Visual Analysis

 Bernardo Zenale’s Madonna and Child with Saint is a 181.5 x 123 centimeter central panel of a large altarpiece[1], painted with oil on wood. The painting depicts six figures and a lion, in which the Virgin Mary is holding baby Jesus, sitting on a stone throne in the center of the painting. She is framed by two saints on either side. Saint Jerome is sitting on the Virgin’s left; he is looking directly at his right hand, which is holding a pen between the thumb and forefinger. A piece of paper is naturally placed on his thigh. Under his feet is a lion that is looking upward, which directs the gaze to the open space in which the figures are standing. Saint Ambrose is holding an ornate staff with a cross on top and standing on the Virgin’s right side. Under his feet is a solider who wears a military uniform and a helmet on his head and lies on the stone.

The figures are identically positioned, two saints on either side of the central Virgin and Child. Thus, the foregrounded composition is balanced and symmetrical; the Virgin’s head is turning to St. Jerome while holding baby Jesus. Her toes are exposed and point slightly upwards.  Baby Jesus is facing to the opposite side and holding Saint Ambrose’s staff with his right hand, which makes it seem as if He is not engaging with the other figures in the painting. Whereas the two saints and the Virgin are all looking at the same central point, which creates a visual connection between them, the baby Jesus is a striking contrast. However, the compositional aspect of the figures is in a symmetrical form that accentuates the central trust of this panel, something reinforced by the color scheme. The two saints on the Virgin and Christ’s either side both are depicted in a red color that accentuates the Virgin, who is wearing an intensely blue garment. The gold ornaments on the Virgin’s cloth emphasize her divinity, as does the rich red rosary that Jesus is wearing.  

Joseph is the only figure that is not depicted with his entire body in this painting; he is behind Saint Jerome with his head turned to the front, looking over the Virgin’s left shoulder. He is depicted with a red headband that is similar to the Virgin’s, which connects them visually. However, he has more of an earthly look, with peasant-like clothing, compared to the other ornate figures in the painting. He is also carrying a staff that parallels that of Saint Ambrose; however, Joseph’s staff is a common walking staff, its forked top humbly mirroring the ornate cross on the Saint’s rod.  Thus, Joseph seems to have more akin to the earthly background than the other figures; he blends into the natural space of the stone-built background in which the figures are depicted, while suggesting a humble connection to the foregrounded figures as well.

The background space is composed of many rough and uneven stone-like structures, and the representation of plants growing on the stone reinforces its naturalism. The Virgin is holding baby Jesus on a stone throne in the central space and is framed by the stone arches with the open landscape in the back. The tripartite arrangement of pictorial space is achieved through the three sets of stone arches that are distributed horizontally in the foreground, the middle ground and the background of the painting, which creates a three-dimensional effect. The stone throne seems to extend out into the viewers’ space at the bottom of the image. In the top left of the stone arches is a broken space of ragged stone, through which blue sky appears, which indicates the vastness outside of the arch. The dark, shaded area at the top of the arch further emphasizes the unboundedness of the image, extending into nature and into the viewer. Joseph’s gaze is not clear but seems to be an extension of the viewer’s, a way for the viewers to imagine themselves within the space. The depiction of mountain hills, a green field and a grey, cow-like creature appears in the background through the stone arch, which further creates a sense of space and depth, alongside the bright earthly colors. Thus, the juxtaposition is clear and effective: the foregrounded figures are accentuated by sharp colors and ornate imagery, whereas the background, of which the figure of Joseph is something of an intermediary, establishes a rugged, naturalistic, unbounded setting. Taken together, the two elements form a painting that has a richness and depth worth admiring.

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[1] Last modified Feb 8, 2012. http://www.terminartors.com/artworkprofile/Zenale_Bernardo-Madonna_and_Child_with_Saints.

                                        

Photo taken in Saskatchewan, Canada

Visual Analysis

Filippo Lippi Madonna and Child with angels, Saints Frediano and Augustine (so-called Pala Barbadori) 1437.

    Filippo Lippi’s Madonna and Child with angels, Saints Frediano and Augustine is a large-scale tempera painting on wood panels. It hangs in Florence and measures 2.08 x 2.44 meters. The primary subjects are the Virgin and Child surrounded by Angels with Saints Frediano and Augustine set in a luxurious private space with beautiful architectural elements.

