The Madonna in Art

By Estelle May Hurll

THE PORTRAIT MADONNA.

T

he first Madonna pictures known to us are of the portrait style, and are of

Byzantine or Greek origin. They were brought to Rome and the west-

ern empire from Constantinople (the ancient Byzantium), the capital of the

eastern empire, where a new school of Christian art had developed out of

that of ancient Greece. Justinian's conquest of Italy sowed the new art-seed

in a fertile field, where it soon took root and multiplied rapidly. There was,

however, little or no improvement in the type for a long period; it remained

practically unchanged till the thirteenth century. Thus, while a Byzantine

Madonna is to be found in nearly every old church in Italy, to see one is to

see all. They are half-length figures against a background of gold leaf, at first

laid on solidly, or, at a somewhat later date, studded with cherubs. The Vir-

gin has a meagre, ascetic countenance, large, ill-shaped eyes, and an almost

peevish expression; her head is draped in a heavy, dark blue veil, falling in

stiff folds.

Unattractive as such pictures are to us from an artistic standpoint, they in-

spire us with respect if not with reverence. Once objects of mingled devo-

3 ESTELLE M. (ESTELLE MAY) HURLL

tion and admiration, they are still regarded with awe by many who can no

longer admire. Their real origin being lost in obscurity, innumerable leg-

ends have arisen, attributing them to miraculous agencies, and also endow-

ing them with power to work miracles. There is an early and widespread tra-

dition, imported with the Madonna from the East, which makes St. Luke

a painter. It is said that he painted many portraits of the Virgin, and, natu-

rally, all the churches possessing old Byzantine pictures claim that they are

genuine works from the hand of the evangelist. There is one in the Ara Coeli

at Rome, and another in S. Maria in Cosmedino, of which marvellous tales

are told, besides others of great sanctity in St. Mark's, Venice, and in Padua.

It would not be interesting to dwell, in any detail, upon these curious old

pictures. We would do better to take our first example from the art which,

though founded on Byzantine types, had begun to learn of nature. Such

a picture we find in the Venice Academy, by Jacopo Bellini, painted at the

beginning of the fifteenth century, somewhat later than any corresponding

picture could have been found elsewhere in Italy, as Venice was chronologi-

cally behind the other art schools. The background is a glory of cherub heads

touched with gold hatching. Both mother and child wear heavy nimbi, or-

namented with gold. These points recall Byzantine work; but the gentler

face of the Virgin, and the graceful fall of her drapery, show that we are in a

different world of art. The child is dressed in a little tunic, in the primitive

method.

With the dawn of the Italian Renaissance, the old style of portrait Madonna

passed out of vogue. More elaborate backgrounds were introduced from the

growing resources of technique. In the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, pic-

tures of the portrait style were comparatively rare. Raphael, however, was

not above adopting this method, as every lover of the Granduca Madonna

will remember. His friend Bartolommeo also selected this style of composi-

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0HHFKWRSM
• ISBN13: 9798240833687
• Release Date: August 2026
• Publisher: Larina
• Length: 66 Pages
• Weight: 0.22 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.1" x 6.0" x 9.0"