Six Apostles 1470 - 1499

This painting at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, titled "Six Apostles," is rendered anonymously with striking visual symmetry and depth. The composition is rigidly structured, dividing the artwork into six distinct vertical panels, each housing an apostle. This division creates a visual rhythm and balance. The artist employs a muted palette dominated by deep reds, greens, and blacks, set against a radiant gold background. The use of gold not only emphasizes the divine nature of the figures but also flattens the pictorial space, pushing the figures forward and creating a hieratic presence. The symmetry in composition is further accentuated by the repetition of poses and drapery, yet each apostle retains individuality through subtle variations in their attributes and expressions. The gold ground, while visually striking, destabilizes traditional notions of spatial depth, drawing attention to the painting's surface and its status as a constructed image rather than a window onto reality. The artwork’s power resides in its formal structure.