Madonna of Roudnice
{{Short description|Painting by the Master of the Třeboň Altarpiece}}
{{italic title}}
[[File:Madona roudnická, Národní galerie v Praze.jpg|thumb|250px|Madonna of Roudnice. 90 x 68 cm. Tempera
on limewood panel.]]
The Roudnice Madonna is a work by the Bohemian Master of the Třeboň Altarpiece from the period between 1385 and 1390. It came from the monastery of the Augustinian Canons in Roudnice nad Labem or from the Roudnice summer residence of Archbishop Jan of Jenštejn. The painting has been exhibited since 1946 in the permanent collection of medieval art at the National Gallery in Prague.
Description and context
The picture is painted in tempera on a lime-wood panel covered with canvas and a chalk base with an engraved drawing. It is 90 x 68 cm, including the original frame. In the 18th century the entire picture was painted over and an opening for a relic was carved out in the place where the Madonna's gold clasp had originally been. It would in all likelihood have stored part of Mary's veil spattered by the blood of Christ (peplum cruentatum).Fajt J., Chlumská Š., 2014, p. 47 It was Karel Chytil who, in 1925, drew attention to the picture's Gothic origin, finding a crown and embossing on the basis of a photographic image.Chytil K., Památky archeologické XXXIV, Praha 1925, p. 74, note 64 In 1946, Pavel Kropáček found the picture's engraved drawing, dating from about 1400, in an X-ray scan.Kropáček P, Malířství doby husitské, Prague 1946, pp. 50–51 In 1946 the picture was restored and, following the removal of subsequent overpainting, the original Gothic painting was revealed in almost its entirety and the gilding was also restored.Slánský B., Výstava tří obrazů, 1946, pp. 25–34
The Roudnice Madonna represents the most popular type of Bohemian Madonnas that was subsequently much copied. Madonna from the Vyšší Brod and the Madonna of the Church of the Holy Trinity in České Budějovice were derived from the iconography of the Roudnice Madonna. The conception of the Roudnice Madonna's painting is closely related to the figure of St Catherine from the "Třeboň altarpiece" as well as to early sculptural works in the International Gothic style (such as the "Plzeň Madonna" and the "Madonna of Altenmarkt").Pešina J, 1970, p. 227 The elegant faces and compositional integration of the mother and child, who turns and raises up his arms towards her, are the portrayal of sensitive emotion and maternal love. The picture's gentle chiaroscuro modelling, sophistication of form, conception of the drapery and pure, radiant colour represent one of the most valuable examples of the International Gothic style.Matějček A, Pešina J, 1950, p. 123
=Related works=
- The Madonna of the Hospital Church of the Holy Trinity, České BudějovicePešina J., in: České umění gotické 1350–1420, Academia Praha 1970, p. 236
- Madonna from Vyšší Brod (Hohenfurth)Pešina J, in: České umění gotické 1350–1420, Academia Praha 1970, p. 236
- The Madonna from the Cathedral of John the Baptist in Wrocław
Notes
References
- Fajt J, Chlumská Š, Čechy a střední Evropa 1220-1550, Národní galerie v Praze 2014, {{ISBN|978-80-7035-569-5}}, p. 47
- Jan Royt, Medieval Painting in Bohemia, Karolinum Press, Praha 2003, p. 95, {{ISBN|80-246-0266-0}}
- Jaroslav Pešina, Česká gotická desková malba, Odeon, Praha 1976, p. 44
- Jaroslav Pešina, desková malba in: České umění gotické 1350-1420, Academia Praha 1970, pp. 233-234
- Antonín Matějček, Jaroslav Pešina, Česká malba gotická, Melantrich, Praha 1950, pp. 122-123
{{DEFAULTSORT:Madonna of Roudnice}}
Category:Czech gothic paintings
Category:Paintings of the Madonna and Child