Identifier: madonnainart1897hurl (find matches)
Title: The Madonna in art
Year: 1897 (1890s)
Authors: Hurll, Estelle M. (Estelle May), 1863-1924
Subjects: Mary, Blessed Virgin, Saint
Publisher: Boston, L.C. Page and company
Contributing Library: Harold B. Lee Library
Digitizing Sponsor: Brigham Young University

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, his Christ-child is always in keeping with the mother,a grave little fellow who gives the bless- 200 THE MADONNA IN ART. ing with almost touching dignity. En-throned Madonnas illustrating the themeare those of the Hermitage at St. Peters-burg, of the Belvedere at Vienna, and thefamous Bentivoglio Madonna in S. JacopoMaggiore at Bologna. The last-named isone of the works which enable us to un-derstand Raphaels high praise of theBolognese master. It is a noble composi-tion, full of strong religious feeling. It is a long leap from the fifteenth tothe seventeenth centuries, taking us froma period of genuine religious fervor in art,into an age of artificial imitation. In themidst of the decadence of old ideals andthe birth of art methods entirely new,arose one who seemed to be the reincarna-tion of the old spirit in a form peculiar tohis age and race. This was Murillo, thepeasant-painter of Spain, than whom wasnever artist more pious, not even except-ing the angelic brother of San Marco.
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Murillo. — Madonna and Child. THE MADONNA AS WITNESS. 203 He alone in the seventeenth century keptalive the pure flame of religious fervor,which had burned within the devoutItalians of the early school. Through allhis pictures of the Virgin and child wecan see that the Madonna as the Christ-bearer is the ideal he always has in view.He falls short of it, not through any lackof earnestness, but because his type ofwomanhood is incapable of expressing suchlofty idealism. His virgins are modelledupon the simple Andalusian maidens,sweet, timid, dark-eyed creatures. Theirfaces glow with gentle affection as theylook wistfully out of the picture, or raisetheir eyes to heaven, as if dimly discern-ing the heights which they have neverreached. The Pitti Madonna is one of this sweetcompany, and perhaps the loveliest ofthem all. Both she and her beautiful boyare full of gentle earnestness, and if they 204 THE MADONNA IN ART. are too simple-minded to realize what isin store for them, they are none

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