Madonna And Child Analysis

1200 Words5 Pages

Every choice an artist makes either consciously or subconsciously will have an effect on the viewer. Every form, every line, and every detail is up for personal interpretation; an artist will never be able to decide what the viewer takes away from the painting. However, there are certain choices that an artist can make to help guide the viewer to the desired interpretation. While observing Donatello 's Madonna of the Clouds and Luca della Robbia 's Virgin and Child with Lilies, the artists made vastly different choices in medium, color, style, and space to convey different messages, all while using a similar central subject matter. Donatello 's, Madonna of the Clouds is a depiction of the Madonna and Christ in a somber, overwhelming field …show more content…

Luca della Robbia 's depiction of the Madonna and Child is in a completing contrasting tone. Instead of heightening the somber and ethereal attributions of Madonna and Child 's story, Luca dells Robbia heightens the purity, the joy, and the love between the pair. The sculpture is done in a higher relief with glazed terra-cotta. The figures are cleaner, more defined, and one two planes. There is the ground and the earth plane which is where the Madonna and child are seated, and then there is the heavenly plane which is where the three angles are located. The angles are higher than the Madonna and child and are looking down at them. However, unlike in Donatello 's sculpture the angles are not there as protection but rather there to enjoy the scene there is a sense of joy within this. They are looking at the pair and rejoicing in the fact that there is a true bond between these two. They are in the heavens beaming down at them in a way that is quite lovely. The Madonna and child are in an intimate family scene. The child is playing with white lilies while the Madonna is staring lovingly at her child. It 's a very personal and relatable experience. The lilies themselves allude to the purity of the scene. They are flowers that are connected to virginity and chastity. Emphasizing that Mary and Christ are both miracles. As the idea of a virgin icing birth to the son of god is considered a miracle. By putting the lilies in the earthly plane, a connection is made between the heavens and the earth in a simpler and more elegant way than that of Donatello. It 's a calmer and more positive tone lending to the same notion of Christ and Madonna being

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