Introduction:
Art since the beginning of human history is a reflection of the society’s customs, beliefs, traditions, and other human activities. Art has been existent even in the early century. Most of the art works before are representations and symbols of the religion and belief of the people. The concept of the Mother and the child, that represents Mother Mary and the baby Jesus is one of the most commonly painted subjects from the early civilization until today. Christianity is the major religion that spread early in the Western civilization influencing the minds and thoughts of the early artists. The Virgin and the Child is repeatedly relayed through paintings and arts to portray the Christian belief of the beginning of Jesus Christ. It is one of the most celebrated subjects that served more than its aesthetic purpose since most of them are used as symbols for the Christian faith. Two of the most early works about Mother Mary and the baby Jesus is the Virgin and Child, from the book of Kells, done in the 8th or 9th century, and the Icon of the Virgin and Child with Saints and Angels, from the 6th century CE. The most evident common denominator between the two is the main subject of the Mother and Child. However, the various elements that are used in the entire art works have differences and are actually unique from each other.
The art work of the Virgin and Child from the Book of Kells is the oldest art works existing that contains the subject of the Mother Mary and baby Jesus. The Book of Kells is one of the most profound books that contain the best of the Irish manuscripts reflecting the History of Irish art and revealing their early Christian belief. He manuscripts of the books are produced by the Irish monks at the early stage of 800 CE. There are about four gospels included in the book containing innumerable illuminations. There is an elaborate ornamentation of each of the gospels in the book where the images are decorated in full length pages. The book was illuminated and written during Saint Columba’s time. Columba was said to be the one who have written the book. He is reputed to be a fanatical and industrious scribe. However, scholars speculated that there are other people that contributed to the finishing of the book (Encyclopedia of Irish and Celtic Art). The image of Virgin and Child is found at the first page of the preface of the Breves Causae that reveals the story of the birth of Jesus at the Bethlehem. The miniature image consists of two pages spread that served as an elaborate frame for the introductory statements of the succeeding pages of the book. Most of the sections of the book are illuminated and decorated with images. However, this image is very significant such that there are no other sections of the book that contain such level of treatment in terms of illumination and decoration (New World Encyclopedia).
The image of the Virgin and Child depicts a simple illustration of the Mother and child, but it contains complex elements. It can be revealed that the creators of such image truly understood the syncretic, symbolic, and cosmopolitan aspects. As seen in the image, there is the picture of the Virgin that dominated the entire composition. Her significance in the message of the work is vital where she is placed at the central point created with the large size. She is dressed with the saffron veil that reflects the native Irish origin of the one who painted the work. There is a brooch on her left shoulder that contains the Insular cruciform depicting a Byzantine maphorion. There is an implication of universality of the picture as the Imperial purple mantle and brooch more than a culture specific depiction as these garments are associated to the Irish Queen and the Byzantine empress. The child that Mary is holding is seen sitting upright at the right knee of Mary. They both wear a serious facial expression. The maternal closeness is evident such that the right arm of the mother and the hand of the baby are hand in hand. It portrays a tender moment between the mother and the child (Sullivan). The use of space in the painting is used symmetrically where the central point contains the subject and the four corners of the painting are balanced with the images of angels. There is also the presence of a decorative outline containing patterns that are distinctive to the Irish culture. The use of lines is very primitive such that the images appear flat and bounded. The colors used are dominated with purple and gold that is associated with the royalty in the Western culture.
The Icon of the Virgin and Child with Saints and Angels
The art work of the Icon of the Virgin and Child with Saints and Angels is one of the earliest icons of the Early Byzantine art during the 6th century. The artwork is a good representation of the Early Byzantine arts as well it serves as a religious devotion aid. The Byzantines were one of the most fervent Christian believers in the early history, where they produce representational arts that depicted scenes from the Old Testament and the Gospel. The icon of the Virgin and Child with Saints and Angels is found in the St. Catherine’s Monastery located at the foot of Mt. Sinai. It has a dimension of around 69 cm by 48 cm done with encaustic on panel with artists and origins are unknown. It portrays the image of the Mother Mary holding the baby Jesus with backgrounds flanked with saints Theodore and George along with the angels. It is an antique art with styles of Eastern features combined with Hellenistic Roman aspects (Donner). It is amazing to note that this piece of art has survived through time. It has been torn into two pieces and joined together with a wire. The picture of the Virgin with the baby Jesus is the central point of the painting where two saints, St George at the left, St Theodore Stratelates at the right are posed in the most formal manner. There are two archangels at the back where their gazes are directed on the hand of God above emitting light into the head of the Holy Virgin. The Virgin is seated on the cushioned chair studded with pearls. She is draped with dark blue maphorion with a veil with her feet resting on the pearl adorned footrest. The baby Jesus is painted seated comfortably on her mother’s lap. All the figures have halos on their head with the more splendid halo on the central subject of the work which is Jesus. The features of the facial expressions are solemn and serious, while the countenances of the angels are featured with awe expressions. There is a reflection of the imperial court features where the attires of the Saints revealing the monumental art feature during the Justinian Age (Watson).
The painting is balanced in terms of the use of space such that there is symmetry in the placement of characters. At the top of the painting, there is an architectural setting that is receding suggesting a sense of real space. The light and shadow on the picture is also realistic where the faces of the Mother and the child can be seen with three-dimensional perspective. Although the images of the saints at the side appear flat and held no interest in the space, they affect viewers through the direct and intense eye contact with viewers. The angels appear more dynamically, where their turned faces are foreshortened revealing a realistic angle in space. The painting then is indeed a combination of the Classical art style with art works appearing flat and visible lines, combined with the Byzantine symbolism where the painting denies the believable space.
Common Ground and Diffences
The paintings Virgin and Child from the Book of Kells and the Icon of the Virgin and Child with Saints and Angels have many things in common. Primarily, the chosen subjects of these arts magnify the Christian belief of the family of Jesus specifically emphasizing the significance of Mother Mary in the traditional Christian belief. Both pictures contain the same pose for the mother and child with Mary sitting down and Jesus at her lap. The heavenly features of angels are both seen in the pictures. Due to the age of the creation of the art works, they both appear flat and two-dimensional, where the absence of the use of light as tool for realism is still unfound and underutilized.
Despite their common ground, the art works are still unique from each other. Based on the clothes of the characters in the pictures, the socio-cultural origin of the painter is revealed, where the Irish Royal colors are evident in the Virgin and Child which greatly differs fro the Icon of the Virgin and Child with Saints and Angels. There is the application of dynamic and more vibrant colors in the first work. The use of lines are almost the same, where are very visible making the images flat. There is an attempt of using light in the second image revealing a more realistic approach than the first.
These works of arts are both unique and symbolic. The held the same message portrayed differently. As art is an expression of the human belief and thoughts, it is very amazing to note that the continuity of the message of the Mother and the child is universal, transcending through time, and surpassing geographical milestones.
Works cited
Donner, F. “Byzantine Icon of Virgin and Child, c. 600 CE. The Oriental Institute at the
Encyclopedia of Irish and Celtic Art. “”Book of Kells (c. 800). (nd). Web. Accessed at
http://www.visual-arts-cork.com/cultural-history-of-ireland/book-of-kells.htm#scribe 18 March 2016
New World Encyclopedia. “Book of Kells”. New World Encyclopdia. Creative Commons CC.
(2013). Web. 18 March 2016
Sullivan, E. “The Book of Kells”. The Studio Limited: London. (1925). Book.
Watson, J. “The Virgin and child Enthroned- Icon in the Monastery of St. Catherine”. Tour
Egypt. (2013). Web. !9 March 2016
