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Mary's mantle looks purple in these Fra Angelico pieces, right? or a muted pink? looks like Pantone's "Dusky Orchid" to me.
it's rare to see her in colors outside of red/blue or white/gold...someone who knows more art history please help me learn if there's a reason for this
it's rare to see her in colors outside of red/blue or white/gold...someone who knows more art history please help me learn if there's a reason for this
Fra Angelico tends to use very vibrant blues, pinks, and reds, so this in-between purple-y shade really stands out to me
the only article I could find with a cursory google search shows only one example of Mary wearing "purple" and it's more of an indigo shade
http://albertis-window.com/2009/04/the-virgin-mary-and-the-color-purple-2/#:~:text=An%20Early%20Christian%20apocryphal%20text,the%20veil%20for%20the%20temple.
http://albertis-window.com/2009/04/the-virgin-mary-and-the-color-purple-2/#:~:text=An%20Early%20Christian%20apocryphal%20text,the%20veil%20for%20the%20temple.
I think I may have figured it out
purple, in the church, is a color of suffering/penitence of course, but it is also a color of royalty, and Mary is Queen of Heaven
how did purple become associated with royalty?
purple, in the church, is a color of suffering/penitence of course, but it is also a color of royalty, and Mary is Queen of Heaven
how did purple become associated with royalty?
because of a particular dye produced by the Phoenicians called Tyrian purple, worth more than its weight in gold
the dye's hue could range from indigo to reddish-purple depending on where it was produced, and the latter was considered more desirable https://www.ancient.eu/Tyrian_Purple/
the dye's hue could range from indigo to reddish-purple depending on where it was produced, and the latter was considered more desirable https://www.ancient.eu/Tyrian_Purple/
"Through the early Christian era...Empresses gave birth in the Purple Chamber, and the emperors born there were known as 'born to the purple,' to separate them from emperors who won or seized the title through political intrigue or military force." https://bit.ly/3jzPBti
tyrian purple in the bible:
so yeah, Fra Angelico definitely would have been aware of the association of this, and my guess is that he chose that shade to highlight Mary's Queenship
this was a fun little history lesson
this was a fun little history lesson
