• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Corpus Christi Watershed

“What earlier generations held as sacred, remains sacred and great for us too…” Pope Benedict XVI (7 July 2007)

  • Our Team
  • Pew Resources
    • Brébeuf Catholic Hymnal
    • Jogues Illuminated Missal
    • Campion Missal, 3rd Edition
  • MUSICAL WEBSITES
    • René Goupil Gregorian Chant
    • Noël Chabanel Psalms
    • Nova Organi Harmonia (2,279 pages)
    • Lalemant Polyphonic
    • Saint Antoine Daniel KYRIALE
    • Roman Missal, 3rd Edition
    • Emporium Kevin Allen
  • Miscellaneous
    • Site Map
    • Saint Jean de Lalande Library
    • Sacred Music Symposium 2023
  • Donate
Views from the Choir Loft

The Greatest Catholic Painter You’ve Never Heard Of

Gwyneth Holston · December 9, 2013

GWYN_Coronation of the Virgin Detail T THE MOMENT, I find that I am in love with the painter Enguerrand Quarton (c. 1410 – c. 1466). He was French and painted in a style that is composed of a bizarre combination of French, Netherlandish, and Byzantine influences. Two of his surviving masterpieces are The Pietà of Villeneuve-lès-Avignon (figure 1) and The Coronation of the Virgin (figure 2).

Click on the images to see them in greater detail.

GWYN_Pieta Figure 1: The Pietà of Villeneuve-lès-Avignon by Enguerrand Quarton Just look at the exquisite quality of line in The Pietà of Villeneuve-lès-Avignon. I can’t get over how every element is designed to have a beautiful silhouette; even the fingers of St. John are fascinating. The underlying structure of this painting consists of a series of lines that slope downwards from left to right: Christ’s arm, Christ’s legs, Mary’s head, Mary Magdalene’s body. It is as if every line is a wave grief lapping at the foot of the cross. Like a Byzantine icon, the background is gold. Like a Flemish masterpiece, the figures are rendered with startling detail.

GWYN_Coronation of the Virgin Figure 2: Coronation of the Virgin by Enguerrand Quarton Not only does Quarton have an captivating sense of rhythm and beauty, his color is also stunning. Look at his painting, The Coronation of the Virgin. The earth below contains the cities of Rome and Jerusalem. At the very bottom are souls in Purgatory and Hell. The Holy Trinity place a crown on Mary’s head as choirs of angels and saints look on. Although Mary is depicted in a somewhat stylized manner, the effect of her presence is overpowering due to the flaming seraphim and cherubim that surround her. She who humbled herself hath been exalted.

Opinions by blog authors do not necessarily represent the views of Corpus Christi Watershed.

Filed Under: Articles Last Updated: January 1, 2020

Subscribe

It greatly helps us if you subscribe to our mailing list!

* indicates required

About Gwyneth Holston

Gwyneth Holston is a sacred artist who works to provide and promote good quality Catholic art. Her website is gwynethholston.com. Read more.

Primary Sidebar

Corpus Christi Watershed

Quick Thoughts

    Vespers Booklet (4th Sunday of Lent)
    The organ accompaniment booklet (24 pages) which I created for the 4th Sunday of Lent (“Lætare Sunday”) may now be downloaded, for those who desire such a thing.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Vespers Booklet, 3rd Sunday of Lent
    The organ accompaniment I created for the 3rd Sunday of Lent (“Extraordinary Form”) may now be downloaded, if anyone is interested in this.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Weeping For Joy! (We Hope!)
    Listening to this Easter Alleluia—an SATB arrangement I made twenty years ago based on the work of Monsignor Jules Van Nuffel—one of our readers left this comment: “I get tears in my eyes each time I sing to this hymn.” I hope this person is weeping for joy!
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“…it would be a very praiseworthy thing and the correction would be so easy to make that one could accommodate the chant by gradual changes; and through this it would not lose its original form, since it is only through the binding together of many notes put under short syllables that they become long without any good purpose when it would be sufficient to give one note only.”

— Zarlino (1558) anticipating the Medicæa

Recent Posts

  • Hidden Gem: Ave Regina Caelorum (Steven Talley)
  • Four (4) Shimmery Hymns for Lent & Passiontide
  • “Go!” • The Word That Changed My Life Forever
  • Vespers Booklet (4th Sunday of Lent)
  • At the Cross • Stabat Mater

Subscribe

Subscribe

* indicates required

Copyright © 2023 Corpus Christi Watershed · Isaac Jogues on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

Corpus Christi Watershed is a 501(c)3 public charity dedicated to exploring and embodying as our calling the relationship of religion, culture, and the arts. This non-profit organization employs the creative media in service of theology, the Church, and Christian culture for the enrichment and enjoyment of the public.