    With fourteen figures in the frame, the Virgin is standing in the middle holding Christ with a sling on one side, they are both wearing crystal-like halo to represent a glowing light of divinity. The angels and two saints are staying around. The composition is balanced and symmetrical; the Virgin and Christ are looking down at Saints Fredianus and Augustine while the angels are all facing the center. The symmetry accentuates the central thrust of this panel. The two most visible angels positioned on either side of the Virgin display different postures and moods and face the central figure as well; they are in youth and both carrying lilies. This composition is hierarchical with different statuses shown visually. Saints Fredianus and Augustine and the Virgin forms a strong triangular composition, the aspect is the diagonal holds attention, drawing viewers even more directly to the focal point. The crutches of the two saints are also perpendicular to the perspective that frames the Virgin and Christ and draws viewers’ eyes directly to them. All figures are gathering around the Virgin and Christ, which provide a scene of a festival occasion.

The architectural elements are beautifully proportioned, with conventional polyptych designs that are reflected by three round arches in the foreground of the image. The arrangements of two identical columns are located in background, creating a sense of perspective. The architecture separates the figures vertically into three parts: the Virgin holding Christ in the middle, the two saints in the same angles as the columns, the two most visible angels stand on both sides, and other figures are arranged in a horizontal line in the back. The angels are the extension of viewers, a way for the viewers to imagine themselves within the space. The background uses perspective to create a sense of space and depth, giving us the illusion of recession into space. The only asymmetrical component is an open window on the upper left corner. The sky through the window can represent a connection of the angels coming down from the heaven. There is a large space behind the central figures that is very opulent.

The image combines strong, deep colors with muted, hazy tones. The colors that appear most intensely are on the central figures, which bring the figures forward to the viewers. Chromatic design of this image and the sonorous color of the garment of Virgin, saints and two angels on both sides, really draws viewers attention and distinguishes them from other figures in this panel. The gold Ornamental trimming of Virgin’s blue garments emphasizes her important status and her noble pose and reflects her as a holy figure. All of the lines of the Virgin’s garment are pointing to Christ, connecting the two figures visually.

         The connections between figures and the compositional aspects increase the sense of naturalism and 


realism. First, the Virgin’s realistic posture reflects an action of normal people. All figures are graceful and 


lifelike which imparts a sense of realism. Finally, the use of perspective makes the painting look three-


dimensional and gives naturalism to the subjects in a more down-to-earth manner. 

John Singer Sargent

John Singer Sargent 1586-1925

John Singer Sargent 1586-1925

       John Singer Sargent was the most successful portrait painter of his era, as well as a gifted landscape painter and watercolorist. Sargent was born in Florence, Italy to American parents. As an American artist, considered the "leading portrait painter of his generation" for his evocations of Edwardian era luxury. During his career, he created roughly 900 oil paintings and more than 2,000 watercolors, as well as countless sketches and charcoal drawings. Sargent's best portraits reveal the individuality and personality of the sitters; his most ardent admirers think he is matched in this only by Velázquez, who was one of Sargent's great influences. the subject Sargent selected may initially seem odd or even inappropriate.  In its own time, however, Sargent's approach to religion was quintessentially modern, democratic, and American.  Religion's triumph, according to the artist, was precisely the privacy of modern belief.  Sargent grounded his mural cycle in an ideal fundamental to American religious liberty: the conviction that religion is an interior matter, to be determined solely and freely by the individual.  Moving from materialist superstition in the "pagan gods" on the north-ceiling vault, to fossilized dogma in the medievalizing images on the south wall, to an enlightened spirituality of the heart, the artist recast contemporary religion, linking it not with such external factors as institutions or creeds but with personal subjectivity.  For Sargent this ideal was a sign of Western, especially American, progress.

Artist techniques:

-       John Singer Sargent would do a lot of sketches of a subject, either in pencil or watercolors, before he started an oil painting. These sketches helped him learn about the subject matter and served as a tool to practice his wrist movements for later brush strokes.

-       When it comes to painting, Sargent would use a lot of thick paint with a large paintbrush.

-       Sargent worked mostly with half tones before finishing a painting with the dark tones and highlights.

-       It was important to accurately draw the masses of the painting in the right place -before putting in any fine features or details.

http://www.bpl.org/central/sargenttriumph.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Singer_Sargent

http://www.explore-drawing-and-painting.com/Sargent-John-Singer.html