ADAM SPEAR - Post Pop Answers

Urban Aesthetic for All

Gabriel Diego Delgado Jun 4

ADAM SPEAR

Post Pop For All

By Gabriel Diego Delgado

Adam Spear’s new body of artwork delicately dabbles in the commercially viable palette of post-pop imagery while simultaneously throwing a middle digitus impudicus to the quasi-establishment of monopoly driven designers who volley for acceptable faux graffiti.

Yes, Spear has toned down his juxtaposed painterly and image-driven narrative that once revolved around the rudimentary protagonist, but he has replaced it with a highly self-edited and toned-down cryptic zest of grey-scaled urban decay.

New backgrounds include facades that resemble puckered wheat pasted posters on abandoned buildings to pirated copy-right infringed appropriations what reek of mockery to the corporate enterprises.

His flair of capturing the placid and low-key counter-culture vibes or the self-centered fashionista personality play center stage to something more diabolical and sinister, more underbelly- a world of deviancy, of anti-authoritarian regimes, of anarchistic revelry.

In “Relax”, a mixed media painting measuring 48” x 48”, Spear lobs an Abercrombie & Fitch persona at the viewer, complete with trucker hat, short shorts and canvas high-tops.  If you look carefully, you can see the Adbuster infringement; smooth like freshly rolled tar— pungent in its high temperature of toxic exhaust. Our nostrils flair and our insides clench, but we know it’s needed to allow the plight of metropolitan movement.

The same applies here, Spear acknowledges the trivial and uni-dimensional poser that mimics the authentic social norms. He accepts the trifling barrage of mindless advertisement, but redirects, flips, and arrogates these notions to smooth the graphic highways of billboard liberation.  

“New Wave” pierces our self-imposed and transparent barricade…those communal rose-colored glasses of consumer culture acceptance. A tattooed model’s gaze is redirected past the viewer to the unknown--the abyss of consumerism teaming with shopping mall kiosks of wooden cell phone covers and aromatic incense dispensaries. 

The evidences and plight of taggers and juvenile misfits run amok on the painting surface. Layers of lacerated symbolgy conceal gestural marks by the artist, like some kind of gang cross-out war; but this home turf warfare is internal and yet instantaneously external – a metaphor for the overabundance of capitalistic tendencies by industrial savants.

Adam Spear’s new work has visually matured by leaps and bounds…artistic movements that continue to plot destructive demises on the restrictive shackles of oppressive consumerism.

As interviewed over the phone, Spear says his world is “upside down”.

“My days are flipped…I paint all night now and sleep when I can.  The room I am in now, is the room I also paint in. I don’t go out to the store too much anymore. I am ordering things online constantly,” he adds.

As he continues to distance himself further into seclusion, he has also deeply submerged himself into the virtual realities of artistic existence.

From online and free-sourced programs to creative suites, Spear uses a wide-range of graphic software as tools as a means to an end. Not only is he highly cognizant of his decisions to utilize these digital programs, but he is also conscious of his decision to then reverse this train of thought and use the digital compositions only as muses and inspirations by painting them “organically” onto the canvases and panels; bringing his artwork full circle back to the painter’s hand and the coveted artist touch.

A hero in his own way, he finds unique ways to cope, just like all of us.

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TO INQUIRE ABOUT PRICING AND SIZE

EMAIL GABRIEL DIEGO DELGADO

delgadoconsultingandappraising@gmail.com

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To read additional articles by Gabriel Diego Delgado, click image for links.

Aso See Adam Spear in the newest edition of “Contemporary Land Magazine” !

Read the article here: https://issuu.com/gdelgado2010/docs/contemporary_land_magazine_4-19-2020

About the author:

Mr. Delgado has held three museum administrative positions which includes two Curator of Exhibitions roles, two gallery directorships and have written and published essays and criticisms on Kenneth Noland, Cleve Gray, Alex Katz, Roberto Matta, among many others.

His writings, critiques, and essays can be found on various art websites like glasstire.com, Contemporary Texas magazine, Art Style magazine, The Dominion Magazine, and Wall Street International Magazine; as well as over 20 other print and online platforms.

