Analysis of Madonna and Child with St. Anne and Angels

Bicci's Madonna and Child with St. Anne and Angels is based on Masaccio's Sant'Anna Metterza in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence. The original location of this painting is unknown, but it is believed that it was painted for a Florentine church because the Florentines honored Saint Anne by putting her third in the hierarchy of the Holy Family, like she is in this painting. The painting is still in its original 14th century immaculate frame (Bob Jones Museum).

The painting shows a series of pyramids with Saint Anne forming the outer. Mary forms the middle pyramid and her arm and baby Jesus forms the inner pyramid. There are two angels, one of the left and one of the right, who are standing behind the throne that holds the three subjects. Saint Anne is the largest figure in the painting, taking up most of the picture plane. Her daughter Mary fits in her lap at an unnatural size for an adult. Perhaps this represents the mother daughter relationship and emphasizes Saint Anne's importance. Mary is holding the baby Jesus in her lap and the two are holding hands. Baby Jesus is not painted to look like a real baby and instead looks like a miniature adult.

The colors in the painting are unsaturated. Saint Anne and Mary are dressed in the traditional red and blue colors that are religious symbols. Gold fills in negative space around Saint Anne and in the background and also makes up the halos in the painting. The angels are dressed in a much muted green. There is some greenish color behind the throne on which the three are sitting. Perhaps it is curtains or something on the wall in the background. The angels' wings are red instead of the usual white. The skin of all the figures is very pale, like ivory, and almost matches the white in the throne that they are sitting in. The visible hair of Mary and baby Jesus is closer to a golden blonde than the more traditional brown. No deep or vivid color is used and the color palette is very limited.

The drapery is very bulky and doesn't show much of the human form, which is characteristic of this time. You can see the knees of Saint Anne and the legs of Mary beneath the thick fabric, but that is all of their form that is clearly defined. The folds and wrinkles in the drapery do give it a natural feeling, however. The painting is strictly religious and includes no figures other than divine ones. The halos are very ornamental, with a design that seems like it is etched in the halos.

Saint Anne's head is the focal point. It appears that the angels are looking up at her face, which creates lines that draw the eye to look at her face as well. The perspective is off. Saint Anne and Mary are supposed to be sitting, but it appears that they are crouching in open space, with nothing to support them. The angels that are supposedly behind the figures are not in scale. They are tiny compared to the figures, and do not appear to be that far in the background to make up for their size. Mary and baby Jesus are the correct size, but not when compared to Saint Anne. However, as I mentioned earlier, this might have been intentional to represent the mother daughter relationship and because of hierarchal scaling.

The use of line is limited when compared to later paintings. The throne creates short vertical lines on the left and the right of the painting. Equilibrium is achieved to a degree by balancing the vertical lines with the strong horizontal that makes up the floor of the throne.

I like this painting because it has a simple subject matter and represents the importance of family relationships. I also like the use of the gold in the painting; it shimmers up close. It stands out and makes you want to touch it. I would recommend this painting to someone because it shows how far art has come. Since the perspective and scaling are off, it allows us to appreciate later artists more because they mastered these strategies. The original framing is very impressive as well. It could be a work of art by itself. This is a nice, simple painting with fine detail in places and I enjoyed it.