5/8 x 5 1/8 in, (closed): 5in. and figure of Christ: 9 5/8 × 3 13/16 × 1 9/16 in.
The entire piece is of an upright stead Mary softly looking to the side while holding an infant Jesus, who his nursing in her lap. Mary has a crown on, representing her statues as the queen of heaven, with a veil under it and infant Jesus just has a long shirt/robe on. Both of them are fully gilded and painted, although the painting does look slightly newer than what would be expected. Upon opening the sculpture when opened there are three different sections to look at. Mary being like a vessel for the
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There are a large handful of sculptures that have an infant Jesus sitting down on Mary’s lap because of how nurturing, domestic and human the scene looked. Mary was spoken about as someone caring and nurturing, so by posing her in this way you are brings out those characteristics to the viewer. This was a pose that she was even painted in, but what makes this artwork interesting and distinct is how much further it goes into its storytelling and description of Mary. She was the vessel through which Christ came to earth, so this artwork makes her into a literal vessel. When looking inside of her you see, or where supposed to see, the image of the holy trinity. This is to represent how Mary had used her body and womb to bring forth all the forms of god to the people on earth. The holy trinity is the three forms in which God resides and by placing them inside the artist is clearly reminding the viewer of how important Mary truly is the salvation of 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.
Both sculptures represent Mary holding the dead body of Jesus. According to our textbook, “This figure group represented a challenge for sculptors, because the body of the adult Christ had to be positioned across his mother’s lap,” (139). Both of the sculptures were created through carving. This is a “subtractive process in which a block of material is cut away to reveal the desired form,” (Carving).
A couple of symbols that can be observed closely in the middle painting are the lily flower which is Mary’s symbolic flower, the vessel in the niche represents Mary’s womb, the star pattern in her dress is the star of Bethlehem that the Magi were looking for and underneath the window is a little guy carrying the cross, a symbol of Jesus’s crucifixion. In the right painting the symbol of the grapes are inferred implicitly because Joseph is making tools to harvest grapes which are needed to make the wine used in the Holy Communion which then becomes the blood of
The piece was chosen primarily because of the magnificent presence that is felt as one enters the room, or cathedral, where the piece may be located. The viewer's eye is drawn immediately to the central figure of Saint Peter who was seated as pope at the time. Giving the main focus of the work to the pope is representative of the importance that was placed on the papal seat. This importance was exemplified, during the time of this altarpiece's creation, by the crisis of the Great Schism. Furthermore, a scene of Christ's crucifixion can be seen directly above the panel of Saint Peter further emphasizing the importance of Christ in the painting, and in the medieval time period as well. Overall, the piece depicts four images from the life of Saint Peter, which surround the center panel on the left and the right sides. In addition, scenes from the lives of the Virgin Mary and St. Blaise, a fourth century martyr, are also present. All the characters in the panels more or less have halos and therefore are holy figures. The twelve apostles line the bottom of the panels, perhaps suggesting that they were the foundation of the Catholic religion. Basically, the painting is designed for a church altar, it has religious figures in it, and it is filled with Bibles and images of Christ's crucifixion. All of this relays a strong message to the viewer that this is what is important in life; one should pay close attention to religion and have respect for it.
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
...ic meanings that still are puzzling art historians today. Some of the key symbols that Stokstad points out in the text is the dove, representing the Holy Spirit; the white lilies as a symbol of the Virgin Mary. She also points out, two rather unknown symbols to the sacrilegious, the date of the Annunciation in signs of the zodiac on the floor, as well as the lone stained glass window that is symbolizing God rising above the three windows that are placed in the background behind Mary. These three windows represent the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
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.
The Immaculate Conception by Pereda is very dark and rich with the lighting focused mainly in the middle of the image on Mary to depict her innocence and purity. The light appears to be coming from above and just like the last painting this gives the shape of a triangle pertaining to religion. Two puttoes are at the top of the image holding a crown. This symbolizes innocence and more cherubs’ faces are along the bottom of this painting. The puttoes are all looking up while Mary is looking down with her hands touching as if in prayer. This painting comes off as serious and Mary looks very realistic. The cloth that is draped on Mary is also dark and has many folds to it. Along with one black piece hanging over her shoulder loosely. While the
Examining the iconography in this sculpture, there are two details to note. The first is the grapes in the Virgin’s hand. The grapes represent
The Painting Martha and Mary Magdalene is one of the many masterpieces in the DIA’s collection in Detroit. Although there is much more to understanding a work of art then just looking at it. In order to understand a piece, you have to understand the Artist, the time period, and the symbols in that painting that may have very different meaning today.
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...
Vinci’s painting of the Last Supper. This picture displays Jesus sitting at the table with
The theme can be generally recognized in this piece through color, space, and especially through use of light. The colors used in this piece are mostly calm toned, whereas the robes and shawls worn are pale blues, corals, and beiges. There are however, some harsh colored objects such as Mary’s navy blue shaul and deep coral gown, as well as Christ’s coral necklace that stand out from the rest of the colors. Mary’s veil and the angel on the lefts’ hair are translucent in certain streams of light coming from the windows throughout the room. The artists suggests that the light is dedicated not to represent the divine but to rather represent a more natural juxtaposition on the piece. The space that the characters stand in is fully used by the subjects but also has a very interesting doorway with heightened perspecti...
Like in the two works of art below, Mary’s work was more of a tradition while Edgar’s work was more of a modern. Mary used the crown to depict the nature and the position of the woman in society while Edgar had a simple girl. Mary used the round base to place her sculpture on while Edgar had a square base for his sculpture. The former sculptures shows the man wearing the Native American clothes and the figure is clearly of a male. The later shows partly tinted image of a girl putting on a cotton skirt and satin hair ribbon, placed on a wooden square
In the painting Mary, Christ Child, Saint Elizabeth, Saint John, and Saint Joseph are all represented. Certain things happening in the photo are keys to things that have happened in our past which was also explained by The Cleveland Museum of Art. Saint Elizabeth is said to be leaning