Analysis of Giovanni di Paolo’s and Raffaello Sanzio’s Masterpieces

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Analysis of Giovanni di Paolo’s and Raffaello Sanzio’s Masterpieces
di Paolo’s work of art, entitled as, “Madonna and Child with Saints,” was used as an embellishment of a church built by the Augustinians, which is possibly the one that is in Cortona. It is allegedly created in 1454 and displayed in Italy. Generally, di Paolo’s work imitates the typical Italian cathedral blueprints during the Gothic period. Originally, it is composed of multiple wooden panels before it was disassembled during the 19th century. The main structure of this artwork consists of predella (structural base), five smaller panels at the top (pinnacles), and two columns or pilasters (di Paolo).
At the central panel, the image of the Virgin Mary holding the child Jesus Christ is evident. The lateral panels contain the images of the saints. Saint John the Baptist is immediately located at the left side of the Virgin Mary. This probably denotes that he is the Patron Saint of the person who contracted to paint this altarpiece. The stories of the saints are also evident at the structural bases of the painting. The centre of the five pinnacles contains the image of Jesus Christ, who seems to be blessing anyone who is looking at the altarpiece. On Jesus’ right side are the evangelists, Matthew and Mark, while the evangelists Luke and John are on the left side of Jesus. Central statuesque images are also evident against a gold background. Gold has sensible, worldly, and aesthetic applications during this period. Aesthetically, gold backgrounds symbolize light, especially in dim backgrounds or surroundings like that of the gothic churches. The area of the Virgin Mary is particularly well-lighted, and it seems to be encouraging worshippers to stay calm. The main purpose of this art piece is to encourage spirituality, particularly, Catholicism CITATION Met54 \l 13321 (Metmuseum.org).
di Paolo utilized tempera (egg tempera) to paint this work of art on wood. He also used materials like ground gold. Typically, it should be applied thinly since it dries fast. The use of tempera allows the painting to last for decades or centuries, as evidenced by various paintings from the first century that still has beautiful colours up to the present CITATION Met54 \l 13321 (Metmuseum.org).
di Paolo also used several formal elements of art. Detailed or implied lines are few and almost non-existent within the clothes of the large images of the people in the images, particularly the black dress of the Virgin Mary. The lack of implied lines may denote the lack of details that can be perceived as the lack of truth or information concerning religious moieties. The direction of the brush is typically vertical with some variations such as curved and horizontal.
The shapes used by di Paolo are mostly regular geometric shapes such as circles and rectangles. However, some parts, such as the details of the pinnacles, utilized irregular shapes due to the carvings that these imitate. Consequently, a two-dimensional image is formed using these geometric shapes. di Paolo’s work contains various empty spaces. The empty spaces created by the geometric shapes are filled with an alternating dark-light-dark pattern of tones from the outside to the empty inside space. Highlights are specifically evident at the back of the image of the Virgin Mary and the Saints, which emphasized that the light source came from their backs.
This painting also provides visual texture. Most of the areas illustrate a rough texture, except for the Virgin Mary’s face, the saint to her right, and the black background—all of which appears smooth. di Paolo also played the combination of secondary and tertiary colours with some tints of the primary colours.
Raffaello Sanzio painted a similar work to that of di Paolo’s after approximately fifty years (1504). Sanzio’s work is entitled as, “Madonna and the Child Enthroned with Saints.” Sanzio accommodated the Franciscan nuns of Sant’ Antonio in Perugia and agreed to display his painting in the church of Franciscan nuns. The nuns demanded elaborate details of the painting as compared to di Paolo’s work which has fewer details and mostly, plainly looking. Later on (1678), the nuns decided on selling the altarpiece. This was then purchased by J. Pierpont Morgan in the early twentieth century CITATION Met04 \l 13321 (Metmuseum.org).
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