Quinten Massys - The Virgin and Child with Saints Barbara and Catherine - Google Art Project

''Virgin and Child with Saints Barbara and Catherine'' is a

glue-size Glue-size is a painting technique in which pigment is bound ( sized) to cloth (usually linen) with hide glue, and typically the unvarnished cloth was then fixed to the frame using the same glue. Glue-size is also known as distemper, though the ...

on linen painting by

Flemish Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium; ...

artist

Quentin Matsys Quentin Matsys ( nl, Quinten Matsijs) (1466–1530) was a Flemish painter in the Early Netherlandish tradition. He was born in Leuven. There is a tradition alleging that he was trained as an ironsmith before becoming a painter. Matsys was active ...

, probably painted ''c.'' 1515–1525. The

Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother o ...

is shown on a throne, holding the

Infant Jesus The Christ Child, also known as Divine Infant, Baby Jesus, Infant Jesus, the Divine Child, Child Jesus, the Holy Child, Santo Niño, and to some as Señor Noemi refers to Jesus Christ from his nativity to age 12. The four canonical gospels, a ...

, between Barbara and

Catherine of Alexandria Catherine of Alexandria (also spelled Katherine); grc-gre, ἡ Ἁγία Αἰκατερίνη ἡ Μεγαλομάρτυς ; ar, سانت كاترين; la, Catharina Alexandrina). is, according to tradition, a Christian saint and virgin, wh ...

, two saints popular in the early 16th century and considered the most important of the venerated

Fourteen Holy Helpers The Fourteen Holy Helpers (german: Vierzehn Nothelfer, la, Quattuordecim auxiliatores) are a group of saints venerated together by Roman Catholic Christians because their intercession is believed to be particularly effective, especially against ...

. Jesus leans forward to place a ring on Catherine's finger, a reference to her vision in which she was to given

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

by Mary in

mystical marriage __NOTOC__ Within the Christianity, Christian tradition, bridal theology, also referred to as mystical marriage, is the New Testament portrayal of communion with Jesus as a marriage, and God's reign as a wedding banquet. This tradition in turn trac ...

. Other indicators of the saints identities include the broken wheel - which refers to the torture of Catherine- and the tower, an allusion to Barbara's imprisonment and eventual beheading at the hands of her father.Jones, 104 Because of the high perishability of linen cloth and the solubility of the hide glue used as a binder, this work, along with

Dirk Bouts Dieric Bouts (born c. 1415 – 6 May 1475) was an Early Netherlandish painter. Bouts may have studied under Rogier van der Weyden, and his work was influenced by van der Weyden and Jan van Eyck. He worked in Leuven from 1457 (or possibly earlier) ...

' ''

Entombment Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and objec ...

'' (c. 1440–55), is rare surviving example of the technique. It is badly damaged and darkened by exposure to light and accumulated layers of surface dirt. The dirt cannot be cleaned by restorers for fear of substantial removal of pigment.The Virgin and Child with Saints Barbara and Catherine
". National Gallery, London. Retrieved 31 March 2012 Some effects of texture and light are still discernible, including contrast of the sharp highlights of Catherine's head-dress against the duller highlights of her necklace. The painting was built up in a two-stage process where layers of darker pigments over which progressively lighter tones were added.Jones, 11 For example, Catherine's dress began with an underlayer of dark blue over which a lines of brighter blue was added to create the illusion of vertical folds in the cloth. This technique of dark to light is the opposite to the general approach with oils where darker colours are layered on lighter pigments. Infrared photography reveals an underdrawing and a black layer of underpaint.Abstract
. National Gallery, London. Retrieved 31 March 2012 The painting was donated to the

National Gallery The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current Director o ...

in London in 1922 by Charles Bridger Orme Clarke.

References

Bibliography

* Ashok, Roy. ''The Technique of a 'Tüchlein' by Quinten Massys''. ''National Gallery Technical Bulletin'', Volume 12, 36–43 * Jones, Susan Frances. ''Van Eyck to Gossaert''. National Gallery, 2011. {{Authority control 1510s paintings 1520s paintings Collections of the National Gallery, London Paintings by Quentin Matsys Paintings of the Madonna and Child