Art & Critique » Raphael

Raphael: The Sistine Madonna

elijah — Sun, 23 Dec 2007 18:24:20 +0000

This painting (Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, Dresden) combines secular and earthly clerical elements with the divine in an ostensible theatrical interplay. The lid of the coffin of Pope Julius II forms the stage, while the tableau curtains are drawn apart to reveal the divine action. This hierarchical pastiche communicates the heavens to the devout in a known way: from the bottom of the painting — the church, along with its highest representative, — through the center, where the saints hover, — and to the top, where Mary with baby Christ on her hands treads the clouds. The myriad of seraphs in the background testifies to the transparency of the scene to both worlds, and its consequent significance to our existence here, as well as there. Perhaps the artist intended for every little alabaster face to find a counterpart in someone on the side of the beholder.

Sistine Madonna, Painted …

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Raphael (read this Britannica article on the artist) includes two little angels as a comic relief to the grave scene, in the best of theatrical traditions. These two seem ungainly in comparison to the Madonna’s stately posture, but not repulsive: on the contrary, they appeal to the viewer in a sympathetic, familiar way (the reason for their incredible popularity, even separately from the Madonna), facilitating contact with the rest of the image. The humility of the saints becomes the next preparatory psychological step to be taken in order to confront Madonna herself — for she is truly formidable here, unlike Raphael’s usual depiction. She looks straight forward and down at the viewer, self-conscious and ecstatic, mystical and tragic, qualities underlined by the eerie light surrounding her frame.(Perhaps there is some similarity to Correggio’s use of light, or vice-versa.)

Detail of the Sistine Madonna, c.1514

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Christ’s expression is polar to that of the resting angels. He looks apprehensive, his eyes and pose betraying an almost adult awareness and seriousness. While the lower babes display boredom and impatience, Christ appears caught in the moment, aware of its significance for himself, in the future, and for the devout, in the present. In fact, he may be returning the gaze here, reflecting that of the viewers’ and deliberately engaging them. All of the mentioned qualities endow the painting with unprecedented intensity. The clarity of the composition (the symmetrical arrangement of the actors) and the modest but strategical use of color make the tension even more lucid and almost palpable, almost unbearable I would say. This is a stark departure from the artist’s previous tame versions, and it signals a shift towards more complex psychological interpretations.

Raphael: The Esterhazy Madonna

elijah — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 20:44:55 +0000

This painting (hanging in the Budapest Museum of Fine Arts) manifests a powerful classicist gist. The odd coloring of the babies, the musical instrument in the hands of one of them and the more obvious ancient architectural elements in the back, they all contribute to the thematic epochal dating. The flat hue of the children’s skin seems to have been imported from another era, and coincidentally echoes the more tinted ruins in the background. The lyre occupying the lower seated infant serves as a direct reference to deities preceding Christianity. But it would be incorrect to compare these babes with cupids or otherwise merry pagan seraphs from mythological Renaissance paintings: they demonstrate seriousness and gravity uncharacteristic of their classical counterparts. The somewhat angular, nearly grotesque composition acts as a neutralizing component, and carries the Christian message through; an exaggeration is needed to oppose, and prevail over the strong classicist motif.

The Esterhazy Madonna

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The backs of two of the actors turn ostensibly towards the ancient past, baby Christ being protected by Mary’s frame. This immanent gesture identifies the spiritual clerical perception of the devout beholder: deny and leave the heresy behind and fully accept the holy figures in front of you as the only true divinities and saints. Once again, Mary’s head unequivocally crowns the entire composition, as if to reaffirm her ultimate precedence over other religious heads, in both meanings of the word. There is another interesting observation to be made — she, as a woman, represents the continuation of life, in this case, the life of the Catholic faith. We witness her “fertility” in the form of two small children, playing busily beside her; the dilapidated, colorless structure behind her represents the sterility and inevitable degeneration. The painting becomes a playground for a theological dispute.