While working as the Project Manager of Research and Development for a Smithsonian affiliate, he educated himself on institutional donor-ship and financial sustainability.

Having passed numerous courses offered by the FAIC / AIC (Foundation for the American Institute of Conservation / American Institute of Conservation) he is also well versed in proper care for fine art. Mr. Delgado is a graduate of the International Society of Appraisers coursework reflective of the USPAP requirements, he has gained a unique understanding of the fine art appraisal industry.

He has worked with both the NEA (National Endowment for the Arts) and the IMLS ( Institute of Museum and Library Services) as a Field Grant Reviewer, and help facilitate grant funding opportunities for institutional federal funding.

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58 California Artists Saturday, June 13, at 12 pm (PDT) Online sale of paintings, sculpture, collage, prints, books on LiveAuctioneers.com Curated by Steven Wolf Fine Arts Jeremy Gilbert-Rolfe, Untitled, 1979, oil on canvas, 18 x 18 x 3 inches Top: Christopher Brown, Tent, 1984, charcoal on paper, 41.5 x 29.75 inches. Bottom left: Dedan Antara Bryant, Untitled Party, Circa 2010, oil on canvas, 24 x 48 inches. Works by: Hassel Smith Sidney Gordin David Best Masako Takahashi Phillip Roeber Suzanne Jackson Claude Clark Robbie Conal Gary Woo John Beech Ted Joans Collection of 1960s Lyrical Abstractions by Irene Pattinson Collection of 1970s Radical Monochromes by James Ochman Newly uncovered artists from San Francisco and beyond All things eccentric, obscure and underground. Auction Time:  June 13, 2020 at 12 pm (PDT) Preview is by appointment at our warehouse in the Bayview neighborhood of San Francisco View and bid on Auction Lots at Liveauctioneers.com View and bid on Auction lots at Invaluable.com For questions, phone bids or conservation reports please contact Grand Dukes Theater at 415 902-9040 or Granddukestheater@gmail.com Find Out More

Art and the Feudal System

Jacob Wrestling the Angel The Vienna Genesis, Probably made in Syria or Palestine. Early 6th century. Tempera, gold, and silver paint on purple-dyed vellum, approx. 9"x12" Osterreiche Nationalbibliothek, Vienna Byzantine Style detail images go tosee also Stokstad fig 7-35 Page with Rebecca at the Well

Form:  This manuscript page, made on animal skin, marks the evolution of Christian manuscript making.  Manuscripts combined two forms of art, calligraphy and painting.  The term calligraphy literally means beautiful writing (kalos: beauty graphos: to write)  The letters and words are written in silver (now tarnished black) in Greek and follow a fairly unified style of script without much of the variation and ornamentation that develops later in Christian and Islamic manuscripts.The page was conceived of as a whole composition in which the words at the top, packed tightly and uniformly across the surface, balance with the almost frieze like image beneath.  The narrative beneath starts at the left and continues around in a reversed "C" like shape.  Multiple scenes with the same characters inhabit the same space.  This convention referred to as a continuous narrative, run throughout the entire manuscript and mimic the paintings of Dura Europos. Iconography:  Color and the materials used to adorn the book are iconic.  The silver and gold paint elevate the physical and therefore highlight the spiritual value of the text.  The same is true of the expensive purple dye of the page which is also symbolic of royalty.  (Note the purple robes of Theodora and Justinian above.)  The decorative qualities of how things are written, called calligraphy (calos- beautiful graphy- to write) is symbolic in and of itself.  The beauty and care in which the letters, words, and decorative forms are written is symbolic of the beauty of the meaning of the words and phrases.  Figures are represented very much like Christ figure from Hagia Sofia, which exists from the 13th century. The drapery stylization and face are the same. The story here is important Read Mencher Liaisons 15-21 (Selections from Genesis-Jacob and Esau) Context:  Early Christian artists or calligraphers, borrowed and developed the decorative forms of calligraphy from the Romans, Greeks and sacred books of the Jewish Torah, in order to decorate and honor the words of the Old and New Testaments.

