Madonna of humility refers to artistic portrayals of the Virgin Mary which depict her sitting on the ground, or upon a low cushion. She may be holding the Christ Child in her lap. [1] The term Virgin of humility is also used to refer to this style of depiction. The iconography originated in the 14th century, and was most common in that and the following century.
Humility is a virtue extolled by Saint Francis of Assisi, and this style of image was associated with Franciscan piety, although it was not the creation of the Franciscans, since the artist first associated with the image, Simone Martini, had ties with the Dominicans and may have created the image for them. [2] The word humility derives from the Latin humus, meaning earth or ground. [3] [4]
The earliest known painting of this type dates to 1346 and is at the Museo Nazionale in Palermo. It represents a Madonna seated on a small cushion just above the ground. The Christ Child partially looks at the viewer. The painting bears the inscription Nostra Domina de Humilitate, with the low cushion intended to express her humility. This painting in Palermo is, however, of a somewhat mediocre quality and was perhaps based on a work of Simone Martini. A similar painting in the Gemäldegalerie, Berlin, [5] and both paintings were probably based on a Madonna of humility by Martini. [6] A Virgin of humility fresco by Simone Martini survives in the Palais des Papes in Avignon, France. [7]
An altar was dedicated to the Madonna of humility in the church of Santa Maria Novella in Florence in 1361. [8] This style of painting spread quickly through Italy and by 1375 examples began to appear in Spain, France and Germany. It was the most popular among the depictions of the early Trecento artistic period. [6]
Domenico di Bartolo's Madonna of Humility, painted in 1433, was described by art historian Andrew Ladis as one of the most innovative devotional images of the early Renaissance. [9] The formal symmetry of the strips below her feet and those hovering above her symbolize the harmony of her human nature and status as an earthly woman, with her heavenly queenship. Despite the low seating position, the star and the gems as well as the halo signify her regal status. [9] In this painting, which is at the Pinoteca Nazionale in Siena, Domenico did not use cast shadows as he did in other works such as the Madonna Enthroned. [10]
Filippo Lippi's Madonna of Humility, painted between 1431 and 1437, is also an important work and illustrates Lippi's early style, when he was attentive to Masaccio's use of large and round figures. It was painted during a period when Lippi had dropped out of sight, and had perhaps gone into exile with Cosimo de' Medici. [11]
A miracle attributed to the fresco of the Madonna of Humility painted in circa 1370 gave rise to the construction of the Basilica of Our Lady of Humility in Pistoia, Tuscany, Italy. The fresco is sometimes attributed to Giovanni di Bartolomeo Cristiani, but was perhaps done by a local painter from Pistoia. [12] The Basilica, built by architect Ventura Vitoni, is an important example of high Renaissance architecture. Giorgio Vasari built the octagonal dome atop the Basilica in 1562. The original fresco remains within the Basilica. [13]
Other key examples include Bernardo Daddi's central panel in the De Carlo Triptych in which the Madonna is shown sitting in a very low chair, rather than on a cushion. [14] Fra Angelico's representation of about 1430 (which includes two angels) is notable in that Jesus is approached from above, focusing on his divinity. [15] Giovanni di Paolo's depiction of about 1456 (see gallery below) represents a transition in the perception of nature, with the visual landscape forming itself around the seated Madonna. [16]
The feast of the Humility of the Blessed Virgin Mary was on July 17. [17] [18] [19] It was included in the General Roman Calendar of 1954 among the feasts pro aliquibus locis (in some places), but was removed from the General Roman Calendar of 1960.
Upon the election of Pope Francis in 2013, Russian Orthodox Bishop Hilarion Alfeyev gifted an icon of Our Lady of Humility, which the Roman Pontiff accepted; then donated to Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI during their farewell meeting at Castel Gandolfo. [20]
In art, a Madonna is a representation of Mary, either alone or with her child Jesus. These images are central icons for both the Catholic and Orthodox churches. The word is from Italian ma donna 'my lady' (archaic). The Madonna and Child type is very prevalent in Christian iconography, divided into many traditional subtypes especially in Eastern Orthodox iconography, often known after the location of a notable icon of the type, such as the Theotokos of Vladimir, Agiosoritissa, Blachernitissa, etc., or descriptive of the depicted posture, as in Hodegetria, Eleusa, etc.
