Title: Alpine Winter Madonna and Child
Artist: Willy Juttner
Medium: Oil on canvas
Size: 52 x 40 cm
Date: c. 1920
Location: Private Collection
This painting, a depiction of the nursing Madonna (aka Virgo
Lactans, or Madonna Lactans), is an iconography of the Madonna and Child in
which the Virgin Mary is shown breastfeeding the infant Jesus. Usage of the
depiction seems to have intensified with the Cistercian Order in the 12th
century, as part of the general upsurge in Marian theology and devotion. Milk
was seen as "processed blood", and the milk of the Virgin to some
extent paralleled the role of the Blood of Christ. After the Council of Trent
in the mid-16th century, clerical writers discouraged nudity in religious
subjects, and the use of the Madonna Lactans iconography began to fade away.
Despite the cold blues of the background mountains and
plains, there is a distinct warmth in Juttner’s portrayal. The crimson dress of
the Madonna alludes to the Blood of Christ, which is, in fact, reflected in the
warm rosy glow emanating from the Christ child’s cheeks as he suckles.
Willy Kurt Reinhold Juttner (1886 - 1940) was a Munich based
painter and illustrator influenced by the Symbolists. During World War One he produced
a very large set of postcards depicting German soldiers engaged in a variety of
activities from writing letters to charging into battle. These cards were very
popular and were printed in large numbers. In addition to his print work, he
was also, as we can see here, a very accomplished painter, and he is known to
have taken part in several Munich Exhibitions during his lifetime.
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