Maravillas C., Melder E. J.
Leonardo da Vinci’s painting, figure 16-18 Madonna on the Rocks (1483), was created during the High Renaissance period, in which he portrays the Virgin Mary as a real human mother, no longer idolizing her as the queen of heaven. While Elisabeth Vigee-Lebrun’s portrait, figure 17-25 Marie Antoinette and Her Children (1781) was created during the Rococo period and shows Marie Antoinette, the wife of Louis XVI, as a loving mother, with only her clothing representing her social status. Both portraits were designed to paint a much more human image of the two women; da Vinci with his motherly display of the queen of heaven and Vigee-Lebrun with her warm portrait of the Queen of France.
In both paintings, Madonna on the Rocks (1483) and Marie Antoinette and Her Children (1718) the viewer can visualize implied lines in the form of pyramids. Leonardo da Vinci, painted the Virgin Mary with her arms extended, her head is the top angle of the pyramid, and her extended arms in the direction of two out of the three children sitting beside her, therefore, appearing as the endpoints of the pyramid. Elisabeth Vigee-Lebrun’s portrait has the same effect on the viewer, the implied lines to form …show more content…
The small child sitting on Marie Antoinette’s lap appears to be clinging on to Marie Antoinette’s dress with his/her right hand. The body is slightly leaning back, as if the child was not well balanced on her lap. Giving the viewer a sense that the child is close to falling off or is attempting to leave her lap, a sign of chaos which is unusual for royals. Another intentional display of the royal family as more human. On the other hand, da Vinci’s painting, has a sense of stability and balance in the way Mary and the children are sitting: they appear to be firmly resting on the rocks. This choice of depiction helps us view the Virgin Mary and her companions as stable in an abstract
Leonardo da Vinci’s painting, figure 16-18 Madonna on the Rocks (1483), was created during the High Renaissance period, in which he portrays the Virgin Mary as a real human mother, no longer idolizing her as the queen of heaven. While Elisabeth Vigee-Lebrun’s portrait, figure 17-25 Marie Antoinette and Her Children (1781) was created during the Rococo period and shows Marie Antoinette, the wife of Louis XVI, as a loving mother, with only her clothing representing her social status. Both portraits were designed to paint a much more human image of the two women; da Vinci with his motherly display of the queen of heaven and Vigee-Lebrun with her warm portrait of the Queen of France.
In both paintings, Madonna on the Rocks (1483) and Marie Antoinette and Her Children (1718) the viewer can visualize implied lines in the form of pyramids. Leonardo da Vinci, painted the Virgin Mary with her arms extended, her head is the top angle of the pyramid, and her extended arms in the direction of two out of the three children sitting beside her, therefore, appearing as the endpoints of the pyramid. Elisabeth Vigee-Lebrun’s portrait has the same effect on the viewer, the implied lines to form …show more content…
The small child sitting on Marie Antoinette’s lap appears to be clinging on to Marie Antoinette’s dress with his/her right hand. The body is slightly leaning back, as if the child was not well balanced on her lap. Giving the viewer a sense that the child is close to falling off or is attempting to leave her lap, a sign of chaos which is unusual for royals. Another intentional display of the royal family as more human. On the other hand, da Vinci’s painting, has a sense of stability and balance in the way Mary and the children are sitting: they appear to be firmly resting on the rocks. This choice of depiction helps us view the Virgin Mary and her companions as stable in an abstract