Sistine Madonna, Painted …

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Conceptually, this is an even more demanding piece. Raphael imports extraneous cultural elements, sets them off against Catholic religious characters and prompts the beholder to conduct the synthesis. Though the artist guides the viewers with palette, giving only the Madonna a fully colored outfit, the complexity of the overall design is undeniable. Additionally, a strange air of mystery transpires from the painterly surface; it could be the haunting blue of the sky, or the monotonous, light brown of the hills, encircling and perhaps threatening the main event. There is an air of notional abstraction, akin to that emanating from da Vinci’s Gioconda — it could be the result of the combination between the particular central images and the distant, both physically and psychologically background. And as it often happens, the mystery only adds to the appeal of the piece as a whole.

Raphael: Madonna with a Fish

elijah — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 22:36:03 +0000

The Web Gallery of Art mentions that this piece, hanging in Muceo Nacional del Prado, is believed to had been painted by Raphael’s assistants. Though I am not in the position to contest this website or the specialists they cite, I would say that Madonna’s head and face seem very much Raphael, exhibiting the artists trademark movements and gestures. In fact, these features distinguish this work of art from the sheer multitude of similar images, where the saintly figure sits on a throne, surrounded by contextual visitors, apostles or other subordinate holy men and women. It adds a touch of that unique combination of sweeping calm and oblique concern simmering beneath the serene countenance. I would even go as far as suggesting that the mix may be translated into religious terms, respectively signifying the divine and the mortal principles. Raphael could have simply borrowed from the psychological realm to truthfully portray the clerical ideological one.

Madonna with a Fish (In t…

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If we go back to the formal — and imposing — element, I think it undermines the narrative by side-stepping, and consequently weakening it. This judgment makes more sense in comparison to later, more loose and original portrayals of evangelic narratives, performed, for instance, by Caravaggio — but this is an anachronism. In contemporary milieu of existing artistic norms, this rendering manifests perfection that we are accustomed to expect from the master. He did not innovate here, but he elevated the formula to the highest, possibly unprecedented level of execution, both in technical and psychological dramatic terms. The pairing of the angel guiding Tobias reflects some of the sweetness in the interaction between Madonna and baby Christ, both children, embraced by the divine figures, extending hands, though the former with notable assistance.

The Esterhazy Madonna

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The very clean composition accords harmoniously with the palette: the lower parts of the painting are rather vacant, and the colors are correspondingly desaturated; the higher we look, the more the color gains in intensity and tone. The richness of the curtain is almost opposite to the pallid stand before the throne. These features combined can be viewed as a painterly idiom for religious purification and awareness, starting below, slow and from scratch towards loftier realms of sacrifice, up to martyrdom (Christ) and heaven (Mary, later crowned the queen of heaven). Thus the bare stand serves as an invitation for the devout viewer to commence on a spiritual journey, much like the youth holding the fish did. Admirable is the lack of hysteria and the subtlety of the call for action, reflected in the tame and ruminative expression of the lion. Raphael confidently endows surrounding subjects with that remarkable sense of calm and composure that characterize all of his Madonnas.

Raphael: Madonna of the Meadow

elijah — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 17:05:59 +0000

Contrary to the previous Madonna we discussed, this one is poised against a vast landscape background, which supposedly should have undermined and diminished the intimacy of the scene in the foreground. But it is not so. Perhaps the opposite: the rather desolate meadows only emphasize the isolated coziness of the unfolding interaction between the three figures, as Madonna’s figure protects the holy babies from the outer world, serving as a safety barrier. But the background, containing a depiction of a city, adds tension, reminding the viewer of possible dangers, such as those awaiting Christ and John in populated areas where they would be tried in the future. By venturing outside the studio, Raphael confronted beholders with the uncertainties of real (more public) life and outlined the discrepancy between the worldly and the saintly. Respectively, spatial depth signifies a step towards emotional maturity and elaborates the devotional message, all the while demanding the same kind of growth from the observers.

