The Virgin

Joseph Stella

Brooklyn Museum photograph

Object Label

Famous for his depictions of modernist icons such as the Brooklyn Bridge, the Italian-born artist Joseph Stella immigrated to New York in 1896. There, he produced Cubo-Futurist compositions of the city that captured the tempo and dynamism of urban life. In later years, however, Stella returned to Italy and focused increasingly on religious themes. Here, the Virgin Mary appears against a dense array of fruits and flowers—common symbols of fertility—with a view of the Bay of Naples in the background. Reinterpreting Italian Renaissance altarpieces through a brightly saturated palette and bold modeling of form, Stella’s Madonna embodies the early twentieth-century interest in religion and spirituality.

Caption

Joseph Stella American, born Italy, 1877–1946. The Virgin, 1926. Oil on canvas, 39 11/16 x 38 3/4 in. (100.8 x 98.4 cm) Frame: 43 1/2 x 42 1/2 x 3 in. (110.5 x 108 x 7.6 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Adolph Lewisohn, 28.207. Orphaned work (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 28.207_PS22.jpg)

Frequent Art Questions

Is there any symbolism in this painting?
Yes, there is. For example, to the right of the Virgin Mary there is a lily flower. Lilies are a traditional symbol of the Mary, for their purity and fertility. Stella was influenced by traditional depictions of the Virgin and moving that imagery into the modern world.
For example, he was familiar with depictions of the Virgin from the Italian Renaissance, like altarpieces and wall paintings in churches. He also liked traditional Italian folk art. The plants and flowers here are typical of the Mediterranean region and the buildings on the horizon may indicate that the background is the Bay of Naples.
Thank you for the information.
What techniques or paint types might Joseph Stella have used to get such vivid colors in The Virgin?
Stella was working in oil on canvas. In this work, the paint looks very unmodulated, smooth and flat. My guess is that he used turpentine or some other medium to smooth out the body of the paint.
I love the bold colors. The color blue was traditionally used for the Virgin's cloak. Nearby there are some illustrated manuscripts that use the same color palette.
I'm surprised by the Italian rendition of the virgin. It makes me think more of Mexican virgin renditions.
You're not the first visitor to make that connection! Though not always combined in Italy, all of the iconography you see in this painting is quite popular in southern Italy.
The brightly colored fruits and vegetables, especially, are very popular in Neapolitan and Sicilian ceramics!
What type of fruit is depicted?
The fruits surrounding the Virgin may include Mediterranean species like lemons, other citrus fruits, and peaches.
Joseph Stella was born in Italy, emigrated to the United States as a young man, and studied art in New York.
Can you help me compare these two paintings?
Sure! What are some of the first comparisons that come to mind?
The paint and style used. The second one looks more traditional and older style.
It is especially interesting that the two do have such a similar style! This would be considered Rennaissance rather the Gothic, but it is very typical of its time.
Paintings like this are very common in Italian churches and museums so we can assume the Stella certainly saw something like it there.
One interesting stylistic point about this painting is that we can tell the artist spent time looking at real babies to help him understand how to paint them.
Stella's subject matter and his treatment of the background date back many centuries (as is evident in paintings like this one by Niccolò Pisano), but his application of the flowers is thoroughly modern, even though they are also inspired by tradtition!
Is it Capri in the background?
That's great guess! Many scholars believe that the body of water is the Bay of Naples so it could be!
Overall, this painting is thought to be inspired by southern Italy and the brightly colored flora to be in reference to the ceramics produced there.
Though Stella is most famous for his abstracted Futurist works depicting New York City, much of his work in the 1920s followed the traditions of Symbolism in its mystical quality.
Is Joseph Stella any relation to the comic book artist Frank Stella?
I don't believe there is any relation between the two.
Gotcha. Thanks!
I am in love with it. What else did the artist do?
Stella is probably most well known for abstracted views of modern landmarks like the Brooklyn Bridge and Coney Island.
His colorful Futurist landscapes mix modernism with references to the Renaissance and Stella's own Italian heritage.
There’s kinda like a light behind her. Does that symbolize anything?
Much of Joseph Stella's work is concerned with spirituality and salvation in our modern world. The way he has mixed modern and traditional elements in this painting is definitely an example of that.
The light is likely a reference to the halo which often surrounds Mary's head (or sometimes her whole body!), symbolizing her divinity.
Yeah I was thinking it was a halo! Thank you for pointing it out
Why do you think she has on 2 layers or clothing? Is that a suppose to be a veil over her?
That was likely a matter of the artists preference. Mary is usually shown wearing some kind of undergarment with her signature blue mantle draped over her shoulders or across her lap.
Because blue pigment was extremely hard to get during the Renaissance and was made from a very expensive stone called Lapis Lazuli, that had to be imported to Europe form the Middle East, it was associated with royalty and reserved only for people of great importance.
In Mary's case, it was also related to the heavens. Even when cheaper, synthetic pigments became available the color and symbolism of the mantle was such a part of Mary's identity.
Okay thank you! You’re helping me so much
Do the boat and water have any symbolic significance?
Well, only because the background is supposed to represent a seascape and the water and boats help to communicate that. Since Stella is from Italy, some people think it might even be the famous Bay of Naples.
Where was this painted? Is there a context?
Hi there! I believe Stella was working in New York (as he did for much of his career) when he created this painting. The imagery, however, clearly harkens back to his childhood in southern Italy.
I thought he was from northern Italy?
Joseph Stella was born in Muro Lucano which is about 60 miles east of Naples. Might you be thinking of a different Stella?
The plants and animals are reminiscent of ceramic decoration in the region and the body of water in the background is thought to be the Bay of Naples.
Thanks.
Was Stella embedded in a different artistic movement which focused on secular themes? I don't know much about it but had this sense that this work incorporated elements from another style in a sacred context.
Stella is best known for his more abstract works. However, in the 1920s he did make many more figurative works like this one.
Though it does represent a religious subject, I never got the impression that this was a particularly religious painting. To me, it seems more about memories of a place. There are many images of the Virgin in southern Italy, of course!