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Madonna Enthroned: A Non-Byzantine Art Analysis

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The three versions of the Madonna Enthroned have both similarities and differences when it comes to things such as style and technique. The Byzantine style Madonna is simplistic yet detailed, and only shows Mary and Jesus. But the Madonna’s Enthroned by Cimabue and Giotto show them is a much more realistic way, where they were able to use a lot more technique to show the growing trend of naturalism. Naturalism is when an artist wants to depict something as realistically and accurately as possible, which is what both Cimabue and Giotto expressed in their paintings. This trend encouraged all artists to stop using simplistic and abstract styles of painting and begin to show things as realistically as they could. The Byzantine Virgin of Vladimir …show more content…

This painting was done around 1280 to 1290, and reflects a type of Italo-Byzantine style. This painting shows Mary holding baby Jesus while sitting on a throne, where they are surrounded by angels and prophets. Cimabue uses many new techniques in order to properly show Mary and Jesus in the most realistic way possible, such as modeling, tooling, and linear perspective. He used modeling to shade underneath Mary’s chin, which makes it appear as if her head is slightly turned. The technique of tooling is used to punch holes in gold leaf in order to make the halos for the angels, which is also a technique that is used to create depth in both the foreground and background. Linear perspective is used with the symmetrical columns on both sides of the painting, which would draw the viewers eyes down from Mary and to the prophets sitting below …show more content…

Giotto’s painting shows Mary sitting with baby Jesus, while surrounded by angles who seem to be looking up to them. This painting incorporates the use of modeling and depth. Like Cimabue, Giotto uses modeling to shade under Mary’s chin in order to make it appear that her head is slightly turned. He also uses modeling with all of the other figures in the painting, mainly under their chins as well. Giotto does this in order to make it clear that the angels are all looking up to Mary and Jesus, and that Jesus and Mary are looking at the viewers. The angels convey how Giotto used depth in both the foreground and background. By having the angels halos overlap each other, it makes it seem like the angels are standing behind one another and give the painting a better sense of realism. Giotto also highlights the figure’s garments, such as the highlights on Mary’s dress where her knees would

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