Visual Analysis: Painting of Batista Dossi Titled The Flight into Egypt - Essay Example

Visual analysis paper In the middle of the sixteenth century, appearance of Italian masters who worked on painting s connected with biblical events was not rare. From the very beginning of the previous millennium, religious motifs with the rising role of Catholic Church had played a key role in the development of Western art. In this context, painting of Batista Dossi titled “The Flight into Egypt” (c. 1520-1530) is typical for such a trend. However, the specific features of this artwork make it unique and outstanding in contrast to the other examples of both Medieval and Renaissance art. In its essence, the given painting reveals the biblical event connected with the escape of Joseph with his wife Mary and the infant Jesus. In this context, the very necessity of this journey was based on the law enacted by King Herold to kill all the infants in the area. Nevertheless, this story is not widely known and is not popular in art in contrast to imaging of Madonna holding a child in glory and peace. Thus, was possible for painter to bring more freedom in the representation of this storyline. Hence, the given analysis reveals untypical features of Dossi’s artistic creature in context of not ordinary demonstration of biblical plot, puzzling proportion of light and shades in circumstances of detailed perspective, and symbolic choice of colors, which all together make this piece of art remarkable for personal experience and for the history of art. To start with, it is an illustrative fact that process of a flight is shown in a realistic and down to earth manner. In fact, it is hard without referring to the title to recognize biblical mythological phenomenon from the first sight on the picture. In particular, the flight is represented with the ride on donkeys across the forests and villages with no wings or birds around. Thus, it is evident that Dossi’s creature is closer to the Renaissance artworks created in the next century than to its own coevals. On the one hand, comparison between “The Flight into Egypt” (c. 1520-1530) and Garofalo’s “Madonna and Child in Glory” (c. 1535) proves the previous statement, since Madonna and Christ on the latter picture are really flying above the skies not riding donkeys. On another hand, the basic similarity between the analyzed painting and Poussin’s “Holy Family on the Steps” (c. 1650) refers to the willingness to put biblical characters in the ordinary circumstances. Hence, Dossi’s “The Flight into Egypt” (c. 1520-1530) can be analyzed as an example of Renaissance art because of its gravitation to naturalism in biblical representation. Concerning the specifics of composition, it is unusual to see an infant in the hands of Joseph not Mary. In fact, it is obvious in the demonstration of any biblical events in the artworks to see women holding small children, especially in the case of Madonna and Christ. For instance, the cases of Vanni’s “Madonna and Child Enthroned” (1343), di Credi’s “Madonna and Child” (c. 1500) and Unknown artist’s “The Holy Family with the Infant Saint John the Baptist” (c. 1540-1550) confirm this statement. In this context, all the mentioned pictures underline the role of women as domestic goddesses that protect the warmth of a house and a family that lives in it. On the contrary, Dossi’s “The Flight into Egypt” (c. 1520-1530) provides different perception of woman, which is common rather for contemporary times than for the sixteenth century. Actually, it represents the situation in such a way that Joseph is holding a child and Mary is showing the way for their mutual journey. In other words, the social roles of these two persons are changed in contrast to traditional perception of man and woman. In addition, the closer look at the donkeys who carry these people strengthens such a perception. In particular, their poses are illustrative in the context of changed gender roles. Even though the forepaws of both donkeys are ready to take the first step on the way shown by Mary, the animals themselves have different image. Precisely, Joseph’s donkey is not initiative and its head is close to the ground. In general, its image evokes an impression of subordination and non-activeness. Unlike this animal, Mary’s donkey is looking more confident and bright. However, its posture does not represent iron will or stubbornness either. Although, the way Dossi imaged these animals stresses on the need to save infant from the cruelty of the king immediately. In general, unusual understanding of biblical event, untypical composition of the artwork, and specific postures and gestures of biblical characters mark out Dossi’s artwork among the other paintings on classic plots. Furthermore, untypical manner of division between light and shadows is noticeable in the given artwork. While looking at the painting, it hard to find the only one central subject. At the first glance, bright colors of lovely landscape on the background catches spectators’ eyes and make them stop and stare at such an unusual representation. Moreover, it is seen that the brightest elements on the canvas are Mary with the hand directing to Jesus and the landscape at the background. With such a positioning, it can be supposed that Mary is showing the bright future that is waiting for her and small Jesus after the journey will be finished. Moreover, only the posture of Mary (especially her hand) contains a detailed picking in the shadows. In contrast, all the other objects on the painting are not clear and somehow grotesque. In this context, a specific role of woman is again evident, since Mary is the only person who can bring hope into the present grey reality. She seems to be a true believer in the bright future. It is interesting how Dossi managed to evoke this feeling by simply using different proportions between light and shadows. In the artworks that represent same biblical characters, there is no trace of such a disproportion. For instance, di Credi’s “Madonna and Child” (c. 1500) reveals equal attention to lights and shadows in the representation of both Mary and the Christ, and puts the landscape on the background with no chance to catch spectator’s eye first. Thus, the bright lights on Mary and landscape in Dossi’s case leads to the assumption that its usage is dedicated to the certain general idea of proportion between lights and shadows. Actually, the