Contemporary vs Historical

The “Blue Madonna” was a religious painting created by Carlo Dolci depicting the virgin Mary from the Christian faith. The Bible tells of Mary’s virtue and integrity so Dolci has wrapped her in a blue shawl to represent her purity while implying heavenly association. Inspired by Dolci’s interpretation of Mary, Chris Ofili also cloaks his “Virgin Mary” in blue. The fact that they were created 400 years apart is apparent from the visual language, media and concept. The style of the “Blue Madonna” coincides with that era’s way of depicting people, places and objects as accurate as they can (Trompe L’Oeil – trick of the eye). Ofili on the other and has been influenced by modern societies evolution of art. His portrayal of a woman’s body is unrealistic but has been displayed in this way to cause a effect, not because he is unskilled. What’s more, while the objects surrounding the woman seem to be butterflies at first glance, if one inspects it further it is actually bottoms. This offence mannerism does not finish there, while Dolci uses standard oil on canvas, Ofili incorporated elephant dung into the work. Considering these two factors it is clear the Ofili did not create this piece of work as a homage to The Virgin Mary like Dolci, but instead produced this artwork in hope to cause offence.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Blue Madonna by Carlo Dolci)                                                                                                                           (Holy Virgin Mary by Chris Ofili)