#IBmakingart

"Enthroned Virgin and Child"

"\

 #IBmakingart

This piece is known as Enthroned Virgin and Child, created in 13th century England.  The artist of the ivory sculpture is unknown, but the sculpture was believed to have been created in the height of popularity of the "cult of the Virgin".  The majority of the series is French, so an English example is a unique outlier.  The carved statue stands at almost one foot in height and half a foot in width.  

England at the time of the pieces commission had heavy French influence, due to the arrival of the Normans.  The Norman kings held French territory during the time, allowing a steady flow of trade and travel between the countries.  This context explains for artwork's connection to a French series of works.  

The subject of the painting is "the Virgin", or Mary, and with "child", or infant Jesus, meaning the theme is centered around the culture and religious beliefs of the Christian faith.  When the piece was in its original state, the child was crawling up on the virgin's knee as she looked down affectionately towards him.  Time has caused the sculpture to lose its original form, now missing pieces and featuring a brown coloration rather than the while coloration ivory posesses.  

The handiwork of the artist produced a realistic representation of a human's composure.  A single detail did not go unoticed in the draping of the fabric.  Each fold makes perfect sense in direction and shape when studied under a careful eye.  The artist was able to give a believable representation to a person that is not living on this earth.  This representation of the past is similar to Shakespeare's writing from the past about the past.  The artist of Enthroned Virgin and Child was faced with the same challenge and situation as Shakespeare, in attempting to represent a time without any expirience, only gathered context.  

It is significant to note the art work in relationship to its title.  The word "enthroned" means taking the throne or rule.  This means that the artist believes that when Jesus was born, both Mary and her son became rulers.  The definition of a king or ruler I believe was used in naming the work is someone who leads a large group of people.  Jesus is the "leader" of  the Christian faith.  What is significant to note is the name says Enthroned Virgin and Child.  This shows that Mary is thought to have taken a part in leading the Christian faith, just as her son did, through being Jesus' mother.  

Upon looking at the meaning even closer, I see a historical significance to the work's title.  The sculpture was created in 13th century England, meaning that the artist was under the rule of a monarchy.  By saying "enthroned", the artist is commenting on how Mary and Jesus are the rulers of the Christian people, not the king.  This may be to show disregard for the ruling king at the time, similarly to how Macbeth was used by Shakespeare to comment on his dissatisfaction towards the monarchy's negative regard towards Catholics, instead prefering Protestants.  A similar religious turmoil may have been existant in the 13th century, with the sculpture's commision, leading the artist to comment on the religious condition of the time.  

My original perception, prior to reading the work's description online, was much darker in theme and nature.  I couldn't help but first noticing the hole in the statue, near to the woman's heart.  With only the foot and leg of the child left, I assumed that the artist intended Mary's heart to have been torn out with the loss of her child.  The brown staining stripped the virgin of her pure coloration, leaving the statue looking much more dire.  When combining these observations, I determined that the artist was commenting on the progression of the Christian religion, thought to be adopting a more hopeless tone caused by the loss of religion (represented by the missing child).  The hole in Mary's heart is telling of the loss she feels due to this sudden loss.  

Well... what I hypothesised definently varied from the piece's true meaning.  The work in actuallity was created in representation of the positives of the Christian religion, bringing life and visual representation to a widely known and accepted component found in the Bible.  The ivory was once telling of the virgin's purity and holiness.  Her child, when intact, was crawling up to his mother, where he was met by her loving gaze.