Madonna of Zbraslav
The Zbraslav Madonna (c. 1360) comes from the parish church of St James the Greater in
Madonna of Zbraslav | |
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Czech: Zbraslavská madona | |
National Gallery in Prague | |
Owner | Roman-Catholic deanery in Zbraslav |
History of the painting
The
Description and context
The picture is painted in tempera on a chalk base with an engraved drawing outlined in black. It is on a lime-wood panel and measures 89 x 59.5 cm. Compared with older Italian-Byzantine models, the drawing is suppressed and the painter models volume using the technique of thin, glazed paint layers of colour gradation in the incarnates. The Madonna has a gold-embroidered white cloak and a blue cloak with green lining decorated with gold stars. The Madonna’s cloak and white veil and the transparent shirt of the child are decorated along their hems with gold embroidery. The crown is decorated with curly leaves. The stones and pearls on the crown, halos, hems and clasp were mounted later on, while the background was also subsequently gilded over.
In its composition, the picture has much in common with the
The Zbraslav Madonna was one of the most celebrated Marian pictures in Bohemia. It was originally intended for the church of the Cistercian monastery, where Bohemian kings from the Přemyslid dynasty were buried. Some people believe that Charles IV himself commissioned the picture.[7] The Zbraslav Madonna was greatly revered and there exist many copies of it, dating mainly from the Baroque period. The Zbraslav Madonna was consecrated as the 43rd chapel of the Holy Route from Prague to Mladá Boleslav that was established by the Jesuits between 1674 and 1690.
Notes
References
- ISBN 978-80-7035-569-5, pp. 24–28
- Jiří Fajt, Jan Royt: České gotické umění, Karolinum Press, Praha 2002
- Jan Royt, Medieval Painting in Bohemia, ISBN 8024602660
- Jaroslav Pešina: Česká gotická malba, Odeon, Praha 1972
- Antonín Matějček, Jaroslav Pešina, Česká malba gotická, Melantrich, Praha 1950, pp. 58–61