At a recent trip I took to the Brooklyn Museum located near
Grand Army Plaza (you get there by
taking the 2 or the 3 trains) I passed by a section of beautiful European
paintings and came across many painting of religious figures and specifically
many interpretations of The Virgin Mary
and her son Jesus Christ. It is hard to pick what painting to focus because
they all serve a purpose and have an amazing story and message to share.
The paintings I am going to focus on are named Madonna and Child Enthroned with Angels painted by Workshop of
Bernardino Luini, 1480-1532 and Holy Family with Saints John the Baptist
and Catherine of Alexandria painted
by Marco Palmezzano. 1459/63-1539. The reason for picking these specific images
is because of the way and also the details that the images show. In history
many people who drew images tended to go in different directions in how they wanted
their religious figures portrayed. In the first painting by Workshop of
Bernardino Luini Mary is sitting on a throne and it already shows how she has a
special place in this world. Her baby who we all know is meant to portray Jesus
Christ looks strong and mature even in the form of a baby because he is one of
the most important figures in the bible who was sent down to save us all from
sin. This Painting is the biggest painting on the wall with an amazing detail
that shows how the artist not only worships the Virgin Mary but also wants to
portray her as magical and much more superior to any other human in this
world. The seven angels around her
playing music give the viewer a sense of angelic music and imagination of
Heaven and how it is . In Contrast the
painting by Marco Palmezzano also portrays The Virgin Mary but instead of
having her look like a higher human being than us we notice that artist made
her look more relatable to normal human being in our life today. He hasn’t
taken away the idea of strength but placed her in a setting that seems normal.
Even though surrounded by Saints they look like any other person at that time
. This Contrast reminded me of the
painting we saw in class of Catholic
Saint Elizabeth of Hungary in the Stained Glass at St. Bonaventure Church,
Philadelphia ,looking extravagant and then in a drawing for The Catholic Worker by Abe Bethune who represented
her as a regular person. The
representation and how one wants to see these saints depends on the artist as
well as what they trying to convey.
The idea of the Virgin Mary also
reminded of quote in The Long Loneliness by
Dorothy Day. In the book she says “ Along the beach I found it appropriate to
say Te Deum. When I worked about the
house, I found myself addressing the Blessed Virgin and turning toward her
statue” (Day 133) explaining when she was getting stronger into following her
faith and the fact that the Virgin Mary was seen as such a big figure for
Dorothy Day and how it is still an important figure for people today shows how
much of an impact her image can make on a person. While walking down the wall
and seeing all the beautiful images and painting of the Virgin Mary I was at
loss of word. I picked the two main one because a big contrast but never did it
lose the respect for the Virgin Mary and son Jesus Christ . I would recommend
to anyone if they have a chance to stop by the museum and look at the wonderful
work they have of the Virgin Mary and discover the faith in each picture as the
artists intended.
Works Cited
Day, Dorothy. The
Long Loneliness: The Autobiography of Dorothy Day. San Francisco: Harper
&
Row, 1981. Print.
More Images of The Virgin Mary at the Brooklyn Museum
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