Since Jews and Christians share in many of the ideas expressed in the Old Testament, one of the concepts they share is the second commandment which forbids the creation of graven images.  Early Jews and Christians took this commandment quite literally and did not create any such sculptures or images.  The rational was that image making could lead to idolatry.  Some Jewish groups and Christians felt that the word graven indicated a ban on sculptural images but both graphic ones.  Christians were split over this decision but came on a comprise in which images were useful because they instructed. This controversy is called the iconoclastic controversy (see Stokstad "Iconoclasm" page 309).  This may account for the deliberate stylizations and lack of naturalism of the figures that is similar to the relief sculptures on the Arch of Constantine.

Virgin and Child with Saints and Angel icon second half of 6th century Encaustic on wood, 27x18" Monastery of Saint Catherine, Mount Sinai, Egypt

Form:  This encaustic painting (wax and pigments) is symmetrical in its composition.  The painting also combines several styles of painting faces and bodies.  The central figures are painted in a slightly more naturalistic Graeco Roman style while the two figures of Theodore (left) and George (right) are painted in a more Byzantine and codified manner.  There are more tonal transitions on the faces and bodies of the Virgin and Jesus and that the anatomy is revealed more by the drapery than in the flanking figures.Iconography:  The symmetry of the composition places the most important figures at the center.  Icons like this begin the tradition of creating the symbolic system in which Mary serves as the throne of God referred to by Stokstad as an intercessor and the Throne of Wisdom.  The halos each wears are derived from the ideas of enlightenment they represent.  A halo is a graphic representation of the light or aura of wisdom or knowledge that sacred individuals exhibit.  The halos are often differentiated almost as if to give a rank.  For example, Jesus' halo is inscribed with a Greek cross.  Her clothing is both Jewish and eastern in style which precedes the invention of the Muslim Hijab but looks very much like it.  The clothing, organization of the composition and use of halos sets the standard for costuming and depictions of Mary and Jesus well into the Renaissance.  The two flanking figures are idealized types and one would have to be told how to identify them to know who they are.  Nevertheless, their attributions as Theodore (left) and George (right) are the warrior saints who slew serpents similar to the one that Adam and Eve were tricked by. Context:  Not many icons exist from this period mainly because of the iconoclastic controversy.  (see Stokstad "Iconoclasm" page 309)

 

S. Gall Benedictine Abbey, St. Gall Switzerland 7th-8th C

The Monastic System fulfilled the needs and took care of the people. It educated the Lords and the Serfs. The Monks kept the world going by praying, and they were very intelligent. The Monk Monasteries were like Universities, they were a place to learn spiritual renewal and a place to pray. They would also copy the Bible and make manuscript. They preserved some of the text that would have otherwise been burned. In the Monastery the servants slept next to the livestock. There was a big church at the entrance with statues of Gabriel and Michael (Archangels). The Monastery also included a hospice for the poor (a free clinic) where a medieval physician would bleed you. There was also a physicians house. There were breweries and bakeries etc. next to the kitchen. There was a caretakers house and a cemetery. In the middle there was a cloister, a courtyard where you go to reflect on the life of God. There was also a guest house and a school. There was a novitiate house (convent for the novices) for people who were thinking of becoming Monks and Nuns.  Stokstad 497-502

