Beginning of Essay
The Fogg Museum's icon "The Virgin and Child" captures and venerates the mystery of the Madonna in a way that powerfully awes even the modern viewer. The work entrances the viewer with mesmeric textures and shapes while removing him from the holy and unknowable re ....

Middle of Essay
.... of the cheek to the dark and barely visible center of the eye (Figure 2, Feature 1). The motion thus created evokes a mesmerist's disk, a hypnotic spinning spiral. The rendering of the shadows around her eye hints at the kohl rimmed eyes of an Egyptian hieroglyph, an ancient and mysterious goddess (Figure 2, Feature 2). Mary's power, her steady gaze, is unquestionable. The shapes of the piece serve to emphasize her enigmatic power. The clothing is composed of angular and geometrically gilded polygons. The sharp lines clearly show gravity, tension, and the folding nature of the cloth (Figure 2, Feature 3). Conversely, the flesh is smooth and flo ....