Trip to the National Gallery in London

I chose a religious themed painting from the Medieval period and one from the Renaissance to compare in terms of both their subject matter and aesthetics:

Though both Duccio’s “Annunciation” (painted in 1311) and Raphael’s “The Madonna of the Pinks” (1506) portray the Madonna and are religious-themed, their subject matter and aesthetics set them worlds apart, clearly depicting intrinsic differences between medieval and Renaissance art. Duccio’s “Annuciation” is, as its name suggests, a painting telling of Mary’s visit by the archangel Gabriel to inform her that she will be visited by the Holy Ghost and will be the mother of God’s son. A dove is present in the top center of the painting to represent the Holy Ghost. Raphael’s painting, on the other hand, depicts Mary sitting, holding the infant Jesus on her lap, holding “pinks,” or pink carnations, to distract him. While Duccio’s subject matter presents a mood of solemn intensity through Mary’s divine call, especially shown by her surprised reaction of drawing her robes closer to her and leaning away from the angel, Raphael’s painting provides a subject of the tender bond of love between a mother and her child. As such, Raphael’s portrayal of the Madonna presents a subject that is much more personal and real to the viewer, as she appears more human; a mother looking playing with her child and gazing lovingly at him. Through portrayal of the Madonna, however, the pictures are similar in showing a religious subject that was a significant aspect of both medieval and Renaissance art.
The many aesthetic elements of the two paintings display significant differences that show the progression of realism in art from the medieval to Renaissance period. Raphael’s painting, for example, utilizes bright colors and the effect of light and shading to an exemplary degree, so as to create a more realistic scene. He accomplishes this with minute details ranging from the variation of color tones on Mary’s cheeks, to the shadows of the folds in her clothing and the pillow on which Christ is sitting on her lap, to the soft green, gray and blue colors that soften the scene and add to the sweet, gentle disposition of both Mary and the painting overall. Duccio’s “Annunciation,” on the other hand, is characterized by dull, but severe colors characteristic of the medieval time period, with the exception of Mary’s bright blue, gold-lined robe over her red attire to accentuate her importance in the scene. The gold background and halo above her head are also very characteristic of the era and give no sense of an attempt at realism. This painting is also characterized by clearly defined vertical and horizontal lines, with a few simple curves that attempt at dimensionality and divide the flat space between the angel and Mary, but differ significantly in comparison with Raphael’s almost tangible figures alive with flesh, substance, and definite form. The human anatomy of Raphael’s painting also enhances the scene’s realism as it is proportionally accurate, while Duccio’s Madonna, for example, has a long face and unnaturally long fingers. The paintings are similar in their symbolic content; Duccio places a vase of lilies between the angel and Mary to represent her purity and virginity, and Raphael’s Mary holds out pink carnations to her baby as a Renaissance artistic symbol of divine love.