Museum Visit Paper
Brittany Hewing
Art of the Renaissance 222-01
11/10/2014
In this essay I shall discuss two paintings I observed at the Art Institute of Chicago and compare the two as well. During our field trip to the Art Institute of Chicago even though we did not have enough time to properly view the pieces along with a large portion of the museum with pre-renaissance pieces in them were closed off to the public. Two pieces that really stuck out to me during the trip were: “Mater Dolorosa (Sorrowing Virgin)” by Dieric Bouts and “Fragment from Christ Carrying the Cross: Mourning Virgin” by Jean Hey who is known as the Master of Moulins.
Starting with the first piece,” Mater Dolorosa (Sorrowing Virgin)” by Dieric Bouts; this piece was completed around late 1480s early 1500s with oil as the medium. Originally this piece was partnered with Christ and was called,” Christ and the Virgin Diptych” and was used as a devotional diptych. The original diptych was lost and many copies were remain some by Dieric Bout’s son who remade the Sorrowing Virgin and held by the Art Institute of Chicago. The way the Art Institute of Chicago came across this piece was through Richard Collins who was an agent who retrieved the piece from the Cleveland Museum of Art which had this piece on loan. What really came out about this piece to me or moved me in a sense is how modest and realistic the Virgin Mary looked in this piece. Her eyes swollen from tears and reddened look downcast and away from the viewer mourning the loss of her son perhaps or the people who have sinned. Her expression is one of the woman who is lost in grief but introspective as well as if she is loss in thought. The, “Sorrowing Virgin” is something many during the time period could look to and relate as a mother’s love and devotion for her children and her people making it easier for those to connect to the painting and take the time to pray to this diptych. This piece also goes with the time period where the Netherlandish
Art of the Renaissance 222-01
11/10/2014
In this essay I shall discuss two paintings I observed at the Art Institute of Chicago and compare the two as well. During our field trip to the Art Institute of Chicago even though we did not have enough time to properly view the pieces along with a large portion of the museum with pre-renaissance pieces in them were closed off to the public. Two pieces that really stuck out to me during the trip were: “Mater Dolorosa (Sorrowing Virgin)” by Dieric Bouts and “Fragment from Christ Carrying the Cross: Mourning Virgin” by Jean Hey who is known as the Master of Moulins.
Starting with the first piece,” Mater Dolorosa (Sorrowing Virgin)” by Dieric Bouts; this piece was completed around late 1480s early 1500s with oil as the medium. Originally this piece was partnered with Christ and was called,” Christ and the Virgin Diptych” and was used as a devotional diptych. The original diptych was lost and many copies were remain some by Dieric Bout’s son who remade the Sorrowing Virgin and held by the Art Institute of Chicago. The way the Art Institute of Chicago came across this piece was through Richard Collins who was an agent who retrieved the piece from the Cleveland Museum of Art which had this piece on loan. What really came out about this piece to me or moved me in a sense is how modest and realistic the Virgin Mary looked in this piece. Her eyes swollen from tears and reddened look downcast and away from the viewer mourning the loss of her son perhaps or the people who have sinned. Her expression is one of the woman who is lost in grief but introspective as well as if she is loss in thought. The, “Sorrowing Virgin” is something many during the time period could look to and relate as a mother’s love and devotion for her children and her people making it easier for those to connect to the painting and take the time to pray to this diptych. This piece also goes with the time period where the Netherlandish