ipl-logo

Summary Of Donatello's Madonna Of The Clouds

1180 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…

Not only does the composition suggest protection and celestial, but the setting itself lends to this idea that this is not an event that occurred but rather a feeling within Mary. The scene takes place in the clouds, she is in the heavens surrounded angels. Clouds are often connected to the gates of heaven. It is at these gates where you are in a liminal space between life and death. Your judgement is being decided. Thus, again suggesting that this is a vision of Mary 's. She is looking at her child and seeing that he is meant to 'live and die for our sins ', and there is no way to stop it. He was born only to be led to his death. He is in the liminal space between life and death, thus the physical setting within the sculpture, and the ethereal setting of the Madonna and Child parallel each other to help convey Donatello 's idea of Mary being an extremely powerful figure whose life was entirely led by the idea of faith. Christ came into Mary 's life by Gabriel, an angel, coming down from heaven to tell her that god has a plan for her and that she will be the mother of God 's son. Her life was predetermined by god and she was meant to have complete trust in her god. Donatello 's purpose with this sculpture was to convince his viewers to trust in God, protect Christ, and show complete devotion to Mary and the angels. It was to convey that Mary is the Queen of the heavens and is someone one must trust whole heartedly and

Show More
Related

  • Enduring Faith And Timeless Truths Of Fulton Sheen By Dr. Mark Zia

    1479 Words  | 6 Pages

    Her relationship and love of Christ makes her the perfect spiritual mother for Christians, a role she began to fulfill after Jesus was buried and she was no longer the Mother of the Physical Body of Christ. As the Mother of Christ, the woman who said yes to carry God’s son in her womb; Mary proves to be the new Eve, possessing a direct opposite of Eve’s disobedience to God, and become the compliment to Christ as the new Adam on the cross. At the foot of the cross, the new Eve watched her son die for the sins of the world. As depicted in Michelangelo's Pietà, Mary holds her son just as she did in the manger, but “between Bethlehem and Calvary our sins had intervened” (Zia 90). Yet Mary accepted her role as the Mother of God even in his death, and always remained the person who loved Christ the most and the person Christ loved the most, making Mary worthy of the greatest veneration and the woman whose intercession will lead us the closest to

    Read More

  • Research Paper On Michelangelo Buonarroti

    655 Words  | 3 Pages

    Michelangelo Buonarroti was a world famous artist who lived during the Renaissance era and is responsible for creating the Pieta. The Pieta was created between 1498 and 1499 and is located in St. Peter’s Basilica, Vatican City. The word “Pieta” translates to “pitty” or “compassion” is a work of art that depicts the Virgin Mary holding the dead body of Jesus after crucifixion, usually depicted in a sculpture. Initially the Pieta was believed to be the work of another artist which led Michelangelo to sign the work of art. This made Michelangelo’s Pieta the only piece of art that he ever signed and increased its popularity.

    Read More

  • Women In The Da Vinci Code

    855 Words  | 4 Pages

    It was without a doubt female" (243). The women in the painting is found out to be Mary Magdalen and the Holy Grail is not the bible or a chalice but, it is Mary's womb. His shows the importance of women by revealing that Jesus' right hand was actually female and that the most holy thing is actually a females

    Read More

  • Expulsion From The Garden Of Eden Analysis

    799 Words  | 4 Pages

    Masaccio’s “Expulsion from the Garden of Eden” depicts Adam and Eve shamefully being led out of the Garden of Eden after taking part in the original sin. The fresco is world renowned for featuring remarkably lifelike characters and beautiful colors carefully contrasted with pieces of light, all carefully representing the mood inclined by the work (Tuscany). Masaccio was commissioned to complete the painting as well as other stories of St. Peter after fellow artist Masolino left them incomplete in the Brancacci Chapel in the Florentine Church of Santa Maria del Carmine (Diane). To better understand such a powerful work of art that has transcended time, it is important to understand the artist himself, why it was painted, as well as the technique used to create such a powerful fresco.

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast Madonna And Child With The Two Angels

    1271 Words  | 6 Pages

    Artwork is a form of self-expression from an artist based on life experience, or on something that the artist feels strongly about (Berenson, 87). The product of art can help others with similar experiences but not able to express the same feeling themselves. From the product of art, people can start drawing excitement, purpose as well as encouragement about the real thing being expressed. Through a piece of art, the artist can communicate a purpose, an emotion or an idea in their work. In this research paper, I compare two pieces of artwork; Madonna and child with the saints by Giovanni Bellini and Madonna and child with the two angels done by Fra Filippo Lippi.

    Read More

  • Michelangelo Research Paper

    1498 Words  | 6 Pages

    The Last Judgement was done on the alter wall of the Sistine Chapel. With Jesus in the middle surrounded by prominent saints, it show the second coming of Christ and the final and eternal judgement of all humanity by God. The bottom of the painting shows the descent of the damned into hell (Anirudh). When Michelangelo was twenty-four when he completed the Pieta, which is regarded as one of the world’s greatest masterpieces of sculpture (Anirudh). Pieta refers to the image of Mary supporting a dead Christ across her knees ("Michelangelo Biography") after the crucifixion.

