Albrecht DÜRER
Albrecht DÜRER
Virgin and Child before an Archway
c. 1495
Oil on panel, 48 x 36 cm
Fondazione Magnani Rocca, Mamiano di Traversetolo
Mary and the Christ Child sitting in her lap appear to be right in the foreground of a space which opens to one side onto a bordering interior courtyard. The baby reaches for his mother's hand and their eyes meet. While the Madonna still owes much to the Late Gothic German type, the Christ Child is reminiscent of Italian models. Half length figures such as this early picture of the Madonna were widespread in Italy and the Netherlands. The depiction of the space with the view to the side through an arch is reminiscent of Flemish models, but the figural conception and monumental triangular composition of the group of figures also relates to Italy, in particular to the Madonna paintings by Giovanni Bellini. The picture dates either from Dürer's visit to Venice in 1494-5 or soon afterwards in Nuremberg. It was discovered in the 1950s in the Capuchin monastery of Bagnacavallo, near Ravenna, and this suggests that it was painted in Italy where it has remained.
Portrait of Barbara Dürer
1490
Oil on pine panel, 47 x 38 cm
Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Nuremberg
Shortly before his departure as a journeyman, Dürer painted the double portrait of his parents, his first painted portraits. The portrait of his mother acted as the counterpart to the portrait of his father, and is related to the latter in terms of line of sight and body posture. The portraits are closely matched to each other in terms of composition. The mother, with a white bonnet, appears as a married woman in a dark red garment. While the latter is recorded in a summary fashion, her physiognomy is depicted meticulously. His mother is holding a rosary in her hand as an expression of her piety, and this gesture is another way in which she is related to the depiction of his father.
Virgin and Child before an Archway
c. 1495
Oil on panel, 48 x 36 cm
Fondazione Magnani Rocca, Mamiano di Traversetolo
Mary and the Christ Child sitting in her lap appear to be right in the foreground of a space which opens to one side onto a bordering interior courtyard. The baby reaches for his mother's hand and their eyes meet. While the Madonna still owes much to the Late Gothic German type, the Christ Child is reminiscent of Italian models. Half length figures such as this early picture of the Madonna were widespread in Italy and the Netherlands. The depiction of the space with the view to the side through an arch is reminiscent of Flemish models, but the figural conception and monumental triangular composition of the group of figures also relates to Italy, in particular to the Madonna paintings by Giovanni Bellini. The picture dates either from Dürer's visit to Venice in 1494-5 or soon afterwards in Nuremberg. It was discovered in the 1950s in the Capuchin monastery of Bagnacavallo, near Ravenna, and this suggests that it was painted in Italy where it has remained.
Portrait of Barbara Dürer
1490
Oil on pine panel, 47 x 38 cm
Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Nuremberg
Shortly before his departure as a journeyman, Dürer painted the double portrait of his parents, his first painted portraits. The portrait of his mother acted as the counterpart to the portrait of his father, and is related to the latter in terms of line of sight and body posture. The portraits are closely matched to each other in terms of composition. The mother, with a white bonnet, appears as a married woman in a dark red garment. While the latter is recorded in a summary fashion, her physiognomy is depicted meticulously. His mother is holding a rosary in her hand as an expression of her piety, and this gesture is another way in which she is related to the depiction of his father.
Commenti