ATHAN OR XII
FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY DEPARTMENT OF ART HISTORY ATHANORXII FLORIDASTA TE UNIVERSITYDEPARTMENT OF ART H ISTORY
F Cosmic oven or Atlra,wr from Annibal Barlc1.LtVroy Cours de Physique. Paris, 1653. Cover: Michelangelo, Pieta, c. 1538-40, black chalk, 11 5/8" x 7 5/8", Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston. Manuscriptsubmission: Readers are i11vi1edt o submit manuscriprs forconsideration . Aurhors should consuh !heModem La11guageAssociatio11 H andbook for Writers of Research Papers for matters of form; manuscripls should be original rypescripts wilh xeroxed phorographs and cannot be rcrumed unless accompanied by a self-addressed,sramped envelope.The Universiry assumes no responsibility for loss or damage of materials. Correspondence and manuscripts may be addressed 10 lhe Editor, ATHANOR, Depanmenl of Art Hisrory, FAB,Flo rida S1a1e University, Tallahassee,FL 32306-2037. To obtain copies: ATHANOR is publishedannua lly by 1heDepartmen1of Art History as a projecr of the Florida State UniversityMu seum of Fine Ans Press. The issues arc available for a suggested minimumdonation of$5.00 10 cover handlingand contributeto subsequentissues; please request volumes lhrough the Museum of Fine Ans, FloridaState University, Tallahassee, FL 32306-2055. The 1995 Annual An History Graduate Symposiumwill behe ld March I 0-1I; symposium papersess ions cover a wide varietyof topics. Smdents from the Southeast make presentations which frequentlybecome published essays in ATHANOR.Th e format of the symposium includes a featuredspeaker of national reputationin addition 10 the student paper sessions. For derails of date and for precis submission, please contact Professor Patricia Rose. Chairman, Departmentof Art History, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL 32306-2037. Papers Copyright 1994by Aulhors Athanor XTI Copyright 1994by Florida State University / Tallahassee, FL 32306-2055 All Rights Reserved L.C. #8 I -68863 The essays contained in ATHANOR are articles by graduate studenL~ on topics of an history and humanities. As such, ATHANOR exists as a critical forum for the exchange of idea~and for contrast and comparison of theories and research and is disseminatedfornon-profit, educational p urposes; annotated allusions,q uotations, and visual materials are employed solely to !hat end. ATHAN OR was produced at a total cost of $4848.00 to its departmentalpubli sher, or $4.85 per copy, wirh gratefullyacknowledged in-kind d onationsof time andexpertise by the Schoolof VisualAns and Dancefacully and staff. ATHANORXII FrallfOis Bucher Foreword: From Saints to Excrements 4 WilliamTravis Points of View in Romanesque Sculpture: The Cluniac Group 9 Tania Mertvnan An Examination of Miniatures of the Office of St. Louis in Jeanne de Navarre's Book of Hours 19 Je1111iferL Fields-Crow Controlling Images: Portraits of Charles Vas Representations of His Political Agenda in Fourteenth Century France 27 Gail A. Kalli11s Mantegna's Mi11ervaOvercoming the Vices Reconsidered 35 10h11Gabriel Haddad The Sabbatarian Struggle of Michelangelo 45 Thomas Bayer Socio-economic Aspects of Netherlandish Painting during the Sixteenth Century 55 Glen11Taylor "Cloth of the Spider:" Deciphering Alfred Stevens' Intriguing "Puzzle Painting," Young Woma11with a Japa,iese Scree11 61 Betty Lou Williams Frederick Carl Frieseke Rediscovered 69 Ver/011Cary Picasso's Influence on Jackson Pollock's Late Black and White Paintings 79 Dia11aMcClintock The Art of Bessie Harvey: Her Gift of the Spirit 85 ATHANOR Xll: Fran9ois Bucher, Faculty Advisor Allys Palladino-Craig, General Editor, Museum Press Julienne T. Mason, Senior Editorial Assistant and Designer, Museum Press Kelly McCabe, Editorial Assistant, Museum Intern Typography and Design: Florida State University Museum of Fine Arts Press Printing: Gandy Printers, Inc., Tallahassee Seventeenth Ce111uryFre11ch Ship Decoratio11:Pierre Puget and Jea11Berai11, by James E. Bryan, III, won the G0nther Stamm Prize for Excellence at the 1993 Art History Graduate Student Symposium. FromSaints to Excrements "Sincesuuult1rtls are wanting everywhere nowadays. brought a blast of secular themes, allegories, emblems and a we mus, have lost ourselves in I his long soughtbr eadth tremendous surge of graphics, much of which is artistica.lly without having experienced the new dimension. In the mediocre. Financial well being and the increasingimportanceof course af lime and with the means of physics and a11as a status S)'mbol lowered the quality of portraits, house mechanics we did, in fact, achieve some astonishh,gly altars, sculptures and pouery further. All these artifacts were .tuccessful results; bw at the same time we let our still technically proficient and could, such as in the temporary psyche more or less wretchedl y wither away and go 10 triumphal arches for Maximilian I by DUrerand Hans Burgkmair, ruin, and thus obstruct