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Bettina De Mesa (Page 1)

Holmes

Art History 100

16 November 2012

Coronation of the Virgin Altarpiece

Preceding the illustrious masters of the Renaissance, Guariento di Arpo demonstrated

his adroitness as a painter by forming a grandiose version of the Coronation of the Virgin.

Chronicling the experimental era of art in the 1300s, the altarpiece’s 86 by 104-3/8 inch stature

certainly awed the religious figures who commissioned this ornament for their church. Created

in an era where most citizens were illiterate, the altarpiece probably served as a visual narrative

for the church attendees who were deprived of the knowledge needed to read. Painted on

numerous panels, this polyptych utilizes the use of Tempera paint and gold leaf to resemble the

Byzantine influence on Guariento. However, since the Gothic influence lethargically invaded

Italy there was an infusion on both art styles that exudes the experimental nature of di Arpos

mind.

Relying on my amateur perspective of the painting, the central panel seems to be

focused around Jesus and what I presume to be the Virgin Mary. Holistically, this altar painting

is a devotional piece of work that is meant to praise the story of Jesus while simultaneously

inciting a feeling of repentance for those who view this art work. Since it was created with the

sole intent to be placed within an altar, it was di Arpo’s duty to form a work of art that’s visually

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captivating as well as informative. There are a total of twenty-four individual pieces that

represent the story of Christ. The most critical seems to be the largest panel in which it shows

an image of Christ bestowing a crown upon the Virgin Mary’s head. I can assume that it’s

symbolically stating the fact that the Virgin Mary is now the link between the mortal beings and

God. The two figures are floating in mid-air while they are being heralded by angels who are

placed near their heads. It is evident that these figures are celestial beings due to the

incorporation of halos within each character. Moving further down the panel, there are a

plethora of angels who gaze up in amazement over the event. The color that di Arpo uses in the

panel is warm and inviting assumingly pandering to the audience who want to marvel at such a

grand piece of art. Scattered within the panels, there are circular spaces that include the images

of arbitrary saints. Each one of these saints is painted in the direction of the center altar piece

further proving my hypothesis that the central theme is incorporated in the middle panel. The

line of narratives that are shown on the left panel starts with the image of Jesus cradled by a

cloth in a manager which is alluding to the nativity story. Consequently, the panel next to that

shows an image of the three wise men who give Jesus their gifts from God. The picture on the

middle left then portrays the kiss of Judas that Jesus receives which ultimately led to his

demise. Logically, the next scene that came afterwards is the whipping of the Lord by the

government appointed soldiers. Moreover, the bottom image on the left panel show Mary

Magdalene who wept up the blood of Jesus after he was whipped by the soldiers. The red cloth

on her back symbolizes the towel that she used to clean up the holy blood of Jesus. Lastly, the

resurrection of Christ is then portrayed on the left, bottom right image as he is praised by both

the damned and his followers. On the right panel it portrays the numerous anecdotes about

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Jesus and his crucifixion. I think that the pivotal aspect of the right panel is the bottom right

image which shows Jesus being lifted up into heaven by these cherub-esque angels. The

portrait of Jesus is floating in mid-air validating the assumption that he is the son of God.

Commenting on Di Arpo’s technique, his brilliance lays with his fusion of Gothic and

late-Byzantine techniques. In the center panel, the image of Jesus and the Virgin Mary is shown

to be floating amongst the angels. The placement of their bodies is to the middle as to

emphasize their importance along with their size. The more pivotal characters to the story like

Jesus and the Virgin Mary are heavily weighted down at the bottom sharply contrasting from

the lighter, less recognized figures. The halos that are placed around their head is reminiscent

of the Byzantine style along with the gilded background, meant to represent the heavenly

realm, seems to dominate the entire piece of work. Consequently, di Arpo incorporates the use

of line as shown by the right panel’s bottom image. Di Arpo also utilizes color to differentiate

between the characters of the story. The Virgin Mary is dressed in a royal blue coating that is

lined with gold, seemingly emphasizing her importance. Blue is a color that is associated with

heaven and the wisdom of humans, suggesting that she is the perfect human to be crowned the

mediator between the heavens and the mortal world. In the scene including Mary Magdalene,

she is represented in red as is symbolizes the blood that she had soaked up in order to preserve

Christ’s holiness. Moreover, Judas is represented in the color yellow which symbolizes

cowardice within a person. The act of betrayal that Judas bestowed upon Jesus shows his lack

of courage to stand up for his beliefs. Along with the use of color, di Arpo demonstrates a

realistic portrayal of human emotion within the painting. Working with such an emotion-

evoking panel calls for the use of realism to incite the same horrified reaction with the

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audience. In Christ’s most emotionally driven scenes like the crucifixion and the deposition, we

see the distraught look in the character’s face as their lord is experiencing the punishment

meant for the sinners. Di Arpo anticipates the use of realism in this piece of work as this

technique is more commonly utilized during the Renaissance. He adds weight to the characters

to create the illusion of a realistic human form. In addition to the formation of the human

shape, di Arpo paints clothing in the way that it clings and moves along with the body as

opposed to just hanging. The movements that the characters are performing left them in a

twisted stance giving rise to the use of contrapposto. Contributing to di Arpos experimentation

of technique, he interplays the use of light and dark to create shadows along the outlines of the

figures in order to create a sense of volume. The toying between shades is reminiscent of

chiaroscuro although its use is not as prominent compared to other artists.

Due to the highly religious era that di Arpo lived in, works of art commissioned by the

church was extremely common. His portrayal of Christ’s narrative is depicted in a realistic style

that it conveys the raw human emotion assumedly experienced by the individuals who resided

in Jesus’ era. Consequently, any churchgoer in the thirteen hundreds was likely to feel the same

heartbreak over seeing their Lord crucified for their sins.

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Coronation of the Virgin Altarpiece

Receipt from the Norton Simon