Filippino Lippi was an Italian painter working in Florence, Italy during the later years of the Early Renaissance and first few years of the High Renaissance.
Simone Martini was an Italian painter born in Siena. He was a major figure in the development of early Italian painting and greatly influenced the development of the International Gothic style.
Lorenzo Monaco was an Italian painter of the late Gothic to early Renaissance age. He was born Piero di Giovanni in Siena, Italy. Little is known about his youth, apart from the fact that he was apprenticed in Florence. He was influenced by Giotto and that artist's followers Spinello Aretino and Agnolo Gaddi.
Ambrogio Lorenzetti or Ambruogio Laurati was an Italian painter of the Sienese school. He was active from approximately 1317 to 1348. He painted The Allegory of Good and Bad Government in the Sala dei Nove in Siena's Palazzo Pubblico. His elder brother was the painter Pietro Lorenzetti.
Pietro Lorenzetti or Pietro Laurati was an Italian painter, active between c. 1306 and 1345. Together with his younger brother Ambrogio, he introduced naturalism into Sienese art. In their artistry and experiments with three-dimensional and spatial arrangements, the brothers foreshadowed the art of the Renaissance.
Filippo Lippi, also known as Lippo Lippi, was an Italian painter of the Quattrocento and a Carmelite Priest.
Maestà[maeˈsta], the Italian word for "majesty", designates a classification of images of the enthroned Madonna with the child Jesus, the designation generally implying accompaniment by angels, saints, or both. The Maestà is an extension of the "Seat of Wisdom" theme of the seated "Mary Theotokos", "Mary Mother of God", which is a counterpart to the earlier icon of Christ in Majesty, the enthroned Christ that is familiar in Byzantine Mosaics. Maria Regina is an art historians' synonym for the iconic image of Mary enthroned, with or without the Child.
For the village near Livorno, see Sassetta, Tuscany
Domenico di Bartolo, born in Asciano, Siena, was a Sienese painter who became active during the early Renaissance period. He was inaccurately named by the famous painter, writer and historian Giorgio Vasari as the nephew of well-reputed Italian artist Taddeo di Bartolo, who is featured in Vasari's Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects. By the early 1400s, Domenico di Bartolo was one of Siena's artists most influenced by the new Florentine style of painting. During the time that he was active and working, Domenico was the only Sienese painter to have received commissions by clients in Florence. Domenico was also employed by Lorenzo Vecchietta, otherwise referred to as Lorenzo di Pietro, to work alongside him for the fresco The Care of the Sick, which is today considered a masterpiece of the Pilgrim's Hall in the hospital Santa Maria della Scala (Siena).
Taddeo di Bartolo, also known as Taddeo Bartoli, was an Italian painter of the Sienese School during the early Renaissance. He is among the artists profiled in Vasari's biographies of artists or Vite. Vasari claims he is the uncle of Domenico di Bartolo.
Lippo Memmi was an Italian painter from Siena. He was the foremost follower of Simone Martini, who was his brother-in-law.
Italian Renaissance painting is the painting of the period beginning in the late 13th century and flourishing from the early 15th to late 16th centuries, occurring in the Italian Peninsula, which was at that time divided into many political states, some independent but others controlled by external powers. The painters of Renaissance Italy, although often attached to particular courts and with loyalties to particular towns, nonetheless wandered the length and breadth of Italy, often occupying a diplomatic status and disseminating artistic and philosophical ideas.
The decade of the 1450s in art involved many significant events, especially in sculpture.
Andrea Vanni was an Italian painter of the early Renaissance, active mainly in his native Siena.
Bartolomeo Bulgarini, also known as Bulgarino or Bologhini, was an Italian painter of the Trecento period in Siena both before and after the Black Death.
Siena is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena.
The Basilica of Our Lady of Humility or Madonna dell'Umiltà is a Renaissance-style, Roman Catholic Marian basilica in Pistoia, region of Tuscany, Italy.
The Pinacoteca Nazionale is a national museum in Siena, Tuscany, Italy. Inaugurated in 1932, it houses especially late medieval and Renaissance paintings from Italian artists. It is housed in the Brigidi and Buonsignori palaces in the city's center: the former, built in the 14th century, it is traditionally identified as the Pannocchieschi family's residence. The Palazzo Bichi-Buonsignori, although built in the 15th century, has a 19th-century neo-medieval façade based on the city's Palazzo Pubblico.
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