Virgin And Child Enthroned
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The ''Virgin and Child Enthroned'' (also known as the ''Thyssen Madonna'') is a small oil-on-oak
panel painting A panel painting is a painting made on a flat panel of wood, either a single piece or a number of pieces joined together. Until canvas became the more popular support medium in the 16th century, panel painting was the normal method, when not paint ...
dated 1433, usually attributed to the
Early Netherlandish Early Netherlandish painting, traditionally known as the Flemish Primitives, refers to the work of artists active in the Burgundian and Habsburg Netherlands during the 15th- and 16th-century Northern Renaissance period. It flourished especiall ...
artist
Rogier van der Weyden Rogier van der Weyden () or Roger de la Pasture (1399 or 140018 June 1464) was an early Netherlandish painter whose surviving works consist mainly of religious triptychs, altarpieces, and commissioned single and diptych portraits. He was highly ...
. It is closely related to his '' Madonna Standing'', completed during the same period. The panel is filled with Christian
iconography Iconography, as a branch of art history, studies the identification, description and interpretation of the content of images: the subjects depicted, the particular compositions and details used to do so, and other elements that are distinct fro ...
, including representations of
prophets In religion, a prophet or prophetess is an individual who is regarded as being in contact with a divine being and is said to speak on behalf of that being, serving as an intermediary with humanity by delivering messages or teachings from the su ...
, the
Annunciation The Annunciation (from Latin '), also referred to as the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Annunciation of Our Lady, or the Annunciation of the Lord, is the Christian celebration of the biblical tale of the announcement by the ange ...
, Christ's infancy and
resurrection Resurrection or anastasis is the concept of coming back to life after death. In a number of religions, a dying-and-rising god is a deity which dies and is resurrected. Reincarnation is a similar process hypothesized by other religions, which ...
, and Mary's
Coronation A coronation is the act of placement or bestowal of a coronation crown, crown upon a monarch's head. The term also generally refers not only to the physical crowning but to the whole ceremony wherein the act of crowning occurs, along with the ...
. It is generally accepted as the earliest extant work by van der Weyden, one of three works attributed to him of the
Virgin and Child In art, a Madonna () is a representation of Mary, either alone or with her child Jesus. These images are central icons for both the Catholic and Orthodox churches. The word is (archaic). The Madonna and Child type is very prevalent in ...
enclosed in a
niche Niche may refer to: Science *Developmental niche, a concept for understanding the cultural context of child development *Ecological niche, a term describing the relational position of an organism's species *Niche differentiation, in ecology, the ...
on an exterior wall of a
Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...
church. The panel is housed in the
Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza The Thyssen-Bornemisza National Museum (in Spanish, the Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza (), named after its founder), or simply the Thyssen, is an art museum in Madrid, Spain, located near the Prado Museum on one of the city's main boulevards. I ...
in Madrid. The panel seems to be the left-hand wing of a dismantled
diptych A diptych (; from the Greek δίπτυχον, ''di'' "two" + '' ptychē'' "fold") is any object with two flat plates which form a pair, often attached by hinge. For example, the standard notebook and school exercise book of the ancient world w ...
, perhaps with the ''Saint George and the Dragon'' panel now in the
National Gallery of Art The National Gallery of Art, and its attached Sculpture Garden, is a national art museum in Washington, D.C., United States, located on the National Mall, between 3rd and 9th Streets, at Constitution Avenue NW. Open to the public and free of char ...
, Washington, D.C. As an early van der Weyden, it takes influence from
Robert Campin Robert Campin (c. 1375 – 26 April 1444), now usually identified with the Master of Flémalle (earlier the Master of the Merode Triptych, before the discovery of three other similar panels), was the first great master of Early Netherlandish paint ...
and
Jan van Eyck Jan van Eyck ( , ; – July 9, 1441) was a painter active in Bruges who was one of the early innovators of what became known as Early Netherlandish painting, and one of the most significant representatives of Early Northern Renaissance art. Ac ...
. Van der Weyden served his apprenticeship under Campin, and the older master's style is noticeable in the architecture of the niche, the Virgin's facial type, her exposed breast and the treatment of her hair.


