The Virgin Mary gave birth to baby Jesus in a
simple barn. The surroundings of her own birth were much more luxurious though.
In his painting “Birth of Mary”, Vittore Carpaccio presents us an intimate view
how he sees the home of the Virgin Mary in the Renaissance era. The painting is
part of a cycle of Mary’s life, which he produced for the Albanian School in
Venice.
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| Vittore Carpaccio, Birth of Mary, oil on canvas, c. 1502 |
Carpaccio
depicts Saint Anne in the bed, who just gave birth to her daughter Mary. Three
other women are busy helping the newly mother. One is about to bathe the
newborn; another is giving the first broth to Anne while the third is sewing. Anne’s
elderly husband Joachim stands a little bit further away and observes the
scene. Open doors enable an extended view into further rooms where also
housekeeping activities take place. Through the open door we can look into the
kitchen where another woman hangs out clothes in front of the fireplace for
drying. And even further wild game is being prepared. The architectural setting
produces depth and gives the observer the feeling of an intimate insight. With
great detail Carpaccio emphasized every element of decoration such as the
porcelain on the shelf next to the canopied bed. The panel above says in Hebrew
letters ‘Holy Holy Holy/Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord’.
In
this picture Carpaccio depicts a deeply religious theme but he presents it in a
new way, which we learned, was characteristic for the Renaissance art.
Carpaccio attached great importance to the whole interior scenery and creates a
contemporary Venetian dimension to this sacred setting. This picture combines the specific aspects of Renaissance art (e.g. linear perspective,
naturalism, realism, religious themes) with the Italian everyday and
residential life (of a noble family though) we are now talking about in class.
Sources:
I have never seen a portrait of Jesus's mother herself as a infant, that is a nice twist to the Christian views. Also i really like the way Artist Carpaccio use linear perspective to his full advantage. The "layers" of background shows so much more to the painting as well as you said naturalism.
ReplyDeleteDid anyone notice the two rabbits? Good for getting food scraps? I think the use of Hebrew is interesting. I don't see it too often--more or less, as more of a magical script that heads towards the demonic, so this was a refreshing image that I had not seen before.
ReplyDeleteIn one of the sources I read that the rabbits are also a sign of love or fertility, which can be a reference to Joachim and Anne who had to wait a long time to finally have a baby. But after years of childlessness, an angel appeared to tell Anne and Joachim that they would have a child. Anne then promised to dedicate this child to God.
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