Madonna on the Meadow, 15…

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I think that this pastoral variant demonstrates more life, more blood and bone, if you will. The three actors literally have the chance to breathe and the children respond to their surroundings by engaging in some kind of a game, of religious symbolical meaning nevertheless. John kneels before baby Christ, simultaneously imitating a blessing with the cross, a foreshadow of what was to come (fundamental Renaissance artistic device). The intimidating landscape adds a touch of immediacy that finds a way out in the vague smile of the Madonna. Her nearly imperceptible frowning annuls that sign of content, and together they are synthesized into a thin but constant and unsettling sense of disconcertment, which comes to dominate the painting. Only the woman’s face conveys both the carelessness of the present and the torment of the future — and it makes perfect compositional sense that her head, surrounded by the heavens, presides over the land and sea.

Madonna with a Fish (In t…

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Three levels of color cohere into a complex, but clear-cut, classic pyramidal composition: the bleak background, Madonna’s bright dress and the nearly white skin of the babies. It seems that there is no precedence, and each palette level deserves the same degree of attention — what the background lacks in color it compensates for with scope. Thus, besides the religious meaning, we are presented with the universal concept of birth, maturation, and death. The ground would conceal the remains, hinting at the vacuum left by them with its bareness. To sum up, this image substitutes therapeutic qualities manifested in Madonna del Granduca with vibrant, life affirming characteristics, being more psychologically demanding. A broader, thematically more comprehensive piece, it immerses the viewers in the multiplicity of mental and devotional experiences, being at once more spiritually realistic and challenging.

Raphael: Madonna del Granduca

elijah — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 23:10:59 +0000

I wonder if Raphael’s Madonnas may bring about a therapeutic effect. I am not talking about religious sympathy that some will undoubtedly experience; it’s the pure psychological influence of calm and nervous relaxation that comes to mind. As mentioned in this Wikipedia article, art is known to provoke extremely powerful emotional responses. Could it be that Raphael transferred by his work the whole notion of art it as a catalyst of intense, even shocking psychic experiences to the contrary realm of soothing comfort? Had he found a new communication channel, which works on mental frequencies below the average, as to counter the hyper sensational waves that oscillate above? In the light of general recognition and admiration of the artist’s achievements, as well as the personal opinion of yours truly, these questions arise only as rhetorical, and the answer would surely be affirmative.

Madonna Del Granduca

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As fitting to therapeutic art, this painting portrays a miniature idyll. Unconditional and idealized motherly love is probably the most appropriate theme for healing purposes: something we all need, miss and hopefully experienced. The scene immediately moves the beholder back in time, where we were held just as tenderly and carefully. But these memories are the most difficult to reconstruct, and Raphael’s version may serve as a substitute, a universal image that fills in the blanks. The painting (the artist) works both as a time machine and as the setting to where it transports all those who use it — a director and an actor — a feat of which only few, as for instance the history of cinema shows, were ever capable (only Clint Eastwood comes to mind, though this is a conceptual comparison). It is fascinating to observe how Raphael reproduced this achievement, even after taking up larger, both in size and tackled themes commissions.

Madonna in the Meadow, 15…

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But lets talk more closely about this Madonna. Classic pyramidal composition welcomes the viewer; the two heads inclined in different directions provide just the necessary variety — and feed the interest by the slight dissonance they produce. The hand supporting the baby’s buttocks is probably Raphael’s invention, which he repeated several time later. This could be the most disarming gesture I have ever witnessed in painting. It’s interesting to see that despite the privacy of the scene, the woman indeed presents her child, which responds to the viewer in a characteristic grumpy demeanor, clutching the mother’s shoulder for safety. Colors are timid and restrained, just as the her expression, which nevertheless exudes quiet confidence. Once again, the piece conveys a particular religious meaning of wholehearted acceptance — but I would go for the universal, equally powerful effect.

Art & Critique » Raphael

Raphael: The Sistine Madonna

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Raphael: The Esterhazy Madonna

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Raphael: Madonna with a Fish

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Raphael: Madonna of the Meadow

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Raphael: Madonna del Granduca

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