Political and Theological Systems570 or 580 AD- Pope Gregory comes to power. Everyone is worried because they are moving to a new century. He tries to save as many souls as possible. Some of the things that Pope Gregory does is to codify or systematize worship and the liturgy of the church. One such system was Gregorian Chant.
Gregorian Chant : all sing together (monophonic)
Why was chant invented? It passed on Catholic beliefs in an oral tradition and it helped people remember the words. Gregorian chant started with Pope Gregory -ceremonial from the Jewish temple Gothic cathedral and Gregorian chant-echo (overtones and undertones)
The next passage is quoted directly from the Encyclopaedia Britannica:
Gregorian chant, monophonic, or unison, liturgical music of the Roman Catholic Church, used to accompany the text of the mass and the canonical hours, or divine office. Gregorian chant is named after St. Gregory I the Great, pope from 590 to 604. It was collected and codified during his reign. Charlemagne, king of the Franks (768-814), imposed Gregorian chant on his kingdom, where another liturgical tradition--the Gallican chant--was in common use. During the 8th and 9th centuries, a process of assimilation took place between Gallican and Gregorian chants; and it is the chant in this evolved form that has come down to the present.
The Ordinary of the mass includes those texts that remain the same for each mass. The chant of the Kyrie ranges from neumatic (patterns of one to four notes per syllable) to melismatic (unlimited notes per syllable) styles. The Gloria appeared in the 7th century. The psalmodic recitation, i.e., using salm tones, simple formulas for the intoned reciting of psalms, of early Glorias attests to their ancient origin. Later Gloria chants are neumatic. The melodies of the Credo, accepted into the mass about the 11th century, resemble psalm tones. The Sanctus and Benedictus are probably from apostolic times. The usual Sanctus chants are neumatic. The Agnus Dei was brought into the Latin mass from the Eastern Church in the 7th century and is basically in neumatic style. The concluding Ite Missa Est and its substitute Benedicamus Domino usually use the melody of the opening Kyrie.
The Proper of the mass is composed of texts that vary for each mass in order to bring out the significance of each feast or season. The Introit is a processional chant that was originally a psalm with a refrain sung between verses. By the 9th century it had received its present form: refrain in a neumatic style--a psalm verse in psalm-tone style--refrain repeated. The Gradual, introduced in the 4th century, also developed from a refrain between psalm verses. Later it became: opening melody (chorus)--psalm verse or verses in a virtuosically embellished psalmodic structure (soloist)--opening melody (chorus), repeated in whole or in part. The Alleluia is of 4th-century Eastern origin. Its structure is somewhat like that of the Gradual. The Tract replaces the Alleluia in penitential times. This chant is a descendant of synagogue music.
The sequence flourished primarily from about the 9th century to the 16th. In its modern form the texts are sacred poems with double-line stanzas having the same accentuation and number of syllables for each two lines. The melody of the first line was repeated for the second line of then stanza, a new melody being given to the next stanza; the music is syllabic. The Offertory originally consisted of a psalm and refrain, but by the 12th century only the refrain remained. The music is quite melismatic. Peculiar to the Offertory is repetition of text. The Communion is, like the Offertory, a processional chant. The music is neumatic in style.
The canonical hours consist of eight prayer services: Matins, Lauds, Prime, Terce, Sext, None, Vespers, and Compline. Each includes antiphons or refrains, short texts that precede or follow each psalm and are set mostly in syllabic chant; psalms, with each set to a psalm tone; hymns, usually metrical and in strophes or stanzas, and set in a neumatic style; responsories, which follow the lessons of Matins and the chapter, a brief lesson of the other hours, and have the form response- salm verse-partially or entirely repeated response. The responsory is related to the form and style of the Gradual.
Encyclopaedia Britannica,
St. Augustine-theologen who wrote about man's relationship with God system to understand philosophical structure-spiritual world and physical world are tied together.
Greek Orthodox Church exists in Constantinople and the Roman Catholic Church lives in Rome, Italy. Everybody believes in the ten commandments, that Jesus has come to save them and that he died for our sins. This is a theology everybody has come to accept, except for the Jews and Islamics. The beginning of some of the problems that they have is that they start reading different doctrine and different ways of worshiping into that and that changes what people think. In the Greek Orthodox church they speak Latin, only because it's a trade language.
Feudalism- Starts at almost 600-700 A.D. Feudalism was a system of military service and land ownership that created a pyramid of political and military power. Feudalism is a system of government in which the minority rules the majority. For every Lord there are 60 to 70 Serfs. It called for support mostly from the church and included mainly little kingdoms run by Landlords-kings. It did not rely on one single dictator or person to run the empire. During or about this time Monasteries were also built . They served as universities, hospitals, library, training schools for future monks, public shelter, and many other purposed. These same monasteries also were responsible for preserving many important documents that are so vital in today's history. If it weren't for them we may have not seen many of the documents that have provided us with many important information about history.
In around 500-600 AD there was a breakdown in the pre-established Roman order which had dominated Europe and the Near East.  Feudalism came to the fore and cities, as we know them, disappeared.  The Church at this time became the central repository of classical knowledge.
When Charlemagne, in the late 700 to early 800's attempted to centralize the "Holy Roman Empire," the churches he built also served as a kind of palace/throne room.  The architecture of these structures is not as sophisticated or ornamented as earlier basilica.
Another great achievement of the middle ages was the rise monasticism.  The monastery was almost a great fortress of information.  Scribes and scholars housed in monasteries were basically responsible for transcribing and storing the information of classical antiquity and later philosophers and theologians.


