Pieta is a classic Biblical motive and a popular subject among Northern artists that shows Mary’s lamentation of Christ under the cross. Typically, Mary is seen holding Christ in her lap and holding him tight, while crying. Van der Weyden’s Pieta follows the canon: the mother is cradling her son’s limp body, pressing her cheek against his. To the left of the Virgin Mary, we see John the Evangelist supporting Christ’s upper body and consoling the mother. Pieta is one of three common artistic depictions of the Virgin Mary distraught by her son’s death, with the other two being Mater Dolorosa (Mother of Sorrows) and Stabat Mater (Here Stands the Mother).
Interestingly enough, Pieta is a subject that is primarily reserved for sculptures while the other two motives are commonly encountered in paintings. Therefore, van der Weyden’s rendering of Pieta is exceptional due to his choice of artistic medium – oil on panel. In general, an early Netherlandish Renaissance artist, van der Weyden was a trailblazer in the artistic community. He found recognition and popularity during his lifetime and his influence spread beyond the Netherlands to France, Germany, Italy, and Spain. Pieta exemplifies everything that made van der Weyden an iconic artist of his era: vigorous colors, expressive gestures, and subtle but powerful symbolism. For instance, the skull next to Christ’s body is now interpreted as the skull of Adam: it was his fall from grace that brought death on humankind (Hall, 2018). Leafless, weathered trees also help van der Weyden convey the emotion of deep sorrow and devastation.
This attractive oil sketch of a Black person is authored by Peter Paul Rubens and the most popular Rubens painting in the Royal Museum of Fine Arts in Brussels, Belgium. For decades, experts were debating whether the work was to be ascribed to Rubens or another Netherlandish artist – Van Dyck. The latest analysis using the painting layering technique confirmed the opinion held by the Belgian gallery: Rubens is indeed the author of the Four Studies of a Head of a Moor. The popularity of the painting among the visitors of the Royal Museum is completely understandable. Firstly, the painting technique (and Rubens grew to be an unmatched oil painting virtuoso) is rhythmic, dynamic, and engaging. The human subject matter is easy to understand: the painting is not complicated by religious imagery and symbolism or complex motives. The man in the painting is read as expressive and uninhibited in experiencing “joie de vivre” – the joy of life.
It is not uncommon that viewers are surprised at the depiction of a Black man as people of color are not a frequent occurrence in Renaissance paintings. Europe’s interactions with Africa were centuries-old but sporadic in nature. A particular strengthening of the ties happened during the 15th and 16th centuries when Portuguese merchants opened ports along its Westernmost coast (Cotter, 2012). That event led to an influx of entrepreneurial Africans coming to Europe and, therefore, becoming a subject matter for artistic endeavors. It was during that era that European art started including one Black person as part of the group of foreign kings in the Adoration of Magi subject (Cotter, 2012). Indeed, Rubens later used one of the sketches from the present painting for his interpretation of that Biblical motive.
References
Cotter, H. (2012). A spectrum from slaves to saints. The New York Times. Web.
Hall, J. (2018). Dictionary of subjects and symbols in art. Routledge.