- 12/02/2013
- Posted by: essay
- Category: Free essays
The main purpose of this paper is to discuss the famous picture Coronation of the Virgin created by prominent artist Enguerrand Quarton. This picture was created many years ago, but even now its spectators are greatly impressed by this work of art and it is often widely discussed in artistic circles of our society. I would like to talk about this picture and analyze its nature from different sides.
Coronation of the Virgin is related to those unusual pictures about which theologies can write the whole volumes of researches. In a center of the picture we can see the Blessed Trinity, where we can define God the Father, God the Son (which here does not have differences from God the Father) and God the Holy Spirit and also on the picture is shown how the Blessed Trinity lays a crown on the head of Virgin Mary, acknowledging her in such way the Queen of Heaven. This picture has its deep essence and according to the author’s message we see that Quarton divided a picture into two meaningful parts: the overhead two third are devoted to the image of paradise, and on the lower third earth is shown in the doomsday. Two worlds are pictured and the world that below, lighted up with an ordinary light, and that world situated higher, with large mysterious dark areas, – connected with the figure of crucified Christ. Here Quarton is undertaken attempt to create the single world of Christian faith on one picture, and its every detail requires a comprehensive study. The idea of artist is simple actually: the world is small and transient; therefore life needs to be used on purpose pass from the nameless nonentity of our close earth in splendor of paradise. There, above, every person uniquely, and every Saint can be known. This work demanded boldness and outstanding imagination from an author.
Describing the picture we should say that God the Father and God the Son connected with a dove, personifying the Holly Gospel and touching with its wings mouths of both people. Their scarlet clothes are underlining a background from bright red cherubs: after them gold spaces of paradise go away to endlessness. Dark blue and gold, all in beautiful folds, the clothes of Mary are surrounded with a white cloud, which the heads of seraphs, in color consoling with its dark blue by a cloak, peek out from. Before our eyes are presented the world in a miniature, and the souls of dying people, whom angels are accompanied on the Heaven, they look like little white figurines. At the bottom of the picture all actions are dynamic. Monk- Carthusian, the representative of order, ordering a picture, bent down knees before a crucifix, as if he doesn’t notice drama, performed under his feet.
Thus, taking into account all above stated I want to mention that Coronation of the Virgin is the masterpiece that was created by Enguerrand Quarton in 1454. The main characteristics of all paintings of such type, unlike other images of Virgin Maria in the image of the Queen of Heaven, consists of fact that the crown on her head is not yet put, it is held by somebody else. In Coronation of the Virgin we pay our attention in the first queue on its general decorativeness in whole: thin, transitory in whimsical pattern interwoven ornament of lines, symmetry of composition et cetera. However, looking intently into the picture, a spectator distinguishes the great number of the carefully carried out domestic scenes, figures and persons, original landscape background. Very brightly and characters of saints and father’s of church are vitally passed, flanking Mary’s figure. For the end of the picture description it is necessary to add that Mary’s face, full of deep poetic tenderness and lyricism, is especially wonderful.
Work cited:
Sayre, Henry. A World of Art. (5 th ed.) Prentice Hall, 2006.
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