One of the main products or art forms the monks produced was the illuminated manuscript.

"The Last Judgment" St. Lazare, Autun Cathedral, France West Portal, sculpted by Gislebertus c1130CE (AP and Survey Art History)

• 315-750 (1300) CE Early Christian/Byzantine (some sources say the Byzantine style survived all the way to 1450) 
• 800-1150  Romanesque 
• 1150-1350 Gothic 

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The Romanesque style, according to Stokstad, means "in the Roman manner." In essence, it merely refers to the fact that many of the cathedrals built in this time period had the appearance of Roman architecture.

• Tympanum: the surface enclosed by the arch and lintel of an arched doorway, frequently carved with relief sculptures.
• Archivolt: the molding fram an arch. In Romanesque and Gothic architecture, each one of a series of arches framing the tympanum of a portal.
• Lintel: a horizontal beam spanning an openings, as over a window or door, or between two posts.
• Trumeau: doorpost supporting lintel.
• Jamb: the side of a doorway or window frame. The jambs of the portals of Romanesque and Gothic churches are frequently decorated with figure sculpture.

 

St. Lazare, Autun Cathedral, Burgundy France 

West Portal, sculpted by Gislebertus c1130CE

Form: St. Lazare Cathedral. Romanesque.  This is a large relief carving that was originally painted.  The composition is symmetrical and organized using hieratic scale.  The picture plane is also organized according to horizontal bands each filled with figures that are pushed up against the front of the picture plane.  There is no creation of deep space in this relief sculpture.

According to the Brittanica,

Typically, the figure of Christ appears in the centre of the composition, dominant in size and usually enclosed in a mandorla (an oval, nimbus-like form). At his right and left are the four Evangelists, sometimes represented or accompanied by their animal symbols. To the sides, smaller figures of angels and demons weigh sins of the resurrected dead, who are ranked along the lowest and smallest section of the tympanum, directly above the lintel.

Iconography: What makes St. Lazare an interesting example of Romanesque architecture and art is the fact that the west portal, which depicts  a "sermon in stone," was originally painted. It is exceedingly well organized and stylized. This means that the figures represented in the relief sculpture are non naturalistic, this is akin to what one would see in Byzantine art. The figures relative size is based not on reality, but  on their spiritual importance. 

Jesus, as the central figure is shown impossibly huge the figures around him are depicting judgment, heaven and hell, and good and evil. The organization of the composition is designed so that all of the other figures relate in some way to the central figure of Jesus.  Figures who are to the right of Christ are literally on his good side while the figures to his left are not.  Likewise there is a hierarchy according to placement in the three bands.  The correlation between left and right (good and evil) does not exist in the topmost band.  Anything placed in the uppermost register of the composition is "good" or heavenly.

Around this interior depiction of a sermon one can see the various signs of the zodiac, which brings forth one of the main differences between the Romanesque and the Gothic style of art within a cathedral, in a Romanesque cathedral one can easily find depiction's of events and symbols that are not necessarily related to what is found in the bible. In a Gothic cathedral, by contrast, the emphasis is put mainly on biblical scenes, and scenes with Jesus in particular.

