This gallery includes paintings, sculptures, drawing and more about the Virgin Mary and her son Jesus from the late 14th to early 16th century. Each artwork in this theme will represent some historical events and beliefs such as the death of Jesus and the Holy Night. Then I described some of the elements and principles of designs that artists used in the chosen artwork.
Saint Luke Painting the Virgin Mary, Jakob Beinhart, ca. 1506, From the collection of: The National Museum in Warsaw
The artist Jakob Beinhart carved this sculpture in 1506, and it was inspired from the Saint Luck Painting. It talks about the Virgin Mary, her child Jesus and the St Luck the Evangelist. It is showing Luck the Evangelist, painting the Virgin Mary while weaving a tunic for her child Jesus. The sculpture shows the child Jesus playing and there is a small cow behind the child Jesus. It is clear that the artist used the Three-dimensional Space in this artwork, which created an illusion of three-dimensional view. Also, I think that he mixed that with the Dynamic space to create the illusion of movement for the Virgin Mary weaving the tunic and for the artist painting her.
Pietà, Unknown, ca. 1450, From the collection of: The National Museum in Warsaw
The artist who painted the Pieta painting is unknown. It describes the Virgin Mary and the body of her dead son Jesus. The artist describes the sadness in Mary’s face very well as if you are seeing her when you look at the painting. This painting was painted in the 15th century around ca. 1450. Further, it describes the belief that the Virgin Mary was involved in the act of salvation. As you can see that the artist used mixed lines from horizontal lines to carve, and rounded lines. The rounded lines gave the panel a sense of sadness. The artist used the Asymmetrical balance as well as a way to emphasize the Virgin Mary and her dead son over the angles.
Nativity (The Holy Night), Master of Lichtenstein Castle, Around 1440, From the collection of: The Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts
Master of Lichtenstein Castle who was an important figure in the 15th century, painted this painting around 1440 and it is called “Nativity (The Holy Night). This painting describes the holy night when the child Christ was born. The panel shows the angles, the Virgin Mary, the child, and people who come to admire and see the newborn baby. The artist used a combination of line, which are horizontal, vertical and curved lines, the rounded and curve lines gave the panel a sense of calmness. By using these lines he created a dynamic shape to add an illusion of movement representing the angel above their heads flying.
By Attributed to the Master of Saint Veronica, German, active c. 1395 – c. 1425.
This painting is showing the enthroned Virgin Mary and her child Jesus and around them the saints Paul, Peter, Clare of Assisi, Mary Magdalene, Barbara, Catherine of Alexandria, John the Baptist, John the Evangelist, Agnes, Cecilia, Margaret of Antioch, and George. The artists painted the Virgin Mary with the long blue dress and her son in her lap wearing nothing except a white rag around his lower body. Also, it is showing the luxury clothes, the crowns of some of the royal attended. I feel that the artist used a luxury texture painting the luxury cloths that some of the attended are wearing in the panel.
Virgin Mary, Master of Rimini, Circa 1425 - 1430, From the collection of: National Museum of Slovenia
Master of Rimini carved the Virgin Mary sculptor from 1425 to 1430. This sculptor describes the Virgin Mary wearing a very long dress and covering her hair with another piece of rag. This beautiful piece of art was made from the alabaster and it is showing how the Virgin Mary puts her hands on top of each other on her chest and lowering her head as if she was prying to God. The beauty of the sculptor is how the artist carved all the details of her dress while she was standing. The artist used a lot of curved lines to create this piece of art and these carved line gave a sense of relaxing when you look at it.
Pietá, German workshop, 1406 - 1415, From the collection of: Museo Nacional de Escultura
German Workshop made this sculpture around 1406 to 1415 and it represents the death of Jesus. The sculpture shows the Virgin Mary crying on her son’s dead body. She is holding her son by her hands and on her lap. The corpse stained with blood, which represents how Jesus was crucified. This sculpture talks about a historical event, which is the moment when the Virgin Mary held her son’s body and started crying. The artist represented the sadness in her face and eyes in a beautiful way. In my opinion the principle of design that this piece of art represent is Unity, because there is conformity between all parts of it.
Virgin Mary Crowned By Two Angels, Albrecht Dürer, 1471/1528, From the collection of: National Gallery Prague
Albrecht Durer made the Virgin Mary Crowned By Two Angles from 1471 to 1528. This Artwork describes the Virgin Mary holding her son in her lap and on above her head there are two angels flying and holding the crown to put it on the Virgin Mary’s head. In my opinion the artists used the Movement principle of design in this drawing and that is represented in the two angels that look as if they are flying. The artist created the illusion of movement by drawing the lines in their wings.
The Virgin and Child, Andrea Mantegna, 1490 - 1500, From the collection of: Museo Poldi Pezzoli
Andrea Mantegna painted this panel, which is called The Virgin and Child around 1490 to 1500. It is showing how lovely the child Jesus sleeping in his mother’s lap. The Child is wrapped by a white rag or material. The principle of design that is used in this piece of art is the unity that is clearly represented by the harmony between all parts of the panel. I think the color element that the painter used is the Complementary Color because he used two different colors that are opposite to each other and they are the blue-green and red-orange. The artist used a lot of value in this painting as well.
The Virgin and Child with two Angels, Ambrogio da Fossano, called il Bergognone, 1488 - 1489, From the collection of: Museo Poldi Pezzoli
Ambrogio da Fossano painted this Virgin and Child with Two Angles painting around 1485. This painting represents the same story as the one before this one, which is the Virgin Mary holding her son and the two angles. But the artist used different principles of deigns and elements such as color, lines, etc. One of the principle designs that he used is the Asymmetrical Balance that focuses on part of the painting, which is the Virgin Mary. By using the Asymmetrical Balance the artist emphasized the Virgin Mary over the two angles.
Morrison Triptych, Master of the Morrison Triptych, 1500 - 1510, From the collection of: The Toledo Museum of Art
Alfred Morrison painted the Morrison Triptych around 1500 to 1510. The painting is three parts, the middle part is showing the Virgin Mary with her child Jesus seated on his mother’s lap and two angles playing music. Then on the right side it shows Saint John the Evangelist. And on the lift side it shows Saint John the Baptist. The principle of design, Variety is represented in this artwork by using several deign elements. The artist tried to hold viewers’ attention around the artwork by the three parts or the painting. The other principle of design is the unity because of the harmony and consistency between all parts of this artwork.
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This user gallery has been created by an independent third party and may not represent the views of the institutions whose collections include the featured works or of Google Arts & Culture.
