THE OLDEST ITALIAN PAINTING IN THE NATIONAL GALLERY, LONDON

       "VIRGIN & CHILD ENTHRONED WITH SAINTS
         by MARGARITO D'AREZZO

       National Gallery, London    
       92.1cms x 183.1cms
       egg tempera on wooden panel

We won't be in Italy again until September when we're going out to Citta della Pieve to celebrate my upcoming birthday - an important milestone - but enough of that as I'm not sure I want to think about it much yet! I've decided my object choice for the month of August should be based on something I've seen recently which reminds me of Umbria and Tuscany and our forthcoming trip. When in London (I've just been there for two weeks to run an annual summer school) I often take myself off to the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square for an hour or two to see some of my favourite paintings. I always find this de-stressing, therapeutic and uplifting even - especially if I've managed to choose a quietish time of day. At one time I wouldn't have spent a lot of time in the Sainsbury Wing which houses the national collection of Renaissance paintings, but now when I go its one of my favourite haunts. When I taught groups of students at Christie's Education I often took them for their first gallery visit at the start of the academic year to this part of the building and one of the first works we would look at would be the one I've chosen to explore today - the "Virgin and Child Enthroned with Saints" painted in the middle of the 13th century. It resonates with our place in Italy because it's by an Arezzo painter. Interestingly it's one of the oldest works in the National Gallery's collection and it was acquired by the gallery early in its history in 1857.

THE SAINSBURY WING OF THE NATIONAL GALLERY - LONDON

THE SPACIOUS GALLERIES OF THE SAINSBURY WING
THE PAINTING EXPLORED PEEPS OUT TO THE LEFT OF THE COLUMN

THE VIRGIN & CHILD WITH SAINTS
by MARGARITO D'AREZZO c1262

Painted in egg tempera on a wooden panel bold lines define the subjects and the colours used by the painter must have been clear and bright when the painting was new. This effect would have been further enhanced by the extensive use of gold to make the frame and the highlights reflect the light. In the centre, the focal point of the composition is the Virgin holding the Christchild on her lap; she wears a byzantine crown and sits on a cushioned seat with lion supports and this grouping is all enclosed in an elliptical shaped decorative mandorla. Given the mandorla is linked to the decorative band which divides the overall compositon in two - its just struck me that two combined together look rather like a buckle and belt. The Virgin is flanked either side by four separate smaller paintings enclosed in well defined linear borders  - each telling its own story related to either Jesus or the Saints. In each of the corner spandrels surrounding the mandorla there are symbols of the four evangelists.

The subjects of the smaller paintings are as follows:

TOP ROW FROM THE LEFT
1.The Nativity
2. An angel frees St John the Evangelist from a cauldron of hot oil
3. St John the Evangelist raising Drusiana from the dead
4. St Benedict resists the temptations of the flesh by throwing himself on a thorny bush

BOTTOM ROW FROM THE LEFT
5. The beheading of St Catherine and her soul being transported to heaven
6. St Nicholas warning against gifts of poisoned oil from the devil
7. St Nicholas saving three youths from execution
8. The imprisoned St Margaret, placed there for her faith, is devoured by the devil disguised
    as a dragon but bursts out through its belly through the power of prayer.

The painting is signed with the following script in latin just beneath the hemline of the Virgin's skirt. It reads: MARGARIT (US) DE' ARITO ME FECIT which translates in to English as "Margarito of Arezzo made me".

So what have we got here which makes this painting so attractive I want to go back and look at it time and time again? Well, I love its simplicity (some would say naivity) for there is no pretence of naturalness about any of the figures or scenes in the composition. I also like to reflect on the fact it was made as sort of  "worshipping/ teaching aid" in the church where it was placed at a time when many congregation members would not be able to read. Almost certainly the painting was a small altarpiece made to go behind an altar table - perhaps in the side chapel of a church.

Many readers will probably have been to art galleries round the world which have in their collections late medieval works of art which show figures with rather flat, featureless faces and a sort of prescriptive format to how the figures are shown. The Christchild for example, is often represented as a small man rather than a recently born baby. It's easy to suggest that all of this is due to the lack of skill and awareness on the part of artists during the mediveal period and that everything became much more real and natural with the advent of the Renaissance. This, however, is too simplistic a perspective for it was never the aim of artists to represent the figures in a realistic a way. The artist is following in the traditions of early Christian art (Byzantine) developed in the middle east - the influence of which was first brought to Italy by the Romans. The mask like features of the Virgin and child distinguish them from the faces or ordinary mortals and it was conventional to represent Jesus as a miniature version of what he would become rather than as an infant.

VIRGIN & CHILD MOSAIC FROM HAGIA SOPHIA
CONSTANTINOPLE (ISTANBUL)
9TH CENTURY

Our Margerito panel is thus representing the Virgin and Child as an icon, a sort of devotional aid assisting worshippers to focus their prayers. Though this panel was considered old fashioned in style for its date by some art historians, (Vasari wrote of the artist as being 'behind the times' in the second half of the 13th century in "Artist's Lives" published in the 16th century) another view is that by faithfuly adhering to accepted ways of representing the holy figures the artist is making a devoted act of worship himself. The 8 miniature panels are full of action and narrative and through the acts of bravery, sacrifice and faith depicted designed to inspire worshippers to cultivate these values in their own lives. It's unusual for an artist to sign a work at this date so either he was proud of his achievement or possibly this is the start of a new trend for personalising works of art - something which would become much more common in the Renaissance.

Please don't be put off by the religous subject matter of many late medieval and early Renaissance Italian paintings. They are colourful, often a feast for the eyes and tell us much about Italian society at this time. Think of them as tokens of a period in Italy when the church was a leading force in society and a major source of patronage for artists looking for commissions for their work. Knowing about how a painting worked or functioned in these societies makes looking at them all the more fascinating and pleasureable.Take an interest in them and you'll possibly become hooked like me! Your friends might think you've gone a bit barmy and you might not be able to "dine out" on them too often - but who cares about that anyway. Looking at art is and should be a personal experience as much as anything else.

CIAO & KBO - IAN

EGG TEMPERA - a paint medium where the coloured pigments are ground and bound in a pure egg yoke. The end result is a quick drying matt finish which is resistant to cracking. Tempera colours do not blend so the only way to obtain gradations is to hatch, cross hatch and overpaint - hence the rather linear style which is seen in this work. It was the dominant medium in easel painting until the late 15th century.

MANDORLA - a symbolic aura or aureole (holy radiance) found in medieval and Renaissance art to enclose subjects such as the virgin and child.

ICON - a venerated image of Christ, the Virgin or a Saint. The image is believed to encapsulate the "essence" of the person depicted.

P.S. My object choice for September, the month of my birthday, is a super piece of  Deruta pottery I found at an outside antiques market earlier in the year for £35

AND - I came across the following quote in the last few days:

"Travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living."
Miriam Beard, b1961