Art history of the Western world

Art History Of the Western World

Raphael's Madonna of the Meadow is from the High Renaissance period, which lasted from the 14th Century to the 16th Century. The Italian term "Madonna" is a medieval term for a noble or important woman, but in Western art it has come to specifically refer to work that depicts the Virgin Mother Mary. Biblical subjects such as the Madonna were very important to Renaissance painters and other artists. Other subjects of importance were the Holy Family and the Passion of the Christ. Raphael was very much creating exemplary work of the Renaissance period -- other Renaissance artists such as Da Vinci and Michaelangelo have also become renown for their depictions of the Madonna. Two of the most popular moments in the life of the Virgin Mary that were chosen for depiction in Madonna art were the Virgin with the Child, and the Pieta.

During his Florentine years, Raphael painted many numbers of Madonnas. Leonardo did at least forty variations on the theme of the Virgin mother with her child. In his paintings, the Madonna is seen as both extremely human and motherly, but also very majestic. He additionally utilized the concept of Sprezzatura, which is the idea that a person's expression reflects their inner quality. Leonardo gave his Madonnas a look that was very distant and spiritual, like it was completely separated from the material world. In 1506, he painted his Madonna of the Meadow, which was strongly inspired by the style of Leonardo, specifically in the pyramidal structure of the painting. The setting of this painting, as well as the other Florentine Madonnas, is serene and beautiful, with rolling hills and a beautiful sky. The landscape is actually an idealized Tuscan image. John the Baptist as a child is the third figure which created the pyramid. However, unlike Leonardo's very complex style, Leonardo is focused more on harmony and expression. It is easy to identify the noble figures of Leonardo's work, for they fit gracefully into the setting and the world that surrounds them is orderly and calm.

The calm, ordered, intelligent, and beautiful imagery is truly typical of the Renaissance, revealing the ideas of the period regarding human actions and thought. The energy of the noble figures in Raphael's paintings reveals them as graceful, tender, and imaginative. Along with the Madonna of the Meadow, Raphael painted the Madonna of the Goldfinch and La Belle Jardiniere, all within an approximately one year period. They share similar themes and iconography, as well as all featuring John the Baptist in child form. These Madonnas also work together to foreshadow his later paintings of the Passion of the Christ, with St. John the Baptist carrying a cross. Again, Raphael shows himself to be a typical High Renaissance artist, for his religious art is full of quiet restraint and knowing acceptance of God's will.

The Madonna of the Meadow clearly shows Raphael's inspiration from other High Renaissance artists. The pyramidal composition of the three figures, and the way in which the figures are intertwined, are both styles taken from Leonardo. The open space of the landscape background is additionally typical of Leonardo's style. Additionally, the way in which the figures are twisted in pose is very similar to the style of Michaelangelo. In fact, this painting may be the first instance of Raphael taking style features from Michaelangelo, though many more examples can be found throughout Raphael's later works.

The Madonna of the Meadow is typical of Renaissance work, as well as being typical of the Madonna tradition itself. The Madonna is shown being expressively compassionate and with a look of kindness and love. She tends to her child with devotion. The colorful surroundings are also typical of Madonnas, as well as the lighting use. Raphael's work, like the ideal Madonna art, brings forth feelings of sympathy for the audience of the piece.

Leonardo da Vinci's Madonna of the Rock is another piece from the High Renaissance period that depicts the Virgin mother with her child. It was actually a very controversial piece, because the Virgin Mary and the child of Christ are sitting in a rocky cave setting that is very earthy, which was unconventional to say the least. This is very much unlike Raphael's Madonna pieces which put the Virgin and her child in beautiful, open, idealized meadow settings with bright colors and open skies. Unlike other Madonnas which have been created in a throne-like setting, however, these two pieces do have a lot in common. They are both showing the Virgin and the Christ child in a natural outdoor setting. Again, there is a pyramid structure to the figures -- the Virgin Mary, the Christ child, and St. John the Baptist. In Leonardo's piece, however, a fourth figure is added, a guardian angel. Like the foreshadowing that Rapahel used, there is also the cross in this painting. In Da Vinci's work we can also see how very much he influenced Raphael, such as the pyramidal group of figures (also drawn from the works of Leonardo). The twisting figures appear here as well, as would be reflected in the works of Raphael.

Raphael's Madonna of the Meadow very much reflects the historical ideals of the period. It shows the secularization of the church, and the feeling of enlightenment of humanity. Notice that the piece is completely ahistorical. Mary, Christ, and John are not being shown in Palestine, or as being of an ethnicity matching that area. Instead, they are on the Tuscan countryside, and appear as the ideals of Classicism would translate into the Italian Renaissance. The figures are being humanized. It would be possible to say that these are just a pair of children and their nurse gone to the meadows to play, because these holy figures are being shown as very much like the people. However, it is not a degradation of the gods (like paintings today of Christ playing soccer with kids or helping a housewife clean the bathroom). This is an elevation of humanity. The strong focus on anatomy shows the scientific and medical focus of the Renaissance, notice the detail in the musculature and genitals of the Christ child. The figures are not holy so that they have lost all human form. The figures glow and are depicted as perfection because of the advances of humanity, rather than the failings of it.