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