Context: In Romanesque art, the emphasis to the followers was teaching. The scenes shown in almost all of the artwork found at St. Lazare are intended to teach a morality lesson, tell a story, or establish a sort of religious iconography of good and evil. For example, almost everything in this piece is representative of something else. The arch above Jesus and the scene surrounding him is representative of heaven. The sinners are always found to the left of Jesus, and the believers to the right. Everything in Romanesque art and architecture is highly organized and made to to make it easy for the followers to read the meaning and the message that the church intends.

According to a former student, Maureen Lara, 

From first glance, one could already see the hierarchy established through the use of three separate levels as well as the scale involved in placing the relatively large sculpture of Jesus in the center enclosed in a glorifying mandorla.    (The topmost level is an exception in the hierarchy since it represents the heavens; the entire band consists of "good" people.  )  The symmetry of the art, to my perspective, expresses the way the world and one's fate after death revolves around how well one learns from and lives their lives according to the teachings of Jesus.

The art overall exhibits no deep space and is stylized rather than naturalistic.   Interestingly, the art is organized in such a way that the figures considered good and worthy of the kingdom of God are to Jesus' right and those who fail the last judgment because of sinfulness are to His left.   The smaller size of the figures in the bottom-most band indicates those who await their judgment before the Lord.   The sizes of the figures as well as their placement in the hierarchy are done in accordance to their religious importance.   This can be scene in St. Peter, who is said to be the gatekeeper of Heaven; he is larger in size than the other believers as well as the angels.   The main storyline of the scenes is centered around the battle between good and evil and triumph of one or the other during the weighing of souls after death.   The consequences of being good are illustrated, for instance, by the faithful children joyfully playing with angels to Jesus' right.   The rewards of goodness are also expressed by the graceful appearance of the angels, a persuasive element in the art that urges people to be righteous.

According to the Brittanica, 

Christianity, further developing the concept of the Last Judgment, teaches that it will occur at the Parousia (the Second Coming, or Second Advent, of Christ in glory), when all men will stand before a judging God. In early Christian art the scene is one of Christ the judge, the resurrection of the dead, the weighing of souls, the separation of the saved and the damned, and representations of paradise and hell. Romanesque artists produced a more terrible vision of the Last Judgment: Christ is shown as a stern judge, sometimes carrying a sword and surrounded by the four mystical beasts--eagle, lion, ox, and winged man--of the apocalypse; the contrast between paradise and hell is between the awesome and the ferocious. In the gentler, more humanistic art of the Gothic period, a beautiful Christ is shown as the Redeemer, his right side undraped to reveal the wound of the lance, and both wounded hands raised high in a gesture that emphasizes his sacrifice. He is surrounded by the instruments of his Passion--cross, nails, lance, and crown of thorns. The intercessors are restored, and the scene of the Judgment is treated with optimism. In the 16th century, Michelangelo produced a radically different version of the Last Judgment in his fresco in the Sistine Chapel in Rome (1533-41): a vengeful Christ, nude like a pagan god, gestures menacingly toward the damned.

The "elect" rising. 

According to Gardener's, "Art History" the figure at the bottom far right has a bag ornamented with a cross and a shell,  

symbols of pilgrims who have journeyed to Jerusalem  

and Santiago de Compostela. The iconography found on select parts of the tympanum clearly show what happens to the 'good' believers. The smaller figures beneath represent the righteous and the faithful, which includes the children, seen playing with an angel. The Angels are always depicted as elegant, benevolent, beautiful, and kind. This was to give the impression that heaven was a wonderful place, and would inspire the believers into being good and faithful servants of the church.

Peter and the elect

Here, on the right side of Jesus is St. Peter with the faithful. Note again how he depicted as larger than the followers, and even larger than the angels. This shows his relative importance in the spiritual hierarchy.

Pulled to judgment.

Though at first one would think this was a depiction of suffering, in truth its meant to show that after the death of this believer, the hands of an angel reach down to pull him heavenward, assuring that his soul has been saved.