Description

The panel is the smallest extant work by van der Weyden and follows the tradition of a '' Madonna Lactans'', with significant differences. Christ is dressed in a red garment, as opposed to the
swaddling Swaddling is an age-old practice of wrapping infants in blankets or similar cloths so that movement of the limbs is tightly restricted. Swaddling bands were often used to further restrict the infant. Swaddling fell out of favour in the 17th cent ...
he usually wears in 15th-century Virgin and Child portrayals. This is one of two exceptions where he is fully clothed; the other is
Robert Campin Robert Campin (c. 1375 – 26 April 1444), now usually identified with the Master of Flémalle (earlier the Master of the Merode Triptych, before the discovery of three other similar panels), was the first great master of Early Netherlandish paint ...
's ''Madonna'' in Frankfurt, where he is shown in blue clothing. Mary's unbound blond hair falls across her shoulders and down across her arms. Showing the influence of Campin, it is brushed behind the ears. She wears a crown as
Queen of Heaven Queen of Heaven ( la, Regina Caeli) is a title given to the Virgin Mary, by Christians mainly of the Catholic Church and, to a lesser extent, in Anglicanism, Lutheranism, and Eastern Orthodoxy. The Catholic teaching on this subject is expresse ...
and a ring on a finger as the
Bride of Christ The bride of Christ or the lamb's wife is a term used in reference to a group of related verses in the Bible, in the Gospels, Revelation, the Epistles and related verses in the Old Testament. Sometimes, the bride is implied by calling Jesus a br ...
. Reinforcing this, the blue colour of her robe alludes to her devotion and fidelity to her son.Birkmeyer (1962), 329 The folds of her dress are reminiscent of the lengthy, crisp, curved intertwined gowns of
Gothic sculpture Gothic sculpture was a sculpture style that flourished in Europe during the Middle Ages, from about mid-12th century to the 16th century,The chronology of the period varies significantly according to the source consulted evolving from Romanesque ar ...
. The pictorial space is bathed in soft light, probably an influence from
Jan van Eyck Jan van Eyck ( , ; – July 9, 1441) was a painter active in Bruges who was one of the early innovators of what became known as Early Netherlandish painting, and one of the most significant representatives of Early Northern Renaissance art. Ac ...
. The light falls from the right, throwing shadows of both Mary and the Child's heads on the left wall of the niche.Ward (1968), 354 The Virgin and Child are shown seated in a small Gothic chapel or oratory projecting from a wall and opening onto a lawn. The painting pays very close attention to small realistic detail; for example, there are four small holes above each arch, likely to hold scaffolding.Ward (1968), 356 As with other early van der Weyden depictions of the Madonna, her head is slightly too large for her body. Her dress is creased and almost paper-like. However, the description of her lap contains inconsistencies also in Campin's ''Virgin and Child before a Firescreen''; it appears to lack volume and is if she had only one leg. This seems to reflect an early difficulty both with
foreshortening Linear or point-projection perspective (from la, perspicere 'to see through') is one of two types of graphical projection perspective in the graphic arts; the other is parallel projection. Linear perspective is an approximate representation, ...
and in the depiction of a body under clothing.Ward (1968), 355 The chapel is unrealistically small compared to the Virgin; van der Weyden's intention was to emphasise the Virgin's presence while also symbolically representing the Church and the entire doctrine of the Redemption.Panofsky (1971), 146 The panel is one of three surviving of van der Weyden's in which both Madonna and Child are enclosed in this way. However it is unusual in that the niche exists as a separate feature within the picture, compared to the two other works where the enclosure is coterminous with the edge of the painting, almost as part of the frame, a reason why it is thought to predate '' The Madonna Standing''. There are symmetrical differences between the left- and right-hand sides of the painting. This is most noticeable with the
buttress A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall. Buttresses are fairly common on more ancient buildings, as a means of providing support to act against the lateral (s ...
, where the receding edges are over half again the size of those on the front sides. In addition, the breadth of the buttress contradicts the spatial depth of the much tighter space inhabited by the Virgin and Child. This is a technical issue with foreshortening Campin also struggled with, but which van der Weyden resolves in his mature work.


