Distinctively Visual Analysis Essay

This particular statuette represents the Virgin Mary and her child (Barbier). It is sculpted with gilded silver and has basse-taille reliefs on the pedestal, embellished with various stones and pearls. The statuette is approximately 2 feet tall and the Virgin is standing on a rectangular pedestal that rests on four small lions (Kleiner). The

Throughout history, people have used paintings and art as a tool to express their religious beliefs and values. Illustrations depicting the Virgin Mary and child, often referred to as Madonna and Child, are one of the most recurring images in Christian and European Art through the ages. Though these paintings and sculptures may have similarities in their iconography and style each work of art varies based on the different artists’ and time periods. Two paintings that portray these features currently reside in the Museum of Fine Arts Houston. The first, Virgin and Child by Rogier van der Wyden, was originally painted after 1454. In the painting, the Virgin Mary is holding Christ against her shoulder as he twists around to face toward the viewers. The second painting is Virgin and Child with a Donor, painted by Antoniazzo Romano and originally painted c. 1480. In this painting, Virgin Mary is supporting Christ who seems to be standing and includes a figure of a man with his hands crossed in prayer. While both paintings depict the mother and child, there are both similarities and differences in style and portrayal. In this paper, I will thoroughly examine these traits, as well as address the similarities and differences associated with the two paintings. This analysis will be done by using information gained from reading Gardner’s Art Through the Ages, in class lectures from ARTH 1381 Art and Society Renaissance to Modern and ARTH 1300 Ways of Seeing Art, and close visual

In this relief, we see it as Christ the child shares the viewer his joy of starting his new adventure as well as praising the purity of Virgin Mary. There are also three angels emerging from the cloud. In the Old Testament, angel’s functions refer to convey God’s will to mankind, which in this relief the angels reminds us of their role as “annunciators (ABRAHAM, 2: The three angels). They were the ones who carried messages from god and annunciated the birth of Christ. They are the witnesses of Christ the child coming to the human world as well as proof of Virgin Mary’s virtue of immaculate. In this relief, they are the guardian of the Virgin and child as well as admirers of Mary’s pure and virgin status. With their hands holding together in prayer, they show their blessings and caring to the mother and son as well as to the human world. In addition, unlike other Virgin Mary we see in churches’ altarpieces that are usually seated on throne, we also have Mary sitting humbly on the ground in this relief. According to Dictionary of Subjects and Symbols in Art, there is a popular theme of “Madonna of Humility” which its essential figure is that the Virgin is seated on the ground. The dictionary also states that artists set Virgin Mary on the ground to convey a medieval theology,

The piece of art is a statue that portrays Jesus’ body laying on his mother Mary’s laps at the time after the crucifixion having been removed from the cross (Lewis & Lewis, 2008) which is evidenced by the marks of small nails and the indication of the wound located in Jesus’ side. It revolves around the major theme of Northern origin which during that time was present in France but not in Italy. According to (St. Peters Basilica, 2009) Michelangelo offered a unique interpretation of the pieta to the models since it is a significant piece of work that balances the ideals of a new beginning incorporated in typical beauty and a touch of naturalism which is illustrated by the relationship exhibited by the figures. This is made possible by his skill to prove to both the viewers and himself of the supernatural beauty.

It’s not so vivid and deeply drilled/ carves in to the marble as it’s is n the Laocoon because n the Laocoon se instantly see. In the pieta Mary is looking down and her lips are shut, Jesus lips are slightly opened as his head is tiled backwards, in Laocoon we see his mouth being slight opened lie screaming or mourning when he’s fighting the serpent and his two sons have their mouths open as well. We see wrinkles on Laocoon forehead shoeing his concerns and pain where as even thought Mary is in pain (emotional pain) there is no wrinkles on her face. Mary is depicted to be young to capture her purity where as the Laocoon is seem to be old man with his two sons. In both of the sculpture not much detail can be seen in the eyes, iris the eyes seem to be bland without any features. We can see his eye brows slightly cringes showing pain and concern once again we can see that one of his (one on the left) has his eye brows cringed as well showing worry and pain that he knows death is near for all of them. The Laocoon does not have any specific geometry where as the pieta is sown in a shape of a triangle to show the renaissance influence on the

From that, we can clearly understand that angel Gabriel has just arrived. On the artwork The Virgin of the Annunciation, on the right, we can see that Virgin Mary's hand is holding her headscarves another hand is holding a book. Virgin Mary is recoiling from the announcement that stopped her from reading the book on her hand, as well as she is nervous trying hide her expression. Both of Angel Gabriel and Virgin Mary are in front of the traditional architecture with high contrast between Angel Gabriel, in light pink and white clothing color, and Virgin Mary, in black clothing color. Both of the art works have gothic style and both are in 3 dimensions. Even though, both of the pieces are two separate artworks but they both have the same structure, shape, colors and pattern which make both of the pieces connected and become one bigger artwork. Both of Angel Gabriel and Virgin Mary are in the middle of the architectural frame in order to get more attention from the viewers. The color of the Angel and the pattern on his cloths and the black color of the Virgin's cloths with some red color of her sleeves and books that make the viewers pay attention to the main piece of the artwork and the viewers' eyes will slowly travel around to the simple background and

In both sculptures, Jesus caresses his mother’s face. This act humanizes Mary and her child, and creates an emotional expression that was unusual for religious sculptures created before that time. Though the objects depicted are not the same, the sculptures include an additional element that is full of symbolism: the fleur de lys and a crescent moon. The cultural and historical contexts of these pieces are where the differences between the two returns. Virgin and Child was a religious sculpture intended for a religious space, and served an additional purpose as a reliquary.