The Judgment 

The Damned and the weighing of the souls

On the left side of Jesus is Evil, the Devil and his minions who are participating in the weighing of the souls. In this judgment scene, one can see the Devil and the Archangel Michael both taking part in the judgment. While it appears that the Devil is trying to pull the scale downward in order to be able to claim another soul, Michael appears to be attempting to lift the soul upward, in order to claim the soul for heaven. Though it is a small vignette, it illustrate rather succinctly the struggle of good and evil in the souls of mankind. Note how in contrast to the angel Michael, the Devil is portrayed as emaciated, grotesque, and as terrifying as the stone masons could portray. This was to remind the members of the church how awful hell was, and frighten them into submission. 

Paul makes a last attempt

Here, though it is technically the left, or 'bad' side of Jesus, We see St. Paul and the Angel make a last attempt to pull the damned souls to redemption. Hoping that through the call of the heavenly trumpet, man will be swayed to the side of God. 

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Sleeping Magi

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Virgin and Child, from the Auvergne region, France. c1150-1200 Oak with traces of paint, height 31", Metropolitan Museum of Art, French Romanesque

Virgin and Child,  
from the Auvergne region, 
France. c1150-1200 
Oak with traces of paint, height 31",  
Metropolitan Museum of Art 
French Romanesque

This sculpture is often studied because it is a good representation of how art during the Romanesque and Gothic eras began to evolve into a more naturalistic and realistic style. The other important element in studying this sculpture is that in terms of its iconography it represents a change towards a more humanistic way of thinking about Jesus both in its form and in its iconography.

The sculpture is carved from wood and originally would have been painted in more intense and less subtle colors: We are not seeing it the way that it was originally intended to be seen. Both the figures are probably about three quarters the size of the human being.  This would’ve been a fairly imposing sculpture for the time.

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The sculpture looks realistic and unrealistic at the same time.  The main reason why this is so is because the people who made art during the Romanesque, were trained in a tradition that probably extends from the much earlier period of Byzantine art.  The way in which the drapery is rendered looks very much like a Byzantine painting, the anatomy of the figures is also influenced by the earlier Byzantine style of depicting human figures however, in this instance the faces are starting to look more realistic or naturalistic. This change in how human anatomy is rendered probably represents a slow evolution towards realism that culminates in the later Renaissance and Baroque eras. The faces of Mary and Jesus are not carved with the same proportions that you may see in earlier Byzantine works of art. In Byzantine art the eyes are further up in the forehead and the nose is longer in this instance the proportions of the face are almost realistic.

The overall anatomy of the figures is distorted in that the heads and hands are overly large and the relationship of the figure of the baby Jesus to the figure of Mary are not quite realistic. Jesus is not really proportioned the way of baby would be and also is probably a little too large. 

The rendering of the face and hands was an attempt by the sculptor to represent convincing human forms however, the faces show no real expression and the bodies are completely covered with stylized drapery that conceals both figures bodies.  The child Jesus is not rendered as a child but rather a stiff looking miniature adult.  The poses of both figures are stiff and fairly wooden but in the case of Mary, this is appropriate if you look at her role in terms of the work's iconography or symbolism.

This image of Mary is significant in its iconography because it is a perfect example of the Gothic depiction of Mary as the "Throne of Wisdom." Here she not only serves as a mother but as a platform or throne for her child.  This theme is used both in earlier and in later works such as in Cimabue and in Giotto’s. One of the other things that this sculpture represents is something that we can all relate to, which is the relationship between a mother and her child. The theme of Mary and Jesus is a way of getting the viewer to relate their own experience as a human being to the experience that Mary and Jesus would’ve had.

A good way to think about this piece is that it is a link in the chain between the past traditions depicting Mary and Jesus with those that come up later. Humanism, is an idea that begins to grow and flourish especially in the late Gothic era. When artwork becomes more realistic in European art, it’s possible that it represents the growth of humanism, in this case relating religious ideas to everyday human experience, that flowers during the Renaissance era.


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