Iconography

The work is rich in symbolism and iconographic elements, to an extent far more pronounced than that in ''The Madonna Standing''. An
iris Iris most often refers to: *Iris (anatomy), part of the eye *Iris (mythology), a Greek goddess * ''Iris'' (plant), a genus of flowering plants * Iris (color), an ambiguous color term Iris or IRIS may also refer to: Arts and media Fictional ent ...
grows to the side of the
aedicula In ancient Roman religion, an ''aedicula'' (plural ''aediculae'') is a small shrine, and in classical architecture refers to a niche covered by a pediment or entablature supported by a pair of columns and typically framing a statue,"aedicula, n." ...
, representing the Virgin's sorrow at the Passion, and on the other side a columbine, recalling the
Sorrows of the Virgin Our Lady of Sorrows ( la, Beata Maria Virgo Perdolens), Our Lady of Dolours, the Sorrowful Mother or Mother of Sorrows ( la, Mater Dolorosa, link=no), and Our Lady of Piety, Our Lady of the Seven Sorrows or Our Lady of the Seven Dolours are names ...
. This symbolic use of flowers is again a van Eyckian motif. While they may appear incongruous with the architectural setting, this was probably the effect that van der Weyden was seeking.Birkmeyer (1962), 331 The
lintel A lintel or lintol is a type of beam (a horizontal structural element) that spans openings such as portals, doors, windows and fireplaces. It can be a decorative architectural element, or a combined ornamented structural item. In the case of w ...
contains six
relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that the ...
s from the
New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Christ ...
of scenes from the
Life of the Virgin The Life of the Virgin, showing narrative scenes from the life of Mary, the mother of Jesus, is a common subject for pictorial cycles in Christian art, often complementing, or forming part of, a cycle on the Life of Christ. In both cases the nu ...
. The first four, the
Annunciation The Annunciation (from Latin '), also referred to as the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Annunciation of Our Lady, or the Annunciation of the Lord, is the Christian celebration of the biblical tale of the announcement by the ange ...
, Visitation, Nativity and
Adoration of the Magi The Adoration of the Magi or Adoration of the Kings is the name traditionally given to the subject in the Nativity of Jesus in art in which the three Magi, represented as kings, especially in the West, having found Jesus by following a star, ...
, are associated with motherhood and infancy. They are followed by the
Resurrection Resurrection or anastasis is the concept of coming back to life after death. In a number of religions, a dying-and-rising god is a deity which dies and is resurrected. Reincarnation is a similar process hypothesized by other religions, which ...
and
Pentecost Pentecost (also called Whit Sunday, Whitsunday or Whitsun) is a Christianity, Christian holiday which takes place on the 50th day (the seventh Sunday) after Easter Sunday. It commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles in the Ne ...
. Above them, surmounting a "cross flower", is the
Coronation of the Virgin The Coronation of the Virgin or Coronation of Mary is a subject in Christian art, especially popular in Italy in the 13th to 15th centuries, but continuing in popularity until the 18th century and beyond. Christ, sometimes accompanied by God th ...
.Acres (2000), 83 The
jamb A jamb (from French ''jambe'', "leg"), in architecture, is the side-post or lining of a doorway or other aperture. The jambs of a window outside the frame are called “reveals.” Small shafts to doors and windows with caps and bases are know ...
s on either side of the Virgin are adorned with statues, most likely of
Old Testament The Old Testament (often abbreviated OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew writings by the Israelites. The ...
prophets. Of these only
David David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...
, second to the left, has been identified. The bearded man to David's left is probably
Moses Moses hbo, מֹשֶׁה, Mōše; also known as Moshe or Moshe Rabbeinu (Mishnaic Hebrew: מֹשֶׁה רַבֵּינוּ, ); syr, ܡܘܫܐ, Mūše; ar, موسى, Mūsā; grc, Mωϋσῆς, Mōÿsēs () is considered the most important pro ...
, the man in the cap to the right is most likely the "weeping prophet"
Jeremiah Jeremiah, Modern:   , Tiberian: ; el, Ἰερεμίας, Ieremíās; meaning " Yah shall raise" (c. 650 – c. 570 BC), also called Jeremias or the "weeping prophet", was one of the major prophets of the Hebrew Bible. According to Jewish ...
. On the opposite side, the outer figures may be Zechariah and
Isaiah Isaiah ( or ; he, , ''Yəšaʿyāhū'', "God is Salvation"), also known as Isaias, was the 8th-century BC Israelite prophet after whom the Book of Isaiah is named. Within the text of the Book of Isaiah, Isaiah himself is referred to as "the ...
. In his usage of
grisaille Grisaille ( or ; french: grisaille, lit=greyed , from ''gris'' 'grey') is a painting executed entirely in shades of grey or of another neutral greyish colour. It is particularly used in large decorative schemes in imitation of sculpture. Many g ...
, van der Weyden distinguishes between the earthly realm of flesh and blood, and the divine, represented by ancient sculptural figures, who appear frozen in time. Art historian Shirley Blum believes these figures were relegated to the architectural elements so as not to crowd the central devotional image. The arrangement of the sculptural elements may have been influenced by
Claus Sluter Claus Sluter (1340s in Haarlem – 1405 or 1406 in Dijon) was a Dutch sculptor, living in the Duchy of Burgundy from about 1380. He was the most important northern European sculptor of his age and is considered a pioneer of the "northern reali ...
's ''
Well of Moses The Well of Moses (French: ''Puits de Moïse'') is a monumental sculpture recognised as the masterpiece of the Dutch artist Claus Sluter (1340–1405–06), assisted by his nephew Claus de Werve. It was executed by Sluter and his workshop in ...
'' (c. 1395–1403), which has a similar alignment. In the Chartreuse de Champmol, the prophets represent the judges of Christ (''Secundum legem debet mori'', "according to that law he ought to die") and are thus tied to the crucifixion. In the van der Weyden they are associated with the Virgin. Although portraying figures in niches has a long tradition in Northern art, rendering the figures as sculpture was unique to the 1430s, and first appears in van Eyck's ''
Ghent Altarpiece The ''Adoration of the Mystic Lamb'', also called the ''Ghent Altarpiece'' ( nl, De aanbidding van het Lam Gods), is a large and complex 15th-century polyptych altarpiece in St Bavo's Cathedral, Ghent, Belgium. It was begun around the mid-1420 ...
''.


