Madonna with the Long Neck by Parmigianino (Interpretation and Analysis)

-
Madonna with the Long Neck by Parmigianino
Madonna with the Long Neck
Source: Google Cultural Institute
Today, I want to talk about a very strange painting: the Madonna with the Long Neck. In my opinion, it’s one of the most delightfully weird pieces of its time.

The style of the painting is distinctly Mannerist. Mannerism was a style that emerged in the 16th century as a reaction against the Renaissance obsession with proportionality and naturalism. The Encyclopedia Britannica describes it as “characterized by artificiality and artiness, by a thoroughly self-conscious cultivation of elegance and technical facility, and by a sophisticated indulgence in the bizarre,” noting that Mannerists believed that Renaissance artists fixated on style to the detriment of the subject matter. This approach is almost Medieval in that it privileges the signified over the signifier.

Mannerist artists used their exaggerated, artificial style to draw a reaction from the viewer. This is very obvious in the Madonna with the Long Neck (which is actually titled Madonna and Child with Angels and St. Jerome). As the name suggests, the painting depicts a distorted Virgin Mary; her neck is unnaturally long and her body is colossally oversized. She dwarfs the figure of Saint Jerome and the angels that surround her. The Christ Child lies on her lap. His pallor and sprawling position are almost corpse-like, evoking a Pieta and foreshadowing Christ’s death on the Cross. On the whole, the painting is visually unsettling. This is very intentional; Parmigianino uses the unbalanced nature of his composition to draw attention to the divinity of the Virgin and the Christ Child.

However, there are elements of the Renaissance here, particularly the use of classical scenery and meticulously attention to the folds of the cloth and drapery. Although artistic movements are often reactionary, they also build on what has come before. Art does not exist in a vacuum.

Disclaimer: I’m not an art historian or an expert on this topic. The above is my opinion, based on my interpretation of my foreknowledge of art and history. If I’ve done any additional research, I’ll note it above.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Le Chat Aux Poissons Rouges by Henri Matisse (Interpretation and Analysis)

-
Image
Le Chat Aux Poissons Rouges Source: Pinterest French artist Henri Matisse is rather famous for his paintings of goldfish. In fact, one of his most famous paintings, entitled Goldfish , depicts several of the aforementioned fish swimming in a bowl. Matisse is one of the most famous artists of the twentieth century. His work is closely associated with the Fauvist movement and is generally characterized by great energy and rich, intense colors. Based on my research , Matisse began painting goldfish after he traveled to North Africa. In Morocco, Matisse observed locals watching goldfish swim in their bowls as they sunk into a meditative state. The fish subsequently became a symbol for this sense of tranquility, coming to represent an idyllic version of the world only accessible through joyous day-dreams. These calming fish are prominent in this painting, which is entitled Le Chat Aux Poissons Rouges (which translates to The Cat With Red Fishes ). However, the serene energy of the f...
Read more

Mural La Plena by Rafael Tufiño (Interpretation and Analysis)

-
Image
Mural la Plena Source: Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico Today I want to chat about a monumental piece of art that I recently had the pleasure of seeing at the Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico. As the name suggests, Mural La Plena is a massive mural, fifteen by thirty feet in size, that was created by Puerto Rican artist Rafael Tufiño to commemorate la plena, a wildly popular genre of music that was born in the city of Ponce around 1900. The mural, which might appear abstract or incomprehensible to a viewer unfamiliar with the subject matter, illustrates the lyrics of popular plena songs. For example, the blue-green figure that dominates the upper half of the mural represents the hurricane from the plena “Temporal,” which mourns the destruction caused by a storm. Plena, as a genre, tells stories. According to my research , the lyrics come from current events, re-telling the stories that affected the lives of the people of Ponce. It began as a way for people of low socio-economic sta...
Read more

Five Puerto Rican Artists You Should Know

-
Image
The island of Puerto Rico has a long and vibrant artistic tradition. Western, Indigenous, and African cultures have all left their mark on Puerto Rican art, creating a colorful and unique visual legacy. While Puerto Rican artists have demonstrated their excellence throughout the years— from the creators of the captivating Taino petroglyphs to the sophisticated and subtle works of the Modernist painters—Puerto Rican art has received little attention from art historians and the wider art world. Here are five underappreciated Puerto Rican artists that you should know: 1. José Campeche José Campeche is often known as the first Puerto Rican painter in the Western history of fine arts. He was primarily known for his religious paintings and his portraits of elite Puerto Ricans, and today his work is recognized as some of the finest examples of Rococo art produced in the Americas. Campeche’s personal story is also inspiring. The son of a slave who had purchased his own freedom, Campech...
Read more