Prelude to a Catholic Wedding

          This paper will offer a formal analysis of “The Visitation,” dated 1496-97, the oil on wood panel painting by the Master of the Retablo of the Reyes Catholicos (Master of the Catholic Kings).ⁱ Currently in the University of Arizona Museum of Art's collection, the painting is a vertical panel that stands 60.96 inches tall and is 37.48 inches wide.ⁱⁱ While the identity of the artist is unknown, the name is inspired by the overall eight-panel set, “The Altarpiece of the Catholic Kings,” of which this is one panel.ⁱⁱⁱ

          Surrounded the painting is a thick wooden frame in an architectural motif carved in low relief. The frame has hexagonal engaged columns, or maybe pilasters, with ornate sectional bases and reliefs of repeated Gothic arches pointing upward toward a twisting helical sectional shaft with flower embellishments. Those support smooth shafts bearing ornately decorated spire capitals topped with blossoming flowers. The entire piece is capped by an exaggerated Ionic architrave. Bridging the two columns is a lattice of repeating arches. The organically curved high vaults vary in size, but maintain a relative scale among them. The lattice is segmented into three equidistant sections by two additional floating spire capitals, which give the impression of a colonnade without intruding into the painting's space. The lattice is also embellished with leaves, some in the fleur-de-lis style, and some in a stylized rhomboid pattern, specifically those acting at the decorative tips of semicircle embellishments descending from the main arches.

          The upper most register of the frame has three groups of four circles resembling rose windows with daises set in the middle, placed behind the fleur-de-lis' atop the capitals, giving the impression of depth. The frame internally terminates in a diminutive repetition of the colonnade, and gives the overall impression as if the viewer were standing inside a grand cathedral looking out upon the scene in the painting. The mottled golden pigment further emphasizes the grandeur of the gilded frame and the painting it contains.

          In the immediate foreground of the painting two women are depicted beginning an embrace, both figures reaching out. The woman on the left, draped in deep regal purple robes with an ornate golden embellished hem, places her left hand around the back of the other figure, with her fingers visibly wrapping around her shoulder in a matronly gesture. The arm of the woman on the right disappears into the folds of the purple robe at waste-height. Her open-palmed left hand and arm transect the meeting of the two figures as she touches the golden hem of the purple robe. She stoops over and her aged countenance gazes intently upward toward the purple-clad woman, who casts her nearly closed eyes downward. Brilliant golden linear rays of light emanate from the heads of both women forming halos reminiscent of radiant crowns.

          The matronly figure's face is depicted as smooth and blemish-free, which, given the nearly texture-less surface of the piece, tends to reflect and intensify light. Her unnaturally high hairline is divided by two locks of brilliant red which are pulled tightly back from a parted widow’s peak. Her hair falls in loose curls down over her ears, concealing them, and disappears under the hem of the robe. Her head tilts slightly to the left and bows down, skewing the almond-shape of her face. Smoothed gradation of shading rounds her cheeks and neck into the painting, giving an impression of volume. The orbs of her nearly-closed eyes are framed by the thin line that traces her eyebrows and the bridge of her nose. Although her head is slightly turned to the side and skewed, the semicircles that mark the partially lifted lids are nearly identical in length, and perspective, giving the simultaneous impression that her spherical eyes are presented fully frontally, while also at heights more appropriate for the tilt of her head. The effect adds to her unnatural appearance, and almost other-worldly presence.

          Her head is disproportionate to her body, and is larger than her companion’s. Her fine complexion, and the repeated semicircles created by their bodies, the cloth, and their arms pull the eye toward her face before tracing another circuit. The fall of her hair marks the boundary between the hem of her robe and the gold embellished hem of her dress. The oval neckline and her exposed upper chest reflect the curve of her down-turned face, while also orientating the central axis of her upper body to add emphasis on the posture of her head. From her neckline radiating lines of draping reflect the halo upon her head, while highlights of a lighter saturation reveal the heft of her breasts and interrupt the fall of the draping. From there, the fabric on her left falls vertically down, and marks the edge of the embracing arm of the other woman. On her right, the fabric pulls inward, drawing a line from the open palm of the old woman that runs along with the line created by the hem of the purple robe and the fall of her hair.

          That line bisects her arm at the wrist, wrapping underneath, out of view, and conceals all of her arm, which is suggested under the fabric via shading and saturation variance. Her hand, bent downward and slightly away from her body, appears in high contrast against the deep purple framing it. Her fingers together, with her small finger and thumb separated and pointing away, arch back inward in a gesture that suggests nobility, poise, openness, and friendship.

