Year: 2016
Medium: oil printing sheet on canvas
Dimensions: 30 x 30 cm (11 3/4 x 11 3/4 in.)
Acquired from SBI Art Auction, 2024
Imazu ’s works frequently reference the history of painting, often borrowing iconography from masterpieces from the past. In this work, the woman’s red garment, the blue cloak draped over her shoulder, and the visible portion of “AGNUS DEI” written on the ribbon held by the infant indicate that this is a depiction of Madonna and Child. Specifically, the iconographical basis for this work is the bust of the Virgin Mary from Renaissance master Raphael’s “Madonna Terranuova” (circa 1505), which currently resides in the collection of the Gemäldegalerie in Berlin, Germany. The main elements of the painting have been obscured by additional broad strokes, while the background is overlaid with a form resembling pale blue liquid. These painterly features were all meticulously created with image-editing software before painting. Still, this small work is captivating for its combination of the skill required to perfectly retain the proportions of Raphael’s original and the rendering of brushstrokes that introduce a subtly balanced sense of dynamism into an otherwise static composition.
