The Virgin and Saint John the Evangelist
Medium
Oil on panel
Dimensions
34 × 27.4 cm (13 3/8 × 10 13/16 in.); Framed: 42.6 × 35 × 4.5 cm (16 3/4 × 13 3/4 × 1 3/4 in.)
Classification
tempera
Department
Painting and Sculpture of Europe
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
25787
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
The grief-stricken faces of the Virgin Mary and John the Evangelist once faced another panel referencing the Crucifixion. Their expressive features and weighty three dimensionality make their sorrow over Jesus’s death palpably human, while the golden space that they inhabit reinforces their sanctified status. Netherlandish devotional scenes sought to help viewers reach a liminal space between earthly reality and spiritual vision, a major objective of Christian prayer. Images of Christ’s sufferin...