Comparison of Saint Luke Painting the Virgin, Essay Example

Introduction

Saint Luke who is the compiler of the 3^rd Gospel has been patron of a variety of saint painters’ guilds from the XV century and was a painter of a number of Virgin icons. He was able to capture Virgin on canvas referred to as par excellence painter. Saint Luke is also the patron saints of doctors and is depicted will writing the Gospel, painting the Virgin Mary, with kneeling or lying ox serving as his desk.

Although saint Luke’s painting like the one of the Virgin Mary and Christ was not recorded in canonic writing, it was mentioned in the Greek articles as early as the 6^th century as well as in Latin in the 12^th century. His paintings were seen as extant and based on his memorable prototype. There have been many kinds of painting or drawing that shows the painting of Saint Luke painting or drawing the virgin done by different painters and artists like Maerten van Heemskerck and Jan Gossaert. Below is the Saint Luke drawing the virgin by Jan Gossaert description and Saint Luke painting the virgin by Maerten van Heemskerck.

Jan Gossaert who was the Netherlandish artist between 1520 and 1530 produced different drawings, one of them being a drawing that was seen as a version that was unusual version of the not strange subject of Saint Luke drawing the Virgin which is now on a Vienna Museum called Kunsthistorisches. Jan Gossaert drawing shows Saint Luke kneeling at a desk; prayer desk which serves as an easel, with his right hand guided by an angel of solicitous when working on a drawing which is silver point of Virgin Mary and the Child who is the Christ. In the same drawing by Jan Gossaert of Saint Luke Drawing the Virgin, Saint Luke is shown when his shoes is removed, which may have been indicating that he had occupied a place that was sacred while drawing, although one is cannot identify it easily (Hand and Wolff 110).

The setting of Jan Gossaert drawing of Saint Luke Drawing the Virgin is rather peculiar and overcrowded hall. Also the details of the architectural of the drawing shows that Jan Gossaert was familiar with the existing trends in the Renaissance design of Italian but does not provide enough information about the function of its interior.

In the place that the drawing is, directly behind the Saint Luke who is kneeling, there is a circular pedestal that supports Moses having the tablets of the law that was given to him on Mount Sinai. The real drawing of the Virgin is shown hovering in a shining cloud hanging above the floor and has five putti that attend to it, with two of them preparing to put a crown on Mary’s head. Jan Gossaert, Saint Luke Drawing the Virgin portrait has an impressive setting, a friendly scene, that shows how Gossaert is a modest and disparity artist who is laboring to proof an apparition that hover in his eyes.

Maerten van Heemskerck was one of the leading religious and portrait painters in Dutch in the sixteenth century, who became famous for his representation of the Seven Wonders of the World. The painting Saint Luke Painting the Virgin was done by Maerten van Heemskerck in Frans Halsmuseum, Haarlem in the 1532. His version of Saint Luke painting the virgin was an altarpiece for the saint Luke’s guild delfts (Tummers, Brenner and Moore 164).

Van Heemskerck created his version perhaps as an altarpiece for the Delft’s St Luke’s guild. The obvious influence of Michelangelo plus the inclusion of antique sculptures points out to the stay of the artist in Rome. Maerten van Heemskerck painting included a classical muse that is considered by painters as a self portrait peering over the shoulder of an artist. It also had an angel who was stout and torch bearing, which resembles a figure of an antique victory, and a Madonna and child Michelangelesque. His painting depicted how he used his preferred subject of artists is a strange, with a low viewpoint, unnatural light, sharp and a subject treated humanistically.

Maerten van Heemskerck painting of the Saint Luke painting Virgin shows a parrot perched on the hand of the infant Christ which symbolizes the virgin’s conquest over the sin of Eve. It also shows the detailed representation of the palette, panel and paint brushes, with the painting of the virgin complete with ground and under drawing which is brush applied, thus making the painting of specific interest in any drawing at that time.

The Maerten van Heemskerck painting shows saint Luke painting a panel with his lap supporting him. The painting of the Virgin Mary and Christ is shown to be gentle yet imposing. There are also figures in the background that shows how Maerten was occupied with his task which can be said to represent his calling. Saint Luke is also shown putting final touches to a figure on recumbent stone, while at the top left; there are a number of classical sculptures.

Maerten van Heemskerck gave Mary and the child postures which look charming both from the side and from the front, in the painting within his painting. Furthermore, Saint Luke’s face which is wrinkled, show how the saint looks experienced and seasoned and also develops the youthful appearance of Mary and Christ. Besides, Maerten van Heemskerck used color to generate a sense of harmony, restricting his palette to only three main colors and highlighting the figures with powerful red color. Even secondary paintings are done with the maximum care.

Also the stone relief that helps a person to identify Saint Luke does not show the Saint Luke in a usual pose with the ox at his side as well as not having shoes. Instead, Maerten portrayed Saint Luke riding the ox, which tries to shed him off. Also, Van Heemskerck used an apparently insignificant detail; Virgin Mary’s toe, to form a prevailing sense of spaciousness by making and painting it stick out over the pedestal made of stone as well as giving it a tough cast-shadow. There are also a variety of figures on the background. These figures in the background at the right are a representation of the art poetry that he perhaps intentionally included a self-portrait.

Jan Gossaert painting of Saint Luke drawing the virgin and that of Maerten van Heemskerck of Saint Luke painting the virgin has same similarities. In both painting, Saint Luke is shown not having removed the shoes, this shows how the place where Saint Luke was painting or drawing was a sacred place, although one cannot identify it easily. In both’ it also shows Virgin Mary holding baby Christ.

There are also differences in the Jan Gossaert painting and Maerten van Heemskerck painting. First, in Jan Gossaert drawing or painting, Saint Luke is shown kneeling at a desk; prayer desk which serves as an easel, with his right hand guided by an angel of solicitous when working on a drawing which is silver point of Virgin Mary and the Child who is the Christ. On the painting of Maerten van Heemskerck, Saint Luke is shown or portrayed riding the ox, which tries to shed him off while painting Virgin Mary and the child.

Secondly, the painting of Van Heemskerck shows the child holding a parrot in His hands while that of Gossaert does not show Him holding the parrot. There is also an angel painted on the picture of Gossaert while the painting of Van Heemskerck does not have the painting of an angel. Also, Maerten van Heemskerck self portrays himself in his painting of Saint Luke painting the virgin while Jan Gossaert does not show himself on the his painting of Saint Luke drawing the virgin

Finally, Van Heemskerck painting has different painting of sculptures on the background. These sculptures are shown to the top left side of Saint Luke. On the painting of Gossaert, in the background, there are no painting of sculptures depicted. Also, in Van Heemskerck painting there is the use of apparently insignificant detail such as that of Virgin Mary’s toe, that forms a prevailing sense of spaciousness making and painting it stick out over the pedestal made of stone as well as giving it a tough cast-shadow. These details are not included in the Jan Gossaert painting.

In conclusion, the saint Luke painting the virgin portrait has the same meaning in different painters as shown in the similarities of Jan Gossaert and Maerten van Heemskerck paintings as well as different artistical themes are also used by the artists. The difference only came in the way they portray there different levels of artistic skills, for instance Maerten van Heemskerck portrays different aspect of the painting including himself on the picture and other insignificant detail while is not depicted in the Jan Gossaert.

Works Cited

Hand, John & Wolff, Martha.  Early Netherlandish. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1986.

Tummers, Anna,   Brenner, Carla and Moore, Barbara.  Painting in the Dutch golden age, a profile of the seventeenth century. National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C. 2007.

St Luke Painting the Virgin and Child by Heemskerck, M.