Madonna and Child Comparison PDF

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Summary

A comparison of two works of art by Duccio and Giotto depicting the Madonna and child...

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Comparison of Giotto and Duccio’s treatment of the Madonna and Child theme. Duccio di Buoninsegna and Giotto di Bondone both developed a personal artistic style in response to the new naturalistic aims of the 13th Century. These personal artistic styles are largely apparent in their separate treatments of the Madonna and Child theme. In the Rucellai Madonna Duccio explores his various influences, showing insight into the Italo-Byzantine traditions, as well as the Gothic style and the transferral of philosophical ideals to a more classical orientated view of the human form. Giotto’s Ognissanti Madonna also displays this religious shift in humanistic emphasis, abandoning most of the Byzantine artistic conventions that Duccio continued to use throughout his career. Duccio’s Rucellai Madonna, 450cm by 290cm, was commissioned in 1285 and the name derives from the Rucellai Chapel of Santa Maria Novella. Some controversy surrounded the tempera painting as throughout the 15th Century it was thought to be attributed to Cimabue, and this view was accepted until the beginning of the 20th Century. Giotto’s Ognissanti Madonna, 325cm by 204cm, was not dated precisely, although it is believed to have been painted for the Church of Ognissanti (from which the name derives) sometime during the five-year period between 1305 and 1310. Both artworks are painted on wooden panels using tempera, a type of paint made by binding pigments in an egg medium. The Rucellai Madonna and the Ognissanti Madonna both depict the same content the enthroned Virgin and Child among saints and angels. The content and composition in each painting display various influences of Duccio and Giotto respectively. The composition is symmetrical, with the same amount of angels and saints on either side of the throne; this is particularly typical of an altarpiece as it brings about a sense balance to the viewers. In the Rucellai Madonna Duccio’s throne, frontally foreshortened, indicates influence from beyond Siena. The foot-rest is supported by a light double arch; the back is crowned with delicate arching and little pinnacles. Giotto’s throne in the Ognissanti Madonna shows Gothic influence through the pointed vault, delicate gable ornamented with crockets, and the throne’s marble step. A centralised, formal composition remains obvious in both panels, with balance created through the symmetry of angels and saints on either side of the throne. However, in the Rucellai Madonna, the angels are seen to be superimposed upon the painting and are shown to be hovering, despite the naturalistic pose of kneeling on one knee. This is clear to the viewer as the angel supporting the throne on the left is kneeling in the foreground yet holds the back of the throne. Conversely, Giotto’s angels and saints are grouped and overlap, and no longer bring about the sense of floating that is apparent in the Rucellai Madonna. The Rucellai Madonna shows unmistakable similarities to Cimabue’s Maesta, however, Duccio has managed to enrich Cimabue’s ideas with delicate Gothic overtones that had not been seen before in Siena. Mary’s face is more organic, in keeping with Duccio’s rolling line and new colouristic refinement, though it has been painted with familiar Italo-Byzantine ovoid shapes. Curving contours outline her brow with the long, slender nose. The upper lip protrudes slightly and the chin recedes to blend with her graceful neck. The faces of the angels are likewise constructed, and gaze towards Christ with reverence. In the Ogissanti Madonna Giotto’s Virgin gazes outward with a calm and very human dignity and her lips are parted, showing an earthly passage of breath and even the white of her teeth, showing that he has largely abandoned the anatomical compartmentalisation of the Italo-Byzantine style. The robust Child is lightly but firmly held by his mother, whose fingertips press against his waist; her hand is truly sculptural, showing apparent roundness.

In the Rucellai Madonna the curving outlines and sinuous movement of the gilded edging of Mary’s cloak are new; Duccio has also abandoned the Byzantine traditional gold striations to indicate drapery, apart from the cloth around the legs of the Christ Child. The Virgin’s cloak over her right knee clearly shows there is a body underneath through the use of chiaroscuro to show tonal change. Giotto’s approach to drapery also disregards Byzantine tradition, the cloth of the Virgin’s gown and mantle are of the finest quality, and the cylindrical shape of her neck is brought out by the clean, round neckline of the tunic. Mary’s robes also display tonal change to indicate a body underneath - the space between her knees is identified as an empty but real space by folds rendered in chiaroscuro. In both works iconography is largely apparent. The Rucellai Madonna yet again brings about a shift from Byzantine tradition through an iconographical interpretation; the angels are looking towards Mary in attitudes of immense emotional participation in the foreground rather than the Byzantine ideals of a solemn crowd in the background. The admiration and intense expressions and emotion shown in the angels’ gazes is also clear in the Ognissanti Madonna. Duccio was commissioned to fulfil specific iconographical purposes with the Rucellai Madonna; in the medallion placed at the top is the image of Christ. On his left are twelve figures, amongst these are John the Baptist immediately next to the Redeemer, King David crowned and with the psalms, the young Daniel holding a roll. On the right of the Virgin, the Apostles, to whom the child is turning to give his blessing, represent the New Testament. Many of the saints hold books and scrolls that refer to the Gospel and in a more general sense underline the importance of preaching. The red on Mary’s robe connects her to Earth and her purpose, the shedding of blood. Both works display a gold background, symbolising heaven and the divine. In the Ognissanti Madonna the Virgin also wears a white robe; this implies purity, and the crown being offered by the angel on the left indicates her Queen of Heaven role. Both angels kneeling in the front present crystal vases of lilies and roses which are also symbols of the Virgin. It would seem that although Duccio manages to adapt many new ideals, stemming from gothic influences and the philosophical shift of religious portrayal in art during the 1200s, into the Rucellai Madonna and move away from the Italo-Byzantine conventions, Giotto achieves more naturalism in his Ognissanti Madonna . While there are many similarities between both works, such as the content, composition and iconography Giotto shows tremendous technical innovations through showing definition of voids and solids, something Duccio did not accomplish as he used many Italo-Byzantine standards in regards to depicting depth and the figures in his panel. Consequently, the Rucellai Madonna remains to be a flat painting in which the figures are ‘floating’ in comparison to the Giotto’s exploration of physical form, its structure, and the ability to show figures as solid, individualised shapes with a natural presence....