other possible means of access reach the upper limits of skill and iconographic variety. to the deeper strata of Jmmtm existence lyi11gwithin From the 17th through the end of the 19th centuries the us. "-Johannes Gachnang. Introduction to the demand for privately owned art increased geometricaJI)'. Arti Docume111a7 catalogue (Kassel, 1982), xxviii. sans churned out copies of paintings, produced innumerable family portraits and still lives, some of which are said to have Imagine an art connoisseur around 1300 A.D. describing se,ved as appetizers in opulent dining rooms illuminated by the glorious procession of burghers carrying Duccio's Mae.,ra highly elaborate candelabras. These artifacts including bibelots altarpiece into the cathedral while loudly criticizing Dante for in ivory, polished minerals, silver and gold. were still techni preferring the lumbering figures of Giono which lacked even cally irreproachable and based on disciplined apprenticeships Ciroabue's or Simone Martini'scourtly elegance. Or in the or rigorous training in Academics or Ecoles des Beaux-Ans . 1450s another critic praising the enamel-like quality of the Treatises ranging from color theories, gilding, lace pauerning. Richard II portrait in the Wilton Diptych while objecting to the the rendering of any possible facial expression, appeared by the 'degrading' naturalism in Konrad Witz's Geneva altar. In both dozen. Manual s with examples for furniture design, garden cases, these critics would have missed the great movements sculplUre, beakers. ornaments and gazebos provided guidance towardadeepeningcomplexityofphysicalrealitywbichanwas to even uninspired artists and eased the choices for patrons. going to explore in the subsequent centuries. Most critics of Migrant painters found a fertile market in the colonies where 20th century art wishing to define trends within an ever increas- they added portrait faces to puppet bodies and produced works ingdisarrayofunp redictability may have missed the boat trying now prized forthe ir naive, charming ineptitude. to separate quality works from a host of irrelevant and thor- By the 20th cemury-and cena inly after the breakwater oughly inept junk art. 1913 Armory Show in New York-the industrial nations be- lt thus seems significant that the essays in the present issue came a single cultural bloc offering a global encycloped ia of of Athanor deal with solid topics and avoid artists whose artistic choices, in fact Malraux's Musee lmagi,wir e. Contacts iconography is obtuse and imagery chaotic. between intellectuals. scientists and artists speeded up. Photog- As we approach the end of the Millenium, a panoramic raphy and film, which amazingly are Still not recognized as sifting of major cultural turning points is in order. What is and perhaps the most solid and major art forms of this century, will be worth chronicling, who and what will disappear in the allowed foranevermoreprecisetransm.iss ion ofimages. Actual dust bin of history? Which highly praised works have already artifacts were shown side by side at international exhibits. world ended up in cavernous museum depolS, and what will be fairs and the rapidly emerging private galleries which evcntu• discarded by the grandchildren of fashion-struck collectors? ally took over the art "market." Einstein's theories, Freud and Finally, how does 20th century art stack up against the cultural Jung's explorations of the subconscious, the disasters of World energy of the last nine centu ries? War I, the rise of Fascism, World Warn , Viet Nam, portrayed From the beginning of the Millenium to a break around in photographs and films of corpses in muddy trenches, or rice 1500 A.D., the arts strived toward enlightenment. offering the paddies, acted as fundamenwlly unsettling forces and put into viewer specific information as well as proofs of wealth and question the traditional anthropocentric imagery with its so status within a relatively stable, identifiable context. All ob- cially and aesthetically clear messages. jects-be they aquamales, shields, banners (painted e.g. by the This new disconnectedness produced a frightening flood of van Eycks), tombs, stained glass, statuary-s erved a purpose, choices in which the lines between potent and decipherable be it an encouragemen t to devotion, a display of refined practi- messages understood by the intellectual elite. and an undisci caliry or an intent at self aggrandizement. The houses of the plined chaotic search for empty originality or totally personal burghers, the mansions of the powerful, were built to last, confessionalismbecameblurrcd . Theoriginalheadysenseofa omamentedw ithfrcscocs,tapestrie s, enamellednoortiles ,etc., new de-traditional approach such as Gaudi's rubberized con all fabricated with accomplished knowhow. The Renaissance crete, Picasso's disruptive space-time, Duchamp's exploration 4 of chance, collages and sculpnires made from no1sam and they