Virgin and Child with Four Angels

Preliminary Museum Report

This essay is write about a painting titled "Virgin and Child with Four Angels" by Gerard David. He was a dutch painter, and born at Oudewater in Netherlands between 1450 and 1460, died on the 13th of August 1523. The painting completed between 1500 and 1515 and during Renaissance period. He was painted it on a horizontal format which measures 63.2 cm(24.9in) in height and 39.1 cm(15.4in) in width. The painting is an image, as its title suggests, of the Virgin with the infant baby Jesus. The objects are full on the painting in which that the two angels are flying above the Virgin holding a crown over her head, and two are sitting on either side of her playing instruments. Beyond her there is a large archway that opens into a landscape with a view of some grass and trees, some mountains in the far distance.

In the painting, first i pay attention on Virgin Maria, she is in the center of the painting. She has brown hair and is wearing a red garb, She has a dismal look on her face, while holding Jesus tightly. and the baby Jesus is barely in some white cloth. White color presents the innocent and purity. He seems stares at the viewer. To the right and left of the center, there are two angles. The one on the left, the angle wears green garb, plays harp, and looking out at the Virgin Maria and Jusus' direction. The one on the right, the angle is playing banjo, and wears blue garb. She looks forward, like she is thinking about something. These two angles places in each side next to the Maria in the middle. Light blues and Deep greens are used in a balanced manner throughout as well. The other angles are flying above the Maria, The left one, the angle wears white garb, and stare someone in the bottom; the other one wears black garb, they are both holding the gold crown over the Maria. They are wear different color robes between black and white. The white color represents the purity and innocency, the other one black indicates the darkness and evil. All the figures appear to be based on real life scale. There are no huge exaggerations. A peaceful and calming scene shows over there.

These four angles wears the the garbs in different colors, which black, white,light blue, deep green. The two angles are setting in the bottom, wears deep green and light blue. The color stands for the tree and grass of the landscape beyond, and the light blue likes sea and sky. The other two angles on the top, wears white and black, like the color of cloud which white and black in the sky. These color states the some objects in the real world. From their facial expression show sadness. The four angels are placed evenly around the Virgin, with two on each side. It is, again, a beautifully balanced composition, almost symmetrical. The painting shows the typical of the Renaissance.

In the foreground, the use of diagonals to create architectural perspective on the columns and on the tiled floor gives the feeling of looking back. Almost