Skip to main content

Donatello, 'Pazzi Madonna', c.1420

 


Upon the advent of perspective in Quattrocento Florence, the eye of Donatello fixed on the use of one point perspective, echoing many other artists of the time. In this extremely tender relief of the Virgin and Child, the artist is using Brunelleschian principles to render space effectively. The two figures are contained within a well proportioned, box-like space - instead of the complicated perspectival backgrounds artists were often rendering at this time (Ghiberti's bronze doors of the Florentine Baptistery for instance), here there is no distraction from the intimate family moment. Our eye, using the orthogonals of this box, is concentrated on the faces of the Virgin and Christ, and to their inseparable, unblinking connection. 

Donatello pioneered the technique of riliveo schiacciato which is expertly shown in this piece. This was a flattened relief, a system of carving creating effects through minute variations of surface modelling and extremely shallow cutting. Forms seem to be almost drawn rather than carved. Arguably this style was therefore closer to painting than sculpture. But despite almost drawing on the marbled surface Donatello has still achieved depth to his piece. Moreover, the forms are not unclear or jumbled, but the strength of outline of the figures gives equal strength to the fierce emotions depicted. Perhaps the most known example of this manner is Donatello's Saint George and the Dragon (1416), this technique of low relief praised by Vasari and key in subsequent developments of perspective. This piece is not displayed in the Donatello exhibition currently at the Victoria and Albert Museum (11th Feb-11th June 2023) but the Pazzi Madonna is an equally fine example of this technique, whilst also displaying the emotions of a mother loving her child, clutching him with both hands, reluctant to let him go. 

But the eye of Donatello looked back as much as it looked forward. His pioneering techniques using marble recall the classical friezes of the ancient world. The two holy figures are without halos, instead focusing on carving emotion rather than an overtly religious image. The elongation of Mary's hands could event recall Byzantine prototypes. The use of the box perspective links to portraits being created in Donatello's own time, often marriage or family portraits where the figures were contained in a box-like interior. On display in the Palazzo Pazzi in Florence, the use of the box would have extended the space of the room where it was displayed. Probably framed in a tabernacle, this would have been used for private devotion. But due to the emotional tenderness to the scene, it could possibly represent familial love. The foot of Christ rests on the base on the parapet, a literal foothold into both the realm of the divine and earthly. Coupled with the passionate gaze of the two faces pushed together, the idea of the protection of family lineage also rings true. And Mary's melancholy gaze perhaps foreshadows the ultimate fate of her son and the Passions he will soon face.  

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Nicola Pisano, 'Adoration of the Magi', Pisa Baptistery Pulpit Panel

  In this complex, lively, exciting pulpit panel the eye looks up towards the monumentality of the Virgin, who commands this scene. She is massive and powerful, the largest figure with thick swathes of drapery delineating her forcefully protruding knees out into the viewer's space. Seated but still retaining dominance, she defines the classicising style of Nicola Pisano, witnessed throughout the panels of his pulpit in Pisa. Many writers have described the style - Eloise Angiola for instance, refers to the 'sophisticated understanding of classical prototypes to create heroic human forms' in Nicola's pulpit. Certainly in Pisa the prominent debris from the classical past remained visible and Nicola easily had access to various ancient sarcophagi for direct emulation here. The Virgin's features with her serene expression and curled hair beneath the mantle are in fact quite androgenous. She quickly assumes the position of a monumental Roman Emperor or Senator commanding
Post a Comment
Read more

Marianne von Werekin, 'Sunrise', 1920

  An endless line of men that tug the rope of a small boat soon disappear into murky, burning red waters beyond. Colour is fantastical, mystical and otherworldly, producing an atmosphere far from reality. This is the Symbolist work of Marianne von Werefkin, part of the German Expressionists that worked in Munich from the 1910s. A movement so often dominated by the male names of the time – Kandinsky especially – Werefkin was a vital participant, expanding the range of art produced and displayed, complementing her work with art theory and written sources, as well as creating her own Salon upon her arrival in Munich. It is easy to get lost in biography with a piece such as this. Wasted, human potential seems to be at the heart of this work, signalled by the endless line of men pushing forward towards the edge of the picture plane. There is a sense of struggle and a universality to the suffering through the portrayal of faceless men in similar blue tones. Looking at the date produced of 19
Post a Comment
Read more

Mark Rothko, 'Light Red over Black', 1957

  My eye is not drawn to the painting itself but the title of the painting, 'Light Red Over Black'. We would automatically think that the black is on top of a red background, but Rothko has flipped this around, subverting the title just like he subverting the meaning of what it was to be an artist and what Art actually was. During this time, art was going through rapid changes, with abstract expressionism coming into full force (Rothko, Pollock). But Rothko showed that all this change was for the good, even if for him, it was short lived.  The colour red in this painting is searing and the black struggles to fully cover this velvety border, especially at the bottom of the canvas. Unlike the black squares which have a hazy quality to their edges, the red is clear and impregnable. It is hard to figure out what this represents - the Tate has suggested a window perhaps, but if it is a window then what are we looking out into? Perhaps it is night, or perhaps the viewer is catching a
Post a Comment
Read more