write1-s, aphorists. poets- jettisoned imagery and replaced it jetsam. and eventuallyTingue l y's sclf-destruc.ti ve constructions with plaquettes with a few words, numbers, dates or larger lettered broke down all traditional assumptions. By the second half of statements. Creators such as On Kawara. Hanne Darboven, Jenny this century-for the first time-the artists faced unlimited Holzer, R~myZaugg seem out to prove that the p0wer of language freedom and a public demand for exquisitely absurd originality. which can only be distorted to the p0int of becoming ludicrously Any viewer with !hecri tical eye honed by innumerableexamples irrelevant arc killing an out of control imagery. of human creativitywill. at fust. be stunned walking throughany As a collector walking through exhibits, I always search for of the large con1emp0raryart shows such as the Biennale in works 1 might negotiate 10 buy. Among the hundreds of dismal Venice, or the Oocumenta in Kassel.The works are shockingly efforts at the 1982 Documenta. l'd only have considered works by seductive, their impact often almost physical with bits and Anselm Kiefer, monumental and relevant, and a humble poetic pieces of rocks, packaged with string, refuse with aggressive landscape by the barely known Dutch painter Hans van Hoek. angles hammered together, rusty sheets of iron splauered with Everythingelse was grating, badly manufactured, compositionally cracking paint, drift art picked up from the culturol beach. It is questionable. impossible 10 live with, its purpose liule more than 10 strange that by the following day there are barely any memories. epater le bourgeois. short of a taste of dreary despair. In this minefieldof frustrating,often junky, art three areas have How could this happen? A nood of publications has made remainedsolid. namely earthworks, photography/ film, and the yet art from all periods and places eminently available from Benin to be discovered "hidden" first rate works. While the portraits of the bronzes, Inuit sculptures. Bulgarian icons, artifacts from all presidents at Mount Rushmore are overblown Victorian busts. the cornersof the globe, to thousandsof ideass pewed out by design Spiral Jetty of Robert Smithson orthe titanic reshapingof a volcanic firms. Re.~p0nding to this immense ever-present vocabulary, landscape by James Turrell as well as other earth works going back invention of new images. making a statement in a culture as far as the mythological designs on the plain of Nazca are as overwrought with slogans bccamediflicull. Confrontedwith an symbiotically integrated with the soil as the giant meteor crater in avid group of status seekers, some willing to buy in bulk, Arizona.They appealto archetypal wonder, and demand a resp0nse. resp0nding to names en vogue. the gallery owners stalked the The same is true for photography and the best films. Each of these lofts looking for ins1an1sensat ions. lmp0rtantmessages enunci two art forms requires technical expertise. circumspect knowhow. ated by Malevitch, Picasso, Jackson Pollock. the color fields of careful mapping of emphases and a definable message. Beginning Rothko, the worlds of Germaine Richier and Louise Bourgeois with Atget, Stieglitz. Ansel Adams, Werner Bischoff and including began to be replaced by shrill, ever more obtuse outbursts of directorsof cinematicevents such as Eisenstein andt he creatorsof forcedor iginality. The mostly visually uneducatedpatrons, who films such as la Dolce Vita,Apocalypse Now. The Piano, as well as in previous centuries had cooperated with ar1is1sand architects recent carefully-researched period piece.~.photogrophy and film were now snowed under by waves of critics judging the saleabil have fulfilled the age old demands on art, technical competence, a ity of works. Art entered the columns of the \Vall Street Joumlll balanced composition, a clearly enunciated message defining a and helpcclto suppo11finns specializing in inve-~tment.Auction philosophy or sometimes eternal problems. A story. carefully houses provided safe purchases filtered through the eyes of framed, presented with virtuosity, confronting us with lasting. often badly-paid interns. Gallery owners slrained to group bizarre archetypal images and situations would have delighted Bernini as imageries,tun1ing them into Lrends such as Minimalism, launch well as Wagner. ing. for instance,Judd 's badly nailed plywood artifactsas sculp Finally the most neglected segment of valid statements within ture. Yearly, new personalities exploded on the 'scene.' were the 20th century art consists of several hundred "hermit artists," swept up by collec1orsand disappeared. The grandchildren of accomplishedpractitioners whose works have only been shown and surrealism such as Peter Phillips, Allen Jones, even Wayne acclaimed locally and have never reached large urban centers. Nol Thibaud, the Matis.