Mona Lisa is not Mysterious or Enigmatic, Part 2: Medieval Stylistic Shifts

In the previous post [Part 1], I discussed how the late Middle Ages witnessed a stylistic shift in Christian art where it became more naturalized. This reflects that artists studied ancient Roman examples. Let’s look at some examples. 

Reims Cathedral

The first example I’ll give is Reims Cathedral. In addition to being taller, more graceful, and more elaborately ornamented than Chartres and Notre Dame de Paris (the two major Cathedrals built before Reims), it also has a group of statues that shows the development of naturalized sculpture in the mid-12^th century. The third and fourth sculptures in the middle right of this group reflect sculptors’ interest in Classical naturalism in the folds of their robes and their contrapposto stances.

Pisa Cathedral’s Pulpit

Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II (r. 1220-1250) spurred a Classical revival in Sicily (which was then still part of the Holy Roman Empire). Artists had already begun studying ancient sculpture and Frederick II encouraged further development of a classical style combined with naturalization. He wanted to build up his reputation as a successor to the ancient Roman Empire. 

Nicola Pisano moved to Tuscany from Sicily in c. 1258 and worked there until 1278. He brought naturalized classicism to Tuscany, which would have a huge impact on the region in the decades/centuries to come. Pisano built this enormous pulpit for Pisa Baptistery in 1260. At first glance, the structure is stereotypically Gothic (note the quatrefoils and tracery). However, there was an effort on Pisano’s part to carve Corinthian columns (although they’re not entirely accurate in terms of proportion). 

Most significant are the relief carvings! The Annunciation, Nativity, and Adoration of the Shepherds relief is one example. It contains three scenes: the Angel Gabriel announcing to Mary her pregnancy with Jesus; Mary’s visit with her older cousin, Elizabeth (also pregnant with John the Baptist), to tell her of her pregnancy with Jesus; and the arrival of the shepherds to worship newly born Jesus. There’s an obvious effort to depict clothing realistically. More importantly, clothing appears draped on real, human bodies rather than awkward masses. Faces look real, albeit classicized. Mary lounges on the bed, resting after she has given birth. The way she is depicted, as well as the flurry of bodies and activity around her, greatly resembles Roman sarcophagi. 

Most important of all is the fact that we get our first Herculean nude! Pisano isn’t totally accurate, but he tries to depict human anatomy correctly AND he carves him in a naturalistic contrapposto stance (rather than a more exaggerated S-curve)

In short, classicism started to capture the imaginations of artists in the middle of the 13^th century, when Gothic architecture was reaching its zenith in popularity and magnificence! Naturalization and classicization also affected painting, but it would take a few more decades to take hold. 

Cimabue and GiottO: Naturalism Enters Medieval Painting

This ikon from 1280, Cimabue’s Madonna and Child Enthroned, helps illustrate the artistic shifts at the end of the 13^th century through painting. Cimabue worked in Florence and this was meant to be the main altarpiece for Santa Trinità in Florence. The shadows of the Virgin’s and Christ’s robes are highlighted in gold. They also sit on a throne and are surrounded by a sparkling gold background (which would have been even brighter 800 years ago).

Used by royalty, the throne is meant to symbolize Madonna’s and Christ’s divine authority. Both Christ and the Virgin look directly at the viewer (we now call this “breaking the fourth wall”), which would have made medieval worshippers feel as if the Divine were speaking directly to them. Mary gestures elegantly at Christ as if she is presenting him to the viewer. Christ also looks more like a miniature man than a toddler or a baby and, again, this is purposeful: it symbolizes the fact that Christ was born divine with all of God’s wisdom. This derives from Byzantine iconography. The throne is held aloft by a throng of angels. The Old Testament prophets who predicted Christ’s coming (Jeremiah, Abraham, David, and Isaiah) sit underneath the throne. Cimabue’s Madonna Enthroned is imbued with deep symbolic iconography that made it a tool for worship, which was aided by the stylized way in which was painted. 

(Oh look, an Italian Gothic church. French Gothic spread across Europe; Italian architecture adopted it. Later on at the height of the Renaissance, artists and theorists like Giorgio Vasari rejected Gothic architecture as inferior to Classical revival. But more on that at a different time. The façade of Santa Trinita was remodelled in the late 16^th century by Mannerist architect, Bernardo Buontalenti)

How and why did classicism and naturalization affect painting at the end of the 13^th century and beginning of the 14^th? Sculptors like Nicola Pisano obviously began carving in this style by the mid-13^th century, but it would take awhile for it take hold with painters. Why? I can’t exactly tell you because I’m not sure myself. One reason why, perhaps, is simply because it was difficult. Keep in mind that Pisano and other sculptors like him were studying ancient statues—they were studying and working within their own medium. Painters also certainly studied ancient statues but translating that onto a two-dimensional surface would not have come naturally. It’s a different mode of thinking that likely required a lot of practice and thought. 

Another reason why is because Byzantine-style painting was the standard and is much more stylized. Thus, painters had the added challenge of changing the very techniques they used, such as modelling figures with light and shadow, naturalizing anatomical proportions, and applying anatomical correctness to more realistic body positions and movement. In short, I think painters had more of an upward curve than sculptors in the 13^th century. 

In any case, Cimabue’s student, Giotto di Bondone (called Giotto) is viewed as the first arbiter of naturalism in medieval Italian painting. He painted his own Madonna and Child Enthroned for the Church of the Ognissanti (All Saints’ Church) just 25-30 years after Cimabue painted his in 1305-1310 but, stylistically, it is significantly different. Giotto doesn’t paint the robes with floating heads: he models Christ’s and Madonna’s bodies correctly and paints their robes overtop. In Cimabue’s Madonna and Child Enthroned, you’ll notice that the Virgin’s legs are, in a word, crazy: her knees are even but the lower portion of the right leg is much longer than her left. Her right arm (gesticulating at Christ) is also very short, as if it were also stretched out. In comparison, Giotto makes an effort to make the legs and her right arm look like realistic masses underneath the heavy robes. Christ also looks more like a toddler than a small man BUT looks just old enough to convey the theological meaning of His divinity. Giotto also endeavors to employ foreshortening with the throne. He doesn’t quite get it right but that’s okay: mathematical perspective had yet to be invented/discovered/figured out. Finally, they are both surrounded by angels and saints, who are similarly modelled and appear to have real, physical bodies underneath their heavy robes.