sample visual analysis

Visual AnalysisArtist: UnknownTitle: Enthroned Madonna and ChildDate: 13th centuryMedium: tempera on panelCollection: National Gallery of ArtURL: http://www.nga.gov/content/ngaweb/features/slideshows/byzantine-art-and-painting-in-italy-during-the-1200s-and-1300s.html#

THESIS: I found this painting on the National Gallery website, and I think it exemplifies both the Italo-Byzantine and Proto-Renaissance styles of painting.

The Italo-Byzantine characteristics include the gold background, and the unrealistic sense of space

There is also very little modeling with light and shade: the Virgin's robes are defined by sharp gold linear patterns

The Virgin’s face looks like a typical Byzantine icon with her long thin nose, almond shaped eyes, and tiny mouth

The proportions of the figures are very unrealistic: they are tall, slender, and elongated

But there is also the beginning of an interest in representing the Virgin more naturalistically, which makes this work Proto-Renaissance

The diagonal lines of the throne create a rudimentary sense of depth

the Virgin's knees project outward from the picture, making her seem more three-dimensional and physically real

There is also some modeling with light and shade on the Virgin's face, as well as on the Christ Child's face

The painting reminds me of Cimabue's Santa Trinita Madonna, and seems to have a similar blend of old and new.

Cimabue, Madonna Enthroned with Angels and Prophets, c. 1280-1290