choice of light refers rather to the spirit of the painting than to the realistic characteristics of light graduation. Precisely, background landscape looks unnaturally bright in the circumstances when the light is falling on the foreground and the skies above the city are covered with dark thick clouds. The reality reveals a different situation, since the light through the skies is falling portion-by-portion, not so whole and bright. However, such an artificial device is not unique for art in the sixteenth century. This effect is similar in Garofalo’s “Madonna and Child in Glory” (c. 1535), when he represents dark landscape in contrast to clear blue skies. In addition, both paintings pay attention to water (either sea or river) as one of the rare objects that absorb light. Thus, the overall impression of the painting becomes fuzzy, since it represents detailed halftones in the dressing of Mary, bright landscape and blurred image of all the other objects. By referring to the shadows, it becomes clear that Mary and Joseph are not alone on the picture. Once again, in contrast to the majority of paintings referred to biblical events, the given piece of art represents the close link of religious phenomena to the everyday life. On the one hand, four persons are painted near the wooden houses on the right of the picture. In their casual manner, the assumption that they discuss their everyday activity immediately comes to mind. Moreover, the peaceful atmosphere around them demonstrates that they do not realize that they are close to someone great. On another hand, while looking at the bright landscape on the background three people are noticeable. Like the villagers, they are peacefully walking at the seaside. Although, their appearance leads to the significant change in the overall perspective of the painting. In fact, painter places their postures to cover important elements that assist understanding of the picture’s world. In particular, Joseph stands right in front of the road; thus, it is hard to comprehend which direction of continuation it takes. Consequently, the perspective leaves spectator confused in the same manner as the earlier less realistic artworks. In this context, representation of the room on the canvas of di Lorenzo’s “The Annunciation” (c. 1435-1440) has the same puzzling effect, since all the proportions of the background are mixed due to the not clear placing of angels in an apartment. Finally, the closer look at the canvas of “The Flight into Egypt” (c. 1520-1530) reveals the specific style of Dossi in choosing colors for the painting. In fact, it is noticeable that artist plays with different color gammas in order to represent different parts of the overall composition. For instance, he uses white color to show the distant view on the city. If to look closer, bright white color can be seen in the clothes of peaceful postures on the background and on the infant and Joseph on the foreground. In addition, blue is the color of Joseph and Mary, since the both of them wear it. In this context, it is interesting how blue and white mix at the skyline, as if it promises travelers to find their promised land. Concerning the distinguishing between Joseph and Mary, it is also displayed in color. In particular, only Joseph wears yellow and only Mary has pink cloths among all the objects on the artwork. Nevertheless, Mary is sitting on the yellow horsecloth, while Joseph is using red not pink one. Thus, it is reasonable to suppose that Dossi emphasizes Mary’s role with the help of color as well as through her posture and the specific lightning. Concerning the colors that represent the background, they are mostly green, brown and red. In fact, rich usage of green gradation can easily leave spectators wondering. For example, Dossi images trees right behind Mary and Joseph in an attentive way. By having different forms of leaves have also various tones of green: from dark palm to almost yellow sunny crown of broadleaved trees. As for the brown, it also differs from the verging to yellow Jesus cradle to the dark brown roofs of the wooden cottages. Moreover, it is interesting that the closer it is to the city landscape, the brighter is green color. Thus, the overall composition is rather dynamic than stable, since with the help of color choice and gradation the center of picture is line directing eye from the bottom left to the top right place on the artwork. In order to sum up, the presented in the given analysis piece of art is outstanding and controversial. In fact, Batista Dossi’s “The Flight into Egypt” (c. 1520-1530) demonstrated classic biblical story in a new and non-typical manner of women emancipation and infant’s background role. To start with, artist had put Christ in the hands of Joseph and let Mary direct the way of flight on the donkeys through the forest. Furthermore, the choice of gradation between light and shadows is also unequal, since all the objects excluding the woman and landscape are dark and not detailed. Finally, the choice of colors in the cloths and details reveals the willingness to transfer symbolic meaning from the story itself to the details of its representation. In fact, all features put this artwork in the transit position between early attempts to modify the Medieval plots in Proto-Renaissance and widely acknowledged masterpieces of High Renaissance. However, Dossi’s painting had proved that artistic creatures made in the sixteenth century under blurring and typical representation on the surface hide symbolic meaning. It had showed possibility to present new ideas of composition and create drama by the specific choice between lights and shadows. Works Cited: Credi, Lorenzo di. Madonna and Child. C. 1500. Tempera on wood. Lowe Art Museum. Lorenzo, Florenzo di. The Annunciation. C. 1435-1440. N/a. Lowe Art Museum. Dossi, Batista. The Flight into Egypt. C. 1520-1530. Oil on canvas. Lowe Art Museum Garofalo, Benvenuto Tisi da. Madonna and Child in Glory. C. 1535. Tempera and oil on wood. Lowe Art Museum. Poussin, Nicolas. Holy Family on the Steps. C. 1650. Oil on canvas. National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. Unknown artist. The Holy Family with the Infant Saint John the Baptist. C. 1540-1550. Oil on wood. Lowe Art Museum. Vanni, Lippo. Madonna and Child Enthroned with Donors and Saints Dominic and Elizabeth of Hungary. 1343. Tempera on wood. Lowe Art Museum. Read More