From late antiquity onward, Christianity was essential to European art culture, and the life of the Virgin and Christ is understood as an expression of Christian doctrine. This demonstrates the popularity of scenes from Christ’s life in especially in European Renaissance art, while also remaining loyal to biblical tradition. It is often assumed that such conditions would suppress the imagination and creativity of artists, but this does not appear to be the case. Early Renaissance depictions of infant Christ’s life show brilliant inventiveness as seen with two examples of Italian artwork from Donatello’s Madonna of the Clouds and Botticelli’s Virgin and Child with Saint John the Baptist and the Flemish painting of Saint Luke Drawing the Virgin by Rogier Van der Weyden. The Madonna and child is the subject of all three paintings but they each have deeper meanings.
The Catholic Church was extremely important in Italy and other areas of Europe during the Renaissance. In Christianity, Jesus is believed to be the savior of the world, but the Immaculate Conception is a major a focus if and perhaps the most important one in these artworks. This theme made the Virgin Mary subject of both mysteriousness and awe, one very popular among worshippers. The fact that God would trust her to carry the savior placed her in a category of much greater importance than any other woman. Many artists have used the Madonna and child as their subjects in art but they portrayed them differently. Since the Christian religion was established, the Virgin Mary has captivated the minds of worshipers. This is especially true of the artists during the Renaissance Movement. The Virgin and Child with St. John the Baptist painted by Sandro Botticelli in 1500 and Madonna in the Clouds done by Donatello in 1425 are excellent examples of the Virgin Mary with her child. Botticelli was a master Italian painter in his prime as was Donatello in the subject of relief. Botticelli’s painting uses bold red and blue for the clothing of the Madonna and the background colors range from a faded blue sky and marble stone.
Both artworks were made during the High Renaissance Period when religious subject themes were popular mediums. Both were popular artists, but their work was quite different. Botticelli was an Italian Renaissance painter. During his lifetime he was among the greatest Italian artists. Botticelli was acclaimed for the clarity and tenderness of his figures. Patronized by the elite tamilies oft Florence, he also received important public commissions and ran a large workshop with many assistants under his direction. This Virgin and Child with Saint John the Baptist (1500) is a tempera on panel painting that resembles a fresco in its freshness and brightness. It is intended for private devotion, possesses characteristics of Botticelli’s later manner-a certain stiffness in the human profiles and drapery folds, a continued elegance as in the hands of the Virgin and Saint John, and such improvised details as the free painting of rOses on top of the lilies originally sketched at right. (MFA Label)
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The iconography of the Virgin and Child with Saint John the Baptist is one of the most repeated themes of art history. Mary is representative of the virgin mother of gentleness, warmth, and compassion characterized by an immensely emotional and humane appearance shown in her facial expression and bodily stature. Botticelli produced numerous Madonna paintings during his career, many portraying the Virgin and Child in worship. The composition of this painting is the infant Christ sitting upright on the Virgin’s lap holding a book. There is also a presence of an intense emotional bond captured in the eye contact between Mary and Jesus. Donatello was one of the most inventive sculptors of European history. He was among the most accomplished and adaptable Florentine sculptors of the early Italian Renaissance style, famously renowned for his translation of the human figure in sculpture and narrative. His Madonna of the Clouds (1425) artwork was meticulously carved in flattened relief using the technique of rilievo schiacciatto, of which he invented himself. Schiacciato relief is a subtle type of flat carving that is associated with the 15″ century sculptors.
The design is drawn with sophisticated engraved lines and partly carved in relief. The schiacciato method depends on its effect on the way in which pale materials respond to light. His Madonna of the Clouds is performed on a white marble medium. This technique allowed him to create depth and volume into extended space with sophisticated carving. (MFA Label) The Virgin Mary rests on the ground which is iconographically interpreted to convey the idea of humility. Donatello sets her in the clouds, so she simultaneously becomes the Queen of Heaven. A feeling of burdensome dread is expressed in the Madonna’s profile, which appears melancholy to perhaps foreshadow the tragic future that she and her son will encounter. (MFA Label) During the 15th century in Italy it was not infrequent for artists to gather in centers in the courts of wealthy families or patrons.
