U3 Qualities of Artwork, Essay Example

The Madonna of the Stairs is Michelangelo’s earliest extant work of art. The work of art is carved from a waxy, translucent slab. The work, both in content and form, shows a great influence of the Greek works of art. The work consists of a woman, Madonna holding a child. The woman’s face has a classical profile and she is shown seated in one of Michelangelo’s hallmark, a square block (lib-art.com, 2009). The face of the child is shown facing away from the viewer. This is a choice that Michelangelo chose, showing him in an odd position. The child is wrapped up in drapery, possibly to suggest a sense of care or protection. At the background, four youths are shown holding a piece of long cloth. This can be argued to be either the piece that was used to lower Christ from the cross or a shroud. This brings an aspect of religion in this piece of art. This aids in communicating the artist’s vision.

Lady with an Ermine painting is one of Leonardo’s female portrait paintings. It is a small painting painted in oil paint on a wooden panel.  It is a painting that shows half length figure of a young gorgeous woman turned towards her right though with a face turned to her left. She is shown staring at an object outside the picture frame. She holds a small whitish creature that is facing the same direction as her. This is the creature that is described as an ermine. In the portrait, the woman is dressed comparatively cheap attire depicting that she is not from a noble class. Her hair is bound into two, to the right and to the left. A veil of gold- would threads; a band and a sheath are used to hold her hair in place (krakow-info.com, 2009).

This Leonardo’s work is intended to communicate the status of the woman, identified as Cecilia Gallerani, in the painting. She is holding a white ermine, a creature that would die rather than soil its white body. This is probably used to indicate the purity of the woman in the portrait. Additionally, ermine were kept as pets by the ruling class. This could be a further indication to describe the woman in the painting since was a lover to the Duke of Milan and he was from a lower class. Many people have argued that the creature held in the painting is a white ferret and not an ermine. The white colour was favoured by human beings in the middle ages since it was easy to see it in the thick undergrowth (Krakow-info.com). The paintings composition is of a pyramid spiral and the woman is caught in motion while turning to her left. This reflects Leonardo’s preoccupation with the dynamics of movement.

Michelangelo’s work, Madonna of the Stairs, was intended to communicate the significance of the mother of Christ. The fact that the woman is seated holding a child can be construed to imply the mother of Christ holding the baby Jesus.  The fact that she is seated in a staircase can be construed to imply that “she” can be gateway to Christ.

The Lady with an Ermine is a 40.3 cm wide by 54.8 cm high whereas the Madonna of the Stairs is a 55.5cm by 40 cm sculptor.

References

Krakow info. The Lady with an Ermine, Leonardo’s Masterpiece in Krakow. Marek Strzala. Retrieved on 7^th September 2009 from http://www.krakow-info.com/dama.htm

Ocaiw.com. Michelangelo Buonarroti (Sculptor): works gallery. The Madonna of the Stairs, 1489 – 92. Orazio Centaro. Retrieved on 7^th September 2009 from http://www.ocaiw.com/galleria_maestri/image.php?id=873&id_img=2044&catalog=scu?=en&letter=&start=&name=

Lib-art.com. Madonna of the Stairs. Retrieved on 7^th September 2009 from http://www.lib-art.com/artgallery/13936-madonna-of-the-stairs-michelangelo-buonarroti.html