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{{Short description|Altarpiece by Andrea del Sarto}}
{{Infobox Artwork
{{Infobox artwork
| image_file=Andrea del Sarto - Madonna of the Harpies - WGA00369.jpg
| image_file=Andrea del Sarto - Virgin and Child between St Francis of Assisi and St John the Evangelist ('Madonna of the Harpies'), 1517, 1890 no.1577.jpg
| title=Madonna delle Arpie (Madonna of the Harpies)
| title=Madonna of the Harpies
| artist=Andrea del Sarto
| other_language_1=Italian
| other_title_1=Madonna delle Arpie
| artist=[[Andrea del Sarto]]
| year=1517
| year=1517
| type=oil on wood
| type=oil on wood
Line 11: Line 14:
| metric_unit=cm
| metric_unit=cm
| imperial_unit=in
| imperial_unit=in
| museum= Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence
| museum=[[Galleria degli Uffizi]]
| city=[[Florence]]
}}
}}


'''''Madonna of the Harpies''''' (Italian: ''Madonna delle Arpie'') is a 1517 painting by [[Andrea del Sarto]], considered his major contribution to [[High Renaissance]] art.<ref name="haberly">Frances Maria Stimson Haberly-Robertson (1912). ''Famous Italian pictures and their story, with sketch of the artists.'' Haberly-Robertson</ref>
'''''Madonna of the Harpies''''' ({{langx|it|Madonna delle Arpie}}) is an [[altarpiece]] in [[oil painting|oils]] by [[Andrea del Sarto]], a major painter of the [[High Renaissance]]. It was commissioned in 1515 and was signed and dated by the artist in 1517 in the inscription on the pedestal; it is now in the [[Uffizi]] in [[Florence]]. It was praised by [[Giorgio Vasari]], and is arguably the artist's best-known work.


The Virgin is standing on a pedestal which includes [[harpy|harpies]] sculpted in [[relief]], from which the painting takes its name. At least, Vasari (and presumably his Florentine contemporaries) thought they were harpies; some modern art historians think that [[locust]]s are represented, in a reference to the [[Book of Revelation]]. Either way, they represent forces of evil being trampled on by the Virgin.<ref>[https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/madonna-of-the-harpies/qgHex-koQ4IzRw Google Art Project], text from Uffizi</ref>
It is a depiction of the [[Virgin Mary]] and child on a pedestal, flanked by angels and two saints ([[Saint Bonaventure]] or Francis and [[John the Evangelist]]). Originally completed in 1517 for the convent of [[San Francesco dei Macci]], the altarpiece now resides in the [[Uffizi]]. The figures have a [[Leonardo da Vinci|Leonardo]]-like aura, with a pyramid shaped composition.<ref name="paoletti">John T. Paoletti, Gary M. Radke (2005). ''Art in Renaissance Italy.'' Laurence King Publishing, ISBN 978-1-85669-439-1</ref>


It is a ''[[sacra conversazione]]'' showing the [[Virgin and Child]] flanked by [[putti]] and two saints ([[Saint Bonaventure]] or [[Francis of Assisi|Francis]] and [[John the Evangelist]]). Compared to the stillness of earlier paintings of similar groups, here the "dynamism of the [[High Renaissance]] was inimical to the static quality of 15th-century art", so that "a composition of fundamentally classical purity is animated by a nervous energy in the figures to produce an unsettling impression of variety."<ref>Nigel Gauk-Roger. "Sacra conversazione". Grove Art Online. [[Oxford Art Online]]. Oxford University Press. Web. 4 March 2017. [http://www.oxfordartonline.com/subscriber/article/grove/art/T074882 Subscription required]</ref>
The main character in the [[:tr:Kürk Mantolu Madonna|''Kürk Mantolu Madonna'']] ("Madonna With A Fur Coat"), a novel written by Turkish writer [[Sabahattin Ali]], is a depiction of the [[Virgin Mary]] in Madonna of the Harpies.

