Study of the Virgin

Study of the Virgin - Technique and Styles

568
Study of the Virgin
ca. 1629
Anthonis Van Dyck

The bust of the Virgin is shown with her head bent emotionally backwards, her suffering and tearful eyes turned to heaven, interceding with God for sinners. In the strong chiaroscuro, the voluminous shapes of the neck and the wide, round face, are modeled in relief with gray tints in yellowish-pale-red carnation. The light vibrates on the smooth, ivory-like complexion.

Van Dyck's typical formula for presenting the Virgin reflects various influences: strong Rubenesque plasticity is combined with an Italian feeling for the heroic which he acquired as a young painter living in Genoa 1621-1627, surrounded by the works of Titian whose early paintings resound in warm, reddish coloration.