Unveiled: The $22 Million Renaissance Masterpiece Hiding a Drooling Dragon-Dog That Defies History
For now, the provenance of the painting remains a mystery — though experts have a few guesses about who created it.
The Bizarre Details Of The Virgin And Child With Saints Louis And Margaret
According to a statement from the National Gallery, London, The Virgin and Child with Saints Louis and Margaret looks like many paintings of its era at first glance, and contains a number of religious symbols. In the painting, the Virgin Mary and Jesus, as a child, are flanked by the French King Louis IX, also known as Saint Louis, and Saint Margaret. Margaret seems to emerge unperturbed from a drooling green dragon, a nod to a story of how she was swallowed by a dragon (Satan) then escaped when her cross irritated the dragon’s stomach.
But in addition to these more standard religious details, the painting also contains “iconographic oddities” and “wildly inventive details.”
PA Images/Alamy Stock PhotoTwo people take a look at the The Virgin And Child With Saints Louis And Margaret at the National Gallery in London.
For starters, the Virgin and Child are standing upon bare wooden steps which “stand out dramatically in this splendid setting,” and the nails seen therein may foreshadow the crucifixion. Saint Louis’ scepter also contains strange “squirming figures” that are perhaps a symbol of the Last Judgement, while Saint Margaret’s braided hair, crown of daisies, and accompanying dove are likewise all unusual motifs.
In addition, the painting also includes an angel playing a mouth harp. The National Gallery notes that this is “a sound hardly associated with celestial harmony” and a “rare occurrence in medieval iconography.” And while the decorations atop the pillars in the background of the painting seem to show well-known moments from the Old Testament, they also depict “more obscure and even surprisingly bawdy subjects,” including an “unruly” putto, or cherub, who is showing his bottom to the viewer and is believed to be farting.
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