It was completed in 1517 for the church of the convent and hospital of [[San Francesco dei Macci]] in Florence; this was run by the [[Poor Clares]] and is long closed, but the church building survives. The figures have a [[Leonardo da Vinci|Leonardo]]-like aura, with a pyramid-shaped composition.<ref name="paoletti">John T. Paoletti, Gary M. Radke (2005). ''Art in Renaissance Italy.'' Laurence King Publishing, {{ISBN|978-1-85669-439-1}}</ref> The harpies, figures from pagan mythology (or locusts), here represent temptation and sin, which the Virgin has conquered and stands upon.<ref>Hickson, Sally Anne, ''Women, Art and Architectural Patronage in Renaissance Mantua'', p. 34, [https://books.google.com/books?id=AbWXCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA34 Google Books]</ref> The Christ child is shown as unusually old, and has an athletic [[contrapposto]] pose. He looks down to the putti, and all three have a "mischiefness" that contrasts with the serious, abstracted, air of the adults.<ref>Franklin, David, ''Painting in Renaissance Florence, 1500–1550'', pp. 136–137, David Franklin, [https://books.google.com/books?id=3svBmIDDrUkC&pg=PA136 Google Books]</ref>

The main character in [[Madonna in a Fur Coat|''Kürk Mantolu Madonna'']] ('Madonna in a Fur Coat'), a novel by the Turkish writer [[Sabahattin Ali]], is the figure of the Virgin Mary in the ''Madonna of the Harpies''.


==References==
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{Reflist}}


==External links==
* {{Commons category inline}}

{{Andrea del Sarto}}
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:Paintings by Andrea del Sarto]]
[[Category:Paintings of the Madonna and Child]]
[[Category:Paintings of the Madonna and Child]]
[[Category:1517 paintings]]
[[Category:1517 paintings]]
[[Category:Collections of the Uffizi]]
[[Category:Paintings in the Uffizi]]
[[Category:Paintings of John the Apostle]]

[[Category:Books in art]]
{{art-stub}}

Latest revision as of 11:12, 3 December 2024

Madonna of the Harpies
Italian: Madonna delle Arpie
ArtistAndrea del Sarto
Year1517
Typeoil on wood
Dimensions208 cm × 178 cm (82 in × 70 in)
LocationGalleria degli Uffizi, Florence

Madonna of the Harpies (Italian: Madonna delle Arpie) is an altarpiece in oils by Andrea del Sarto, a major painter of the High Renaissance. It was commissioned in 1515 and was signed and dated by the artist in 1517 in the inscription on the pedestal; it is now in the Uffizi in Florence. It was praised by Giorgio Vasari, and is arguably the artist's best-known work.

The Virgin is standing on a pedestal which includes harpies sculpted in relief, from which the painting takes its name. At least, Vasari (and presumably his Florentine contemporaries) thought they were harpies; some modern art historians think that locusts are represented, in a reference to the Book of Revelation. Either way, they represent forces of evil being trampled on by the Virgin.[1]

It is a sacra conversazione showing the Virgin and Child flanked by putti and two saints (Saint Bonaventure or Francis and John the Evangelist). Compared to the stillness of earlier paintings of similar groups, here the "dynamism of the High Renaissance was inimical to the static quality of 15th-century art", so that "a composition of fundamentally classical purity is animated by a nervous energy in the figures to produce an unsettling impression of variety."[2]

It was completed in 1517 for the church of the convent and hospital of San Francesco dei Macci in Florence; this was run by the Poor Clares and is long closed, but the church building survives. The figures have a Leonardo-like aura, with a pyramid-shaped composition.[3] The harpies, figures from pagan mythology (or locusts), here represent temptation and sin, which the Virgin has conquered and stands upon.[4] The Christ child is shown as unusually old, and has an athletic contrapposto pose. He looks down to the putti, and all three have a "mischiefness" that contrasts with the serious, abstracted, air of the adults.[5]

The main character in Kürk Mantolu Madonna ('Madonna in a Fur Coat'), a novel by the Turkish writer Sabahattin Ali, is the figure of the Virgin Mary in the Madonna of the Harpies.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Google Art Project, text from Uffizi
  2. ^ Nigel Gauk-Roger. "Sacra conversazione". Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online. Oxford University Press. Web. 4 March 2017. Subscription required
  3. ^ John T. Paoletti, Gary M. Radke (2005). Art in Renaissance Italy. Laurence King Publishing, ISBN 978-1-85669-439-1
  4. ^ Hickson, Sally Anne, Women, Art and Architectural Patronage in Renaissance Mantua, p. 34, Google Books
  5. ^ Franklin, David, Painting in Renaissance Florence, 1500–1550, pp. 136–137, David Franklin, Google Books
[edit]