The Virgin of Mercy

Localisation : The Giotto Room
Année de création :1452
Artiste :Enguerrand Quarton

Description

Here the Virgin is depicted in the traditional iconography of the Byzantine tradition, wrapping her coat around the faithful. On the left, religious men, from the most powerful to the humblest, and on the right, lay people, from sovereigns to the poorest in society. On either side, Saint John the Baptist and Saint John the Evangelist introduce the donating couple, Jean Cadard, of whom they are the patron saints, and his wife. The panting was commissioned in 1452 for their son, Pierre, in memory of his parents, for the Saint-Pierre chapel in the Celestine church in Avignon. At that time, the former papal enclave was a major trade crossroads that attracted painters from all horizons. The monumentality of the figures, the rigorous composition, intense colours and striking silhouettes can also be found in Enguerrand Quarton’s other works, such as the Pietà of Villeneuve-lès-Avignon (Louvre museum).