Art is a universal language that connects generations from the past to the generations of the present and towards the future as well. Considerably, the goal of art is to send a message- from the artist to the people. It is an expression that allows people to explore different mediums they are most comfortable with. These mediums give them the chance to speak out- to voice their ideas and understand certain factors that determine how they give meaning to the society they live in or to important factors that determine life as a whole.
Among the most explored themes in painting is the "mother and child". With motherly love highlighted in the painting, artists from different generations certainly wanted to create their versions of the image depending on how they understand it and how it reflects motherhood during their time.
Interestingly, among the painters who defined this theme based on his ideas is Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino. In her book Madonna of Divine Love, Carla Nicole De Petris presents a much larger picture behind this painting's history, especially when it comes to determining the meaning that the work itself carries.
Carla De Petris tells more of the story behind the work and that the original painting holds more than just the image and more than just the message itself. It carries the legacy of a painter who has adapted to very distinct factors strategies of artistic rendering. From strokes to texture to the smallest detail of his work, Carla De Petris outlines in her book how Raffaello's work is indeed able to create a distinct pattern for new artists to follow.
Every artist has a signature. Something distinct in his work helps everyone, and anyone immediately identifies the art piece as something completed by a particular artist. It may be a stroke or a specific feel to the texture of the final piece, or perhaps a series of art combinations that seem to be highlighted in each art piece- all these factors help define an artist's signature. These signature marks certainly helped in determining the Madona of Divine Love to have been created by Raffaello himself.
Artists coming from different ages all have the common ground of interest, to express themselves in strokes and textures of their work. Artists are now more concerned about how well they send their message to the audience and are even more aggressive, willing enough to explore different ways of creating their art pieces. Modern art enthusiasts today are more than willing to use the most unconventional materials to create their masterpieces.
Like Raffaello, each art piece's value certainly highlights the very being of the artist himself – a thought and purpose that transcends from the past to the present, and even towards the future. The theme of mother and child will continuously be considered a common ground of interest among artists from different generations. Then again, the interpretation of this common artistic meaning will depend more on how the artist understands it.
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