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Monaco's Madonna And Child

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Introduction: Out of most of the pieces on display in the Renaissance corridor located on the second floor of the museum, Lorenzo Monaco's Madonna and Child caught my eye in such a strange, peculiar manner. This was partially due to my fascination with early renaissance artwork and the artist of that era. It is a medium-sized tempera piece layered on panel placed right of the second room of the corridor. Historically speaking, it was devised between the years of 1370-1371 in Florence, Italy. This was the genesis of the renaissance era which also signaled an end to the medieval era of art. With this passing came renewed interest in the classical Greek philosophical themes and the discovery of humanism. While not the originator of painting, …show more content…

The painting is a full spectrum representation of the beauty of Christ and Mary with a focus on realism. It makes perfect sense seeing as many renaissance painters focused more on those classical themes and the anatomical structures of the human body beginning around this time frame. According to Top 10 Florence and Tuscany, the concept of Madonna and Child as a work of art spans far back to Byzantine era of art, which focused less on the anatomical realism of the Italian renaissance but more in the realms of telling a theological story. Both byzantine and renaissance shared similar themes on this particular work but with different methods of execution. With Lorenzo's version, the painting captures the idealistic, serene pureness of the mother and child while pushing those theological themes onto the viewer. This was done to ensure that the readers saw both figures as nothing less than the embodiment of perfection seeing as the child is the god born son. Also, this plays a part in showcasing the motherly love Mary has for her newborn child. Strong Christian values played heavily into the works color scheme and patterns by strengthening the angelic representation of both figures. According to my earlier notes, Monaco crafted the altarpiece for Monte Oliveto, which was a local monastery that was a frequent patron of Monaco's art. That makes perfect sense, seeing as the main audience of this work would be devoted followers of

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