Diptych

The panel may have been conceived as either the left-hand wing of a since dismantled diptych, or as the front piece of a double-sided panel.Hand et al. (2006), 26 Art historian
Erwin Panofsky Erwin Panofsky (March 30, 1892 in Hannover – March 14, 1968 in Princeton, New Jersey) was a German-Jewish art historian, whose academic career was pursued mostly in the U.S. after the rise of the Nazi regime. Panofsky's work represents a hig ...
suggests that the Washington ''Saint George and the Dragon'' of 1432–35 is the most likely opposite wing. In that work,
St. George Saint George (Greek: Γεώργιος (Geórgios), Latin: Georgius, Arabic: القديس جرجس; died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was a Christian who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to tradition he was a soldier ...
, facing inwards and to the right, slays the dragon before a Libyan princess. Although the pairing might seem incongruous, his ''Madonna Standing'' is widely thought to have been attached with the ''St. Catherine of Alexandria'' in Vienna.The Saint Catherine panel is usually attributed to his workshop, based on a design by van der Weyden. See Panofsky (1971), 251 In both panels, the saints face inwards and are within fully realised landscapes. In contrast, in both left-hand panels, the Madonna and Child are positioned frontally (although eye contact is avoided) and isolated within cold grisaille architectural spaces. Blum suggests that van der Weyden sought to juxtapose the otherworldly realm of the Madonna and Child with the earthly setting and contemporary dress of the saints. She describes the couplings as serving to position each saint "as a 'living witness' to the static, eternal presence of the Virgin and Child". She writes that "Only in such early works do we find this kind of obvious solution. By the time of the ''
Descent from the Cross The Descent from the Cross ( el, Ἀποκαθήλωσις, ''Apokathelosis''), or Deposition of Christ, is the scene, as depicted in art, from the Gospels' accounts of Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus taking Christ down from the cross after hi ...
'' and '' Durán Madonna'', van der Weyden has already worked out a far more complex and effective means of mixing temporal and non-temporal effects".Blum (1977), 121


