Master of the Bigallo Crucifix

Paper has to explain your research about the work of art from several different perspectives. Researching information about your work of art should include the following areas:

1. Artist–Since we usually dont know who the artist is before 1400 AD, what do we know of how artists in general worked in that culture?
2. Patron–Was this work of art done for a specific patron? If we don’t know the exact patron, (we often dont) what kind of person or organization might have ordered and paid for this kind of object? What do we know about the person or organization?
3. Iconography–what is the subject of the artwork and what would it have meant to the people in the society for which it was created? Is there a story told? Is there a theme explored or symbols used?
4. Function–how was it used when it was first created? In what kind of place would it have been displayed? What kind of an audience would it have had? Was it made for exhibition? Who would have seen it?
5. Materials–what is the work of art made out of and how was it made? What is the technique used to make it?
6. Style–a visual analysis will help you understand how the artist worked. Relevant issues may include the use of color, space, human anatomy/pose/proportions, light and shadow, surface texture etc.
7. Social Context–Discuss historical, social or religious factors that help explain the object more completely.

1. Colors–What kind of colors does the artist use? Are they all within one general range like golds and browns, or blues, greens and grays? Are they bright or are they subdued? Does the artist use a lot of colors or does he/she use a narrow range? How do they contribute to the underlying mood of the painting? Do the colors seem to create a rhythm within the painting? So some seem to push forward?

2. Light–How does the artist understand light? Some don’t think about it, there just seems to be enough to see everything clearly. Other artists have light coming from a specific place, so that one side of a body or a thing is well lit, while the other side is in shadow. Also, do some things cast shadows, and some colors change? Also remember that it is light and shadow that cause a body or an object to look round and three dimensional. Does the artist do this? Where and how?

3. Composition–The arrangement of forms on the surface of the work and also in the space the painter creates within the painting is its composition. Is there a focal point to the compositionsomething that demands you look at it first?

A. In the painting’s imaginary space, are all the objects arranged in a row an equal distance from the imaginary front of the canvas? Or do they go back into the background on a diagonal? How about a circle?

B. On the surface of the painting does the arrangement come out in a line? In a pyramid? Is the painting symmetrical, does there seem to be more on one side or another? Is there a strong central object or person? Or does it seem purposely unbalanced?

C. How might the composition reinforce the theme of the painting? Are chaotic subjects painted with chaotic compositions? Are calm subjects shown symmetrically (a very stable composition)?

4. Space–Space is related to composition. How does the artist create it? Does he overlap things? Are things further from us shown smaller (diminution), or are things foreshortened, which is seeing something coming out toward us in the painting. What about perspective? Is there atmospheric or linear perspective? What is our point of viewdo we see things from above, below or on the same level?

How much space is created by the artist? Does there seem to be enough? If the figures are crowded or have more space than they need, what effect does this have on your understanding of the painting?

How does the size of the figures (people or animals) compare to the size of the overall painting? Do the figures dominate the space or do they seem unimportant?

5. TechniqueHow skillfully does the artist use his materials? Can you see separate brushstrokes (painterly,) or is the painting worked to a smooth, seamless finish? Do things blend in with each other or are forms cleanly outlined?

6. Figure style–General concerns: How does the artist paint the human body? Is it stylized (reduced to essential shapes), or is it naturalistic (faithful to nature)? Is it idealized (improved by the artist) or realistic (revealing all the accidents and imperfections that make people distinctive)?

What about proportions? Do the figures seem massive or delicate? Are they tall and elongated? Short and stubby?

Does the artist seem interested in human anatomy? Does he understand it well? How much detail is given to the muscles and the structure of the body? What about the clothing (art historians call it drapery)? Are the folds shadowed so they seem natural, or do they form an interesting visual pattern that has nothing to do with the body beneath?

Papers should be 6 pages of text (minimum) in length, be typed and double spaced, with one inch margins, and also have a bibliography, a clear image of your work of art and detail. Please use a standard 12 point type face. For questions of bibliography format and citation. MLA format. Make sure to include the page numbers where the quotes were found.

Here is the MLA style quotation for the sources in the bibliography that way you don’t have to cite it.

Bynum, Caroline Walker. The Body of Christ in the Later Middle Ages: A Reply to Leo Steinberg. Renaissance Quarterly, vol. 39, no. 3, 1986, pp. 399439. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/2862038. Accessed 9 Mar. 2026.

Stubblebine, James H. Byzantine Influence in Thirteenth-Century Italian Panel Painting. Dumbarton Oaks Papers, vol. 20, 1966, pp. 85101. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/1291243. Accessed 9 Mar. 2026.