    Read More

  • Reina Sofia Museum Analysis

    722 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Reina Sofia museum in Madrid is the home to contemporary art. When the building was first founded it was an old hospital that was then transformed into a contemporary building, mixing the old with the new. King Felipe II first founded San Carlos Hospital in the sixteenth century and architects José de Hermosilla and Francisco Sabatini manly constructed the building that stands there today. Today you can find works from artists anywhere from Picasso’s cubism to Salvador Dali’s surrealism and many more. Unlike the Prado museum, the Reina Sofia museum demonstrates the changes in the ways in which art had developed in its styles, painting techniques, and interpretation.

    Read More

  • An Influential Piece Of Art: The Virgin Of Guadalupe

    919 Words  | 4 Pages

    It also implies that she was standing on the moon, showby by the angel on the bottom of the artwork, supporting her. Juan Diego was an indigenous man who who underwent a vision conquest in which the Virgin of Guadalupe spoke to him in his language, and requested for him to put a shrine in her honor at the top

    Read More

  • Sistine Ceiling Analysis

    1090 Words  | 5 Pages

    The Maesta was painted in Siena which most of its time was at war with Florence, it is believed that Siena won the war because of the grace of Mary, this comes to show the importance of Mary to the Sienese people. In the Maesta the Virgin Mary is portrayed as the central point in the painting. Duccio uses bold colors such as red, gold and dark blue to draw attention to the Virgin Mary. Duccio’s bold use of color introduced greater elegance, another key element to his paintings was that the characters are also drawn with, unrealistic facial features which stands out drastically while analyzing the painting. When analyzing the Maesta you also see the characters in the main panel have a gold circle shaped background behind their heads, each panel has a gold background that depicts the amount of wealth and intelligence the Sienese wanted to claim about to each other.

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast Cimabue And Giotto

    434 Words  | 2 Pages

    There is a lot of space and viewpoints that go around all areas of the painting. Another artist that recreated the painting was Cimabue. He recreated Virgin and Child Enthroned in 1305 through 1310, we see that there are many illusions and multiple viewpoints in the picture. Giotto painting of the Virgin and Child Enthroned was a very exaggerated when it comes to size. Mary is very massive and big, Mary's hips were very wide and Madonna looks very realistic compared to Cimabue painting.

    Read More

  • Convento De La Merced Calzada Analysis

    1675 Words  | 7 Pages

    The 1670s, when this painting was created, was considered Murillo's most creative time in his painting career (arthistoria).His paintings were described as the "vaporous style” because the brushwork was feathery, the pigment thin and the coloration cool and light like in Saint Thomas of Villanueva Giving Alms to the poor (nortonsimon). Depicted in this painting is St. Thomas de Villanueva who was known for his many acts of charity. This painting was commissioned by the monastery of Saint Augustine in Seville an altarpiece illustrating scenes from the life of the saint and the charitable work that he did (nortonsimon). Murillo wants you to focus on Saint Thomas who is in the center of the painting giving money to the poor. He also wants the viewer to see the poor people who range from little children to older women.

    Read More

  • Madonna Of The Rocks Comparison

    410 Words  | 2 Pages

    Leonardo da Vinci and Raphael Sanzio are two of the most distinguished artists during the period of High Renaissance. Among their numerous works, Leonardo’s Madonna of the Rocks and Raphael’s The Madonna of the Meadow share many similarities. For example, both works are painted in oil, which allows greater variations in color to achieve naturalism. In addition, both paintings employ the techniques such as pyramidal composition and chiaroscuro to construct the stability of the main figures as well as to depict the volume by means of dark-light contrasts.

    Read More

  • High Renaissance Art: The Annunciation

    969 Words  | 4 Pages

    Many of the objects depicted in High Renaissance paintings were there for a reason. In “The Annunciation,” Mary is the largest figure and the main focus. She is shown facing front, with her head tilted toward the floor and her eyes almost closed. In her left hand she is holding the Bible, representing her devoutness to God, her right hand is raised, all fingers pointing up. Archangel Gabriel is on the left side of the panel, shown smaller and wearing the ornate vestments of a priest.

    Read More

  • Individualism In Baroque Art

    1281 Words  | 6 Pages

    The examination of a person as an individual in history has been an important aspect in understanding society and culture. The value that people in a society place on themselves as a whole has an effect on culture, art, and politics. Recognition of one’s individualism is an incredibly powerful tool for someone to possess. The role of individual, individual determination, and the value of the individual have evolved through the Baroque period to the Industrial Revolution to the Romantics.

    Read More

  • Importance Of Art During The Renaissance

    1306 Words  | 6 Pages

    Each artist paints and or sculpts pieces that show human emotions, religious symbolism, and extreme detail. Leonardo da Vinci is the first artist to be discussed because of his popularity. He is best known for the Mona Lisa. The Mona Lisa was a portrait of a woman that developed a meaning, people said it’s a symbol of the Renaissance information which came from this quote. “The Mona Lisa was originally this type of portrait, but over time its meaning has shifted and it has become an icon of the Renaissance perhaps the most recognized painting in the world.”

    Read More

More about Summary Of Donatello's Madonna Of The Clouds

Open Document