Dating and attribution

The panel closely resembles van der Weyden's c. 1430–32 '' Madonna Standing'', and seems influenced by the work of Robert Campin, under whom he served his apprenticeship. It is especially close to Campin's 1430 ''Virgin and Child before a Firescreen'', now in London; one of the last works Campin completed before van der Weyden left his studio on 1 August 1432. In both, the Virgin has large, full, breasts, her fingers pressing as she nurses the Child. There are further similarities in her facial features and expression; the colour, style, and position of her hair; as well her pose. Lorne Campbell attributes the work to van der Weyden's workshop,Acres (2000), 105 while art historian John Ward credits it to Campin and gives a date of c. 1435.Ward (1968), 354–56 Ward's thesis is based on the fact that the Thyssen panel, so named after its home at the
Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum The Thyssen-Bornemisza National Museum (in Spanish, the Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza (), named after its founder), or simply the Thyssen, is an art museum in Madrid, Spain, located near the Prado Museum on one of the city's main boulevards. I ...
, is overwhelmingly influenced by Campin, while the contemporaneous and more sophisticated ''Madonna Standing'' draws heavily from van Eyck. He finds such a sudden shift unlikely, while also pointing out that this work evidences some technical difficulties that Campin was never to resolve, especially in respect to foreshortening and the rendering of the body beneath the robes. He also points to the architectural similarities in Campin's ''Marriage of Mary'', although this may be a matter of influence. The painting was completed early in van der Weyden's career, probably just after his apprenticeship with Robert Campin ended. Although highly accomplished, it is filled with symbolism of a kind absent from his more mature works. It is one of three attributed paintings, all early works, that show the Virgin and Child set within an architectural setting, surrounded with painted sculptural figures, the others being ''The Madonna Standing'' and the ''Durán Madonna''.Birkmeyer (1962), 330 Sculptural figuration was to become a hallmark of van der Weyden's mature work, and is best typified by the Madrid ''Descent'', where the mourning figures are shaped and take on poses more usually seen in sculpture.Blum (1977), 103
Erwin Panofsky Erwin Panofsky (March 30, 1892 in Hannover – March 14, 1968 in Princeton, New Jersey) was a German-Jewish art historian, whose academic career was pursued mostly in the U.S. after the rise of the Nazi regime. Panofsky's work represents a hig ...
identified this work and ''The Madonna Standing'' as van der Weyden's earliest extant work; they are also his smallest panels. Panofsky dated both panels as 1432–34, and believed them to be early works based on stylistic reasons, their near miniature scale, and because of the evident influences of both Campin and van Eyck.


References


Sources

* Acres, Alfred. "Rogier van der Weyden's Painted Texts". ''Artibus et Historiae'', Volume 21, No. 41, 2000 * Birkmeyer, Karl. "Notes on the Two Earliest Paintings by Rogier van der Weyden". ''The Art Bulletin'', Volume 44, No. 4, 1962 * Blum, Shirley Neilsen. "Symbolic Invention in the Art of Rogier van der Weyden". ''Journal of Art History'', Volume 46, Issues 1–4, 1977 * Clark, Kenneth. Looking at Pictures. New York: Holt Rinehart and Winston, 1960. * Hand, John Oliver; Metzger, Catherine; Spronk, Ron. ''Prayers and Portraits: Unfolding the Netherlandish Diptych''. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2006. * Panofsky, Erwin. ''Early Netherlandish Painting: v. 1''. Boulder CO: Westview Press, 1971. * Ward, John. "A New Attribution for the Madonna Enthroned in the Thyssen Bornemisza Collection". ''The Art Bulletin'', Volume 50, No. 4, 1968


External links


Thyssen museum page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Virgin and Child Enthroned (van der Weyden) 1430s paintings Paintings by Rogier van der Weyden Paintings of the Madonna and Child Paintings in the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum