Madonna and Child with Saint Barbara and Saint Catherine; Artist Unknown, (ca. 1525)
The display reads:
Netherlandish, artist unknown
Madonna and Child with Saint Barbara and Saint Catherine, ca. 1525
Oil on panel
Museum Works of Art Fund 58.196
This panel painting was intended to incite the viewer's devotion by evoking the senses of sight, touch, sound, and taste. The nursing Virgin and infant Christ are depicted with two female martyr-saints, Saint Catherine of Alexandria and Saint Barbara. The female saints can be identified by their attributes: Saint Catherine with the sword and spiked wheel (instruments of her martyrdom), and Saint Barbara seated before a tower (where she was confined) with a prayer book. Their brightly-colored and textured garments and active hands heighten the viewer's sense of sight and touch. On the hem of Saint Catherine's robe are Dutch words that praise the Virgin, taken from a prayer or devotional song and suggesting the sound of recitation or singing. The dish of fruit being offered by an angel, together with the nursing Virgin, refer to the viewer's spiritual consumption (or "taste"), elucidating the nourishment that Christ brings to the human soul. While the Christ Child's direct gaze invites the devout viewer to this visual and spiritual feast, the artist shows each of the three women - their eyes averted or fixed on a prayer book - in the act of quiet meditation, modeling the viewer's intended behavior.
Taken November 16th, 2010.
Madonna and Child with Saint Barbara and Saint Catherine; Artist Unknown, (ca. 1525)
The display reads:
Netherlandish, artist unknown
Madonna and Child with Saint Barbara and Saint Catherine, ca. 1525
Oil on panel
Museum Works of Art Fund 58.196
This panel painting was intended to incite the viewer's devotion by evoking the senses of sight, touch, sound, and taste. The nursing Virgin and infant Christ are depicted with two female martyr-saints, Saint Catherine of Alexandria and Saint Barbara. The female saints can be identified by their attributes: Saint Catherine with the sword and spiked wheel (instruments of her martyrdom), and Saint Barbara seated before a tower (where she was confined) with a prayer book. Their brightly-colored and textured garments and active hands heighten the viewer's sense of sight and touch. On the hem of Saint Catherine's robe are Dutch words that praise the Virgin, taken from a prayer or devotional song and suggesting the sound of recitation or singing. The dish of fruit being offered by an angel, together with the nursing Virgin, refer to the viewer's spiritual consumption (or "taste"), elucidating the nourishment that Christ brings to the human soul. While the Christ Child's direct gaze invites the devout viewer to this visual and spiritual feast, the artist shows each of the three women - their eyes averted or fixed on a prayer book - in the act of quiet meditation, modeling the viewer's intended behavior.
Taken November 16th, 2010.