St. Martin and the Paupers ( Dutch: Sint-Martinus deelt zijn mantel met een bedelaar ) is a painting by the Dutch painter Anthony van Dyck . The plot of the canvas tells the story of St. Martin , who gave half of his cloak to a beggar who froze from the cold. The painting is located above the altar of the church of Saint-Martin, Zaventem (Belgium). [one]
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| Van Dyck, Anthony | ||
| St. Martin and the poor . 1620-1621 | ||
| English Saint Martin and the Beggar | ||
| Oil on canvas . 220 × 145 cm | ||
| Saint Martin, Zaventem ( Belgium ) | ||
Creation History
The painting was painted during the stay of Anthony van Dyck in the workshop of Rubens in Antwerp. As his student, he imitates the teacher in the manner and style of portraits. Presumably this work was the last before, in 1621, Anthony van Dyck traveled to Genoa for several years, where, influenced by Italian painting, he developed a new way of transferring a portrait on canvas. [2] [3]
The effect of Rubens is clearly noticeable in the picture, which is expressed in the general scheme and individual figures (the poor are endowed with impressive muscles). The line formed by Martin and his horse is depicted quite well. Anthony van Dyck borrowed this position from a woodcut in Domenico delle Grecke (Venetian engraver) based on Titian 's painting “Crossing the Black Sea”, which was in Rubens’s personal collection. [four]
Saint Martin was depicted in a red mantle riding a white horse with a brown harness . The beggar with whom he shares half the mantle is turned with his back and wrapped only in a scrap of dirty material, which covers nakedness. The second homeless man is painted with a bandaged head and is dressed in gray rags. Anthony van Dyck portrayed him with a look at the rider, in which he expresses approval of the act towards the naked beggar. In general, the picture is made with many shades, which give it an energetic tone and with minor pencil strokes. At the same time, the painting "St. Martin and the Paupers" is not without criticism from experts. Many of them express their indignation at the rider’s armor and clothing in general (especially the hat with a feather), since they are more modern and are several centuries ahead of the events when, according to legend, this incident happened. Also, the criticism is addressed to the image of the horse, which has a severity of forms and directly points to the Flemish breed of horses that posed when painting. Even contemporaries of Anthony van Dyck emphasized the unsuccessful decision to portray the beggar with his back to the viewer, thereby making it impossible to see the expression on his face at the time of transferring half of the mantle as a gift. [five]
Later, Anthony van Dyck created the second version of the painting "St. Martin and the Paupers", which is stored in the Royal Collection in the Windsor Castle .
The plot of the picture
Martin was in military service and was a cavalryman. During one of the trips, he saw a beggar who was stripped and frozen from the cold. Martin cut half of his cloak and gave it away. After that, before the adoption of Christianity and baptism, Martin appeared in a dream Christ wrapped in half a cloak, which was given to a beggar and said that what Martin did for the poor, he did for Christ. [6] [1]
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 E.V. Ivanova. Great masters of European painting / A. Yu. Koroleva. - OLMA Media Group, 2006 .-- S. 190. - 727 p. - ISBN 5-224-02088-3 .
- ↑ Before traveling to Genoa, Anthony van Dyck painted portraits according to European tradition. After living for two years in Genoa and visiting a number of art workshops, he developed his own method of transferring a portrait on canvas. He expressed himself in the formula: "the proportion of the aristocratic model is a reduced head plus an elongated body."
- ↑ Nina V. Getashvili. Dresden Gallery. - Masterpieces of world painting in your home. - Olma-media groups, 2006 .-- S. 68. - 127 p. - ISBN 978-5-373-00162-5 .
- ↑ E. G. Orlova. MASTER OF PORTRAIT GENRE ANTONIS VAN DAKE (rus.) // Publishing group Basis: Journal. - 2014. - March ( No. 3 (27) ). - S. 17 .
- ↑ The historic gallery of portraits and paintings: or, Biographical review (1). - The New York Public Library, NYPL (Book scanning). - Vernor, Hood, and Sharpe, 1807 (2007). - S. 70. - 90 p.
- ↑ Francisco Carvajal. Ordinary time: Weeks XXIV - XXXIV. - M: Litres, 2015 .-- 791 p. - ISBN 9785457184169 .