          The aged woman's head is wrapped in a white cloth that drapes down her back, and frames her face. Thick shadowing outlines her face. Her sunken cheeks, deep wrinkles, strong nasolabial folds, protruding chin, and prominent nose – all accomplished through tonal shading implying deep shadows – give her the impression of advanced years. Her red dress with gold embellishments along the hems, darker fabric along the seams, and intricate geometric print in a vibrant clash of yellows, reds, and browns, is as meticulously detailed as the purple-clad woman. The volume of the dress, combined with the odd gathering of the front of the skirt, which exposes an underskirt of a very dark brown, conceals most of her form. From the bottom of the skirt, her shoes can be seen in nearly a contrapposto stance, having all of her weight on her right foot, with her left foot swept backwards. However, the arch of her body, bending at the waist, makes the overall posture seem less naturalistic, and a bit forced. Both women cast shadows, although they are the only two in the painting to do so, and the cramped space of the painting diminishes the impression of depth.

          Standing on the edge of the cast shadow on the extreme left of the piece, a woman stands in an unnatural position, her arms raised to and above her waist, one holding the strap of a black clutch, and the other, a scepter. Her head is in full profile, while her body is in three quarters. Her flat gaze leads to a heraldic symbol on the wall in the mid-ground, but also suggests that she looks to the heavens. Her white fur-trimmed red dress is painted in luscious detail, with nearly invisible sheer sleeves dripping from her arms, and an exquisitely rendered gold embroidered brocade that is comprised of some of the only visible staccato brush strokes in the entire piece.

          The building complex behind the three figures is presented with an odd combination of perspectives, which are decidedly not naturalistic. The facade of the building is presented as a vertical rectangular plane; its darker color a suggestion that it is turned away from the sun in space. While a balcony does jut out from it, the rectangular frame of the wall is not interrupted on either the left or the right, which makes it appear both in space, and flattened. Every vertical line in the buildings appears to be exactly vertical, while all lines which retreat into the distance, do so in sets of parallel lines forming each major architectural section of the buildings. No two sections retreat at the same angle, and none of them are in diminishing perspective. There is a slight atmospheric perspective on the furthest buildings. The overall effect of the odd perspective of the building is that all lines seem to pull toward the center of the painting, or toward an intersecting line that does. Three other figures can be seen in the mid-ground, but they are placed in the same plane, and are rendered in wildly different proportions. All three appear to be busy with household tasks.

           In the background, a rolling green landscape shows a vibrant space fading into a distant haze. A road runs along a river that is bridged near the spires of a cathedral. Atop a distant hill, a large structure with a parapet overlooks a forest valley. Barely visible in the haze, a craggy mountain marks the farthest depth of the piece.

           The scaling of the figures is likely hierarchical. The largest, and thus most important figure is the regally purple-clad woman, appropriating both religious iconography and symbols of secular power. The elderly woman, most likely the local authority, is shown in both a reverent and submissive stance. The woman on the extreme left drips with royal trapping, but lacks any clearly obvious religious symbolism. All of the figures associated with the house are significantly smaller, less detailed, and the mundane nature of their tasks signify their status.

          The combination of the compositions of the figures on the left and the figures on the right might suggest that this visitation, clearly not intended to be a realistic depiction, is meant to be read as both a religious and a secular display of power over the elderly woman, her household, and the land. However, the reverence the elderly woman shows in her expression suggests that the noble presence is well-received and welcomed with an emotional embrace of love.

Bibliography

Master of the Retablo of the Reyes Católicios (also known as Master of the Catholic Kings). “The Visitation.” Oil on wood panel painting, The University of Arizona Museum of Art, Tucson, Arizona, 1496-97. Gallery label.

“Master of the Retablo of the Reyes Catolicos (Master of the Catholic Kings).” The University of Arizona Museum of Art, The Arizona Board of Regents. 2011. Accessed February 13, 2014. http://uarizona.pastperfect-online.com/35961cgi/mweb.exe?request=record;id=7A5BF848-9FA8-40EB-8717-532325438330;type=101.

Notes

i  “Master of the Retablo of the Reyes Catolicos (Master of the Catholic Kings),” The University of Arizona Museum of Art, The Arizona Board of Regents, 2011, accessed February 13, 2014, http://uarizona.pastperfect-online.com/35961cgi/mweb.exe?request=record;id=7A5BF848-9FA8-40EB-8717-532325438330;type=101.

ii  Ibid.

iii  Master of the Retablo of the Reyes Católicios (also known as Master of the Catholic Kings), “The Visitation,” oil on wood panel painting, The University of Arizona Museum of Art, Tucson, Arizona, 1496-97, gallery label.