Cimabue led the artistic crusade in late 12th-century Tuscany, seeking to break the severity of Byzantine art and renew the pictorial vocabulary. Cimabue's Madonna Enthroned is often linked to his stay in Pisa from 1301 to 1302. The elements of the artwork confirm the investigations and aspirations of how the artist encouraged the rebirth of painting in Italy. He demonstrated an innovative sensibility that brings the artwork closer to reality (The Madonna and Child in Majesty Surrounded by Angels 2015). The purpose of this study is to examine Cimabue's Madonna Enthroned and how the outstanding painter reawakened the spatial realism in the art of Italy.Cimabue's Madonna Enthroned The majestic composition is imposing and dense. The colors are bright and contrasted to create a strong visual impact and attract the attention of the viewer. The Virgin and Child dominate the composition. Six angels are surrounding them in symmetry, three on each side. All figures carry halo behind their heads. The halo behind the Virgin is the biggest while smallest behind the Christ Child. Cimabue’s Virgin is of the Hodegetria type. She sits on the high pedestal with the Christ Child on her lap. She wears a dark colored robe over a rustic red garment. Her head is covered with the darker robe that is bordered with red. The Virgin dominates the composition because of her huge scale. She looks directly at the viewer and has a somber expression on her face. Her hands are delicate with long fingers and hold the Christ Child. The fingers of the left hand look disproportionately long though. The Divine Son is sitting on the lap of the Virgin but seems suspended in space. Looking at his positions, it is not possible for Virgin’s left knee or her thigh to support him. The Christ Child holds a small scroll represents the Word of God who is the teacher (Joseph 130). Perhaps the denial of the gravity informs of how the Christ Child is beyond the natural laws. The Christ Child holds his hand in a blessing gesture which is hardly childlike and again points to his superior divinity. He wears white and red garment covered with a brown robe. His hair is done in waves of reddish brown, and he looks straight at the onlooker. The surrounding angels are fitted into the frame of the border with their wings partly extending. The Angels’ poses speak of symmetry as they tilt their heads one way and the other, trying to add more life to the composition. The two middle angles look directly at the beholder, just like the Virgin and the Christ Child. The artist has tried to create a forward projection in the image. The two closest angels below have their leg visible and the foot extended sharply. They touch the baseline in their slanted positions but seem to float in space. The space occupied by angels and throne seems compressed. The angles have been placed very close to the throne, holding on to the throne’s side posts. Their wings are done in darker and lighter shades of brown, with fine darker strokes. The drapery of the garments work by the Virgin, the Christ child, and the angels seem to fold naturally and follow the movement of the bodies. It is evident from the two lower angles who protrude their knees slightly. One can make out how the Virgin has placed her left and right foot at an angle with the way the artists has shown fold on her red drape. The robes suggest the contours of the body as they drape around delicately. The artist has introduced the light on the robes to give them a more realistic look. The throne with its architectural structure looks robust and solid. It has a bright red cushion while the back is done in a darker shade with intricate designs. The arms and foothold are a different shade of red that contrast with other colors and carry detailed designs. The throne adds to the three-dimensional effect of the painting while the edges of the artwork and the compressed figures hold on together like one mass. It recedes into the distance as it rises from the steps of a tool that is not connected to the throne. There is luxuriously done carving or embroidered cloth that covers the stool and the throne. The imposing Virgin and the Christ Child are done gently and subtly by the artist. He has used precise brush strokes to create the details and fine lines to show the garments, facial expressions, and the throne. The background is done in bright yellow that makes a sharp contrast with the figures in front, done in bright red, darker gray and browns. The figures get a new sense of humanity. The artist uses a delicate palette and shaded tones. The iconography of the picture is from the medieval painting, and the Madonna shows the influence of the Byzantine tradition. However, there is a kind of spatial depth and tension created in the artwork because of the superimposition of the figures. There are a dramatic force and an intense vitality in the figures. The figures are rhythmically superposed with the three angels flanking both sides of the throne but remain closely tied to the picture plane. This is one of the early works of the artist, and well known for its hieratic and dramatic style. The gold ground, the iconography of the Child and the Virgin surrounded by a host of angels show that the work carries sufficient elements to point to the rebirth of painting in Italy. Cimabue was known to experiment with space and proportion in artwork, and in this painting, he creates a deep space for the Madonna and Child. He tries to give a realistic three-dimensional feel to the artwork with the throne and the placement of the angels as well as their protruding feet. He has created natural looking folds in the robes with clinging appearance so as to make the figures seem more humanistic. He has used receding lines in this painting to add to the perspective. However, some lines seem to be at an odd angle. He has applied an axial symmetry throughout the whole picture.
Works Cited
Joseph, Polzer. "Concerning the Chronology of Cimabue's Oeuvre and the Origin of Pictorial Depth in Italian Painting of the Later Middle Ages." Zograf.29 (2003): 119-42. Web.
"The Madonna and Child in Majesty Surrounded by Angels." louvre.fr. 2015. Web. . 24 Feb. 2016.
