Saint Bernard 1455

Jean Fouquet painted this intriguing miniature, Saint Bernard, sometime in the 15th century. The composition is bisected horizontally into two distinct registers, each presenting a different spatial logic. The upper scene is dominated by the architecture of blue arches, under which solemn figures are arranged almost like pieces on a chessboard. This orderly arrangement contrasts with the lower register, where a demon confronts a figure, destabilizing the calm of the upper scene. Note the architectural columns which are in a vibrant blue; they function as visual anchors, their verticality contrasting with the horizontal division, and creating a visual link between the earthly and spiritual realms. Here, the artist explores the contrast between order and chaos, sacred and profane. Fouquet uses these pictorial devices not just as aesthetic elements but as structural components to convey the complex dynamics between the divine, the human, and the infernal.