m of the panels, perhaps suggesting that they were the foundation of the Catholic religion. Basically, the painting is designed for a church altar, it has religious figures in it, and it is filled with Bibles and images of Christ's crucifixion. All of this relays a strong message to the viewer that this is what is important in life; one should pay close attention to religion and have respect for it. Stylistically, the painting is very characteristic of the medieval time period. There is not much detail given to the body or the face of the characters in the painting. More emphasis is placed on their halos and adornments rather than human physical appearance. The panels are all two-dimensional with no real world elements devoted to them. For example, there is very little, if any, landscape present in the panels. The painting is also extremely symmetrical. For example, in each panel the focus is in the center. Additionally, the entire altarpiece is symmetrical as well; the center of the altarpiece is Saint Peter, with the next focus of attention being on the Virgin and St. Blaise on either side of him. The colors are also extremely characteristic; there is no real bright color in the painting. The work is very drab with dark red, black and gold being the primary colors utilized in the paintings. The altarpiece is limited to the focus of religion and not much attention is given to detail of life on earth or other secular topics. Therefore, Soria's style is much like other artists of the time and can be used as a good indication of the life of the time.Yet, the painting does show the economic situation of Europe extremely well also. The painting was in itself an expensive proposition. The size of the painting and the wide extent to which the painting is adorned with gold shows that the church had a lot of money to invest in making sure the public was aware of its presence and importance. Furthermore, upon investigation of the characters of...
