The Madonna Del Bacio at San Marco, Venice 

Ernest Meissonier painted "The Madonna Del Bacio at San Marco, Venice" in oils to depict a scene of religious devotion, one that resonates with the social fabric of 19th-century Europe. The image creates meaning by referencing the visual codes of the Catholic Church, which had a profound impact on the culture of the time, specifically in Italy, the country in which it was made. Consider how the geography, religion, historical events, social class, and economic structures may have influenced the artwork. The composition places a praying figure before a Madonna icon within the Venetian basilica, a setting which would have been deeply familiar to many. To fully understand the historical context, scholars consult primary sources such as church records, social commentaries, and artists' manifestos, as well as the institutional histories of art collecting and display. By studying the painting in its social and institutional contexts, we see art not as existing in a vacuum, but as a product of its time.