The piece sits in the middle of the Altar as the center of attention and the size of the piece towers over the rest of the artworks. The size of the piece is unknown and the story on the piece is very straightforward, meaning that the story is the story of Jesus’s Crucifixion. The main characteristics that the sculpture has that really stuck out to me are lines that were painted onto Jesus, the mass of the sculpture where the significantly larger than the rest of the pieces, and the balance of the piece was very symmetrical since Jesus is nailed to a symmetrical cross. When looking at the lines my eyes were drawn from top to bottom of the piece because the direction of the lines pointing downward as if it was dripping blood. The shape and size of the piece created a feeling of heaviness because of its presence among the rest of the pieces. Because the piece has a face I was able to read Jesus’s face and get a feeling of sorrow from his glance. I also noticed how we as humans are depicting and judging

This famous work of art depicts the body of Jesus on the lap of his mother Mary after the Crucifixion. The theme is of Northern origin, popular by that time in France but not yet in Italy.

The light and shade on Mary’s neck and around her breasts and the drapery being pulled across towards Baby Jesus gives the appearance that her body is slightly turned. Mary’s knees are foreshortened in the piece creating an illusion of space. There is an element of symmetry in the composition of The Ognissanti Madonna created

One of the inquiries that has been raised about this scene is the personality of the figures beside God. Given her favored situation under the arm of God, the female figure is apparently an essential one. Generally, she has been thought to be Eve, the future wife of Adam, who holds up to the side until she is made out of Adam's rib. All the more as of late, nonetheless, a hypothesis has been skimmed this is really the Virgin Mary, who assumes this position of honor by God and the tyke alongside her, who might consequently be the Christ Kid. This perspective is bolstered by the position of God's fingers on the youngster – the same fingers that the cleric would use to raise the Eucharist amid the Mass. Since Catholic religious philosophy holds that the Eucharist is the Collection of Christ, this philosophical comprehension would be exemplified in this work of art. In the event that this last elucidation is right, the Production of Adam would be characteristically connected to the future happening to Christ, who comes to accommodate man after the transgression of

It is a split canvas that depicts a story of Virgin Mary that has no boundaries. In the top part of the painting Christ is crowning the Virgin as angel musician’s play their instruments among them, while in the lower portion of the painting, Apostles are arranged around the tomb, where flowers are in the place of the Virgin who has ascended to heaven. One of the Apostles that stand out is St Thomas who has a girdle which the Virgin had given to him as a gift. This delicate piece of artwork was painted for the Oddi Chapel within the church of S. Francesco al Prato. It was placed upon the church alter until 1797 when it was transferred to Paris after the French had confiscated it. Many years later the painting was returned to the city, Pius VII had it placed, instead of in its original setting, in the new Vatican Art

The sculptures and paint show details how society viewed and interpreted women body, sexuality, and maternity. In addition, revealed that these women were protected from threats around them with ornaments. Civilizations since early times, believed that we were in permanent threat from forces we do not see or cannot explain and because of it, we protected ourselves with artificial elements in a form of jewelry, crowns or caps. This idea has been continue from one generation to the next to the point that in modern societies some of us still use this type of protection in our bodies (e.g., small cross, divine images, tattoos, etc.).These pieces of art also indicate that humans believed in gods with superpowers and they are looking over us constantly. Humanity also believes in dark forces or demons trying to makes us do things that would upset the good gods. Some of the differences between these sculptures and paint are the material in which each one of them were created. The first figure, the Woman of Willendorf was carved in limestone, the second piece, the portrait of Queen Tiye was carved in wood and the last piece, the Virgin and Child Icon was created of tempera on a wood. You can also notice how the details on their faces and bodies changes throughout the time and years. The woman of Willendorf figurine offers details of a voluptuous nude women’s body but there is not face, or feet. Queen Tiye statue shows the face of a woman in detail closed to the gods but without any body parts and lastly The Virgin and Child Icon, is an expression of divinity of the views, reflections and beliefs from the gospel. Because communities started to innovate on the art of carving and painting, populations began to discover and/or create art with the objective of expressing different purposes of our daily lives, such as the beauty of a woman’s body, or to commemorate an ancient

"The weak fall, but the strong will remain and never go under," stated by Anne Frank. I settle on this quote because it is significant to the photo that I have chosen. The photo that I found was searched on Google. When I initially found the photo on Google, it was an image that was originally from Pinterest. As I looked more into the photo it was also shown on many other websites of displayed images but had no information about it. A majority of people ponder about photographs when examined and have their own perspectives about them. In the photo that I have chosen, it could imply to the readers that it suggests the simple act of kindness given to individuals who need happiness.

This Olive wood figurine of Mary seemingly symbolizes humility. Mary is a true symbol of humility which the wooden figurine is trying to portray