These early Renaissance artists devoted themselves to recreate the past through translating the works of religious subject matter. The Madonna and Child was a theme illustrated by Botticelli and Donatello though reflected through different mediums, altogether creating similar effects. Both Botticelli and Donatello depict the Virgin Mary as modest, conveying a sacred and nurturing human nature. A way in which they keep her so pure is to cover her with a head cape. This sacred cape establishes Mary’s purity as a mother and protector of creation. There are several details in these artworks that illustrate Mary’s magnificence. The human profiles and the articulate drapery folds in the Virgin and Child with Saint John the Baptist and Madonna of the Clouds are so precise and almost perfect, especially noteworthy for Donatello’s marble medium. Both artworks are wonderfully translucent allowing viewers such as myself to see, in Botticelli’s painting, the flesh of Mary and the child Christ and the blue, red, and gold pigments of Mary’s garments. True to Renaissance era tradition are Donatello and Botticelli’s representation of biblical Christianity.
Most pictures of women during this time symbolize the Virgin Mary, showing her modest appearance with an angelic and somber facial expression and covered head. Striking of Botticelli’s painting is the direct gaze shared between Mary and her son that is lacking in Donatello’s relief. Rogier van der Weyden’s Saint Luke Drawing the Virgin (1435) is a 15th century depiction of a mother and child seated for a portrait in a lavish, clerical interior. Similarly with Botticelli’s Virgin and Child with Saint John the Baptist, the infant Christ and Mary look directly into each other’s eyes and both Madonna’s share a blue cloak. However, I found this Flemish painting among the most interesting of all three that I studied as there is so much more going on here than any traditional Virgin and Christ painting before and after. Meanwhile, Saint Luke, identified by his robes, kneeling stance, and gospel is present before Mary and Christ as an artist painting the scene.
Appearing in this painting is a European landscape in the distance which was not inclusive in other traditional Mother and Christ paintings. Rogier van der Weyden’s Saint Luke Drawing the Virgin and Child, is vastly different from Donatello and Botticelli’s strictly adherent biblical artworks. In Van der Weyden’s painting, the spatial positioning of the primary subjects and their subtle interactions provide the viewer with a relatable theme that church goers would not encounter in other 15th century paintings. Specific to this painting, the Virgin Mary and Christ are the only two subjects in this that share physical contact and this connection is immensely powerful. The infant Christ reaches for his mother as any baby would. Mary is depicted as earthly by performing the matemal task of breastfeeding. This shows Christ as a non-divine infant as opposed to the heavenly savior. Through this maternal bond, van der Weyden encourages the viewer’s involvement. Motherly duties are present in all culture, permitting anybody to connect with this theme on an earthly as opposed to strictly traditional heavenly theme. They gaze at one another, but no other figures meet their eyes. Mary and Christ are portrayed as heavenly by the directions of their eyes, their physical contact and their seclusion from Saint Luke and the distant man and woman.
Rogier van der Weyden simultaneously adheres to traditional biblical doctrine through subtle details that gesture to Mary and Christ’s heavenly status, but also permits a more in depth experience by portraying the two as though they are just as human as any other mother and child would be. The artwork that portrays the Madonna and her Child has fascinated viewers for thousands of years. How they could be viewed in different ways by artists all over Europe throughout the Renaissance through different styles is mystifying. There are as many portrayals as there are artist which makes it difficult to decide on only three. One consistency is the fact that the public never tires on the sacred Virgin Mary and the love compassion and tenderness she has for her only son.
References
- Metropolitan Museum of Art – Madonna of the Clouds by Donatello
- Hermitage Museum – Virgin and Child with Saint John the Baptist by Botticelli
- Donatello.net – Donatello Biography and Artworks
- Art History Project – Renaissance Art
- Christian Answers – Information on Christian Doctrine and Beliefs
- Wall Street International Magazine – Renaissance Paintings of Madonna and Child