~ecollage followerssuch as Malt Mullican's yet fashionable masters such as Lucien Freud, some photorealists, cutouts and Mangold's Xs. Joseph Kosu1h'sups ide down Neth sculptors in obscure locations.a .re waiting 10 become trendy, and to erlandisb female p0rtrait plus text, Carlo Mariani's and S1ephen be catapulted into the global scene. They will be bought by a public McKenna's neo Ingres-Poussina ssemblies of gods and ar1is1s, which for several decades has not been allowed to greet desperate innumerable collages reminiscent of Schwiucrs and Hermann attempts to shock wi1h derision, or 10 reject strenuous provocation. Hoech.an avalanche of incpLabstract expre ssionism satellitesof The artless Piss Christ or the certified, nicely-labelled canned Rauschenberg and Sam Francis, boring imitations of Claes excrementsof an Italian artist may in the end serve as fertilizer for Oldenburg, KlausStaecks 's Lichtensteinisms, A.R. Penck's pla a new and at the same time age old vision of humanity relevantto a giarized Keith Harings. Long's tedious Jasper Johnsian Mud public exhaustedby visual cynicism.As to the eminently forgettable Circle. Ludwig Gerdes'ssterile perspectives,all of1bem medio art junk. most of it is so ineptly put together, it will simply disinte cre, irrelevant, dead-on-arrivalpieces. in shorr,all these desper grote. The few important statements will survive and serve as a ate tabulations of creative coma left one with a sense of bewil reminder of the difficulties facing artists who had to handle untram dered despair. Oocumenta 1982 from which some of the above meled, uncritical and absolute freedom. artists arc culled, also included texts. Much as basically non Fran9oisBucher musicalrap has replaced rock andro ll, ..visua l" artists~r are Professor of Art His,ory and Faculty Advisor 5 Florida State University Talbot D' Alemberte President Robert Glidden Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs J. L. Draper Dean, School of Visual Ans and Dance Graduale Studies in the Hi.flory of Ari and Architecture Art His1oryand Classics Department Facu/ly: Art History Karen A. Bearor, Ph.D. J. L. Draper, Ph.D. Robert Neuman, Ph.D. Universityof Texas, Austin Universityof Nonh Carolina Universi1yof Michigan Assis1antProfessor Associa1eProfessor Professor 19th and 20th Cenlury Art Dean of the School of Baroque and 18th CenturyAri Visual Ans and Dance Fran~ois Bucher, Ph.D. Renaissance and 19th Ce111uryArt Patricia Rose, Ph.D. Universityof Bem, Columbia University Swi1zerland Jack W. Freiberg , Ph.D. Associa1eProfessor Professor lnsti1u1e of Fine Ans, Chairmanfor An His1ory MedievalArr New York University Italian and Norr/rem AssistantProfessor RenaissanceArt Barbara Clark, M.A. Italian RenaissanceAri Universi1yof Miami Lauren Weingarden, Ph.D. Slide Curator Cynthia Hahn, Ph.D. Universityof Chicago Johns Hopkins Universi1y Associa1eProfessor AssociateProfessor 19th and 20th Century Arr Medieval and Islamic Art Penelope Mason, Ph.D. Institute of Fine Ans. New York University Profe.~sor Asian Arr Classics George Armantrout , Ph.D. Nancy de Grummond, Ph.D. W.W. de Grummond , Ph.D. University of Michigan Universityof Nonh Carolina University of Nonh Carolina Visi1ingAss is1an1Professor Professor Professor Greeklmd Roman Etruscanand Roman Greek and Roma11 Daniel J. Pullen, Ph.D. Indiana Universi1y Associate Professor Aegean Bronze Age a11dGreek Points of View in Romanesque Sculpture : The Cluniac Group William Travis The mos, enduring delini1ion of the aesthetics of Ro insights into the aes1he1icsof Romanc.~uc sculpture and in so manesquesculpture was advancedover two generationsago by doing 10con1ribu1e 10 our knowledgeof a major group (Cluny Henri Focilloo (1931).' This theory, known in English as the and its circle). "laws of frame and plane," in1erpre1sRomanesque sculpnire as an art inseparable from its archi1ee1uralsupport: lhe frame Three Principal Views. Before analyzingpoints of view in dictates the shape of the image, while the plane precludes any Romanesquesculpture. ii is fu-stnecessary to summari1..ethe con1inui1y with the space of the viewer. Expanding on this system th.isphenomenon overturned . A characteristic example notion. Jurgis Baltru aitis (1931) deduced a number of simple is provided by a capital from Saint-Lazareof Aunm (Sa6ae-e1- motifs which supposedly inform all Romanesque composi Loire) representing Two Virtues and Two Vices (south nave tions.' Louis Grodecki (1978). another sl\ldent of Focillon's. arcade, pier 6, cast face; Figure.~1-2). Though the boasting characterized Romanesque sculpture as an art of frontality.' (epm111e/age)establishes three sides, all sculplllred, each side According 10 this mode of interpretation.then. sculp111reof this functions independently of the other two. The major axes arc periodwas conceived in 1ennsof images hieraticaUyfixed tot he defined by lhc elongated figures of Lt,rgiras and Pa1ie111iaat stone;each work was designed to be seen from a single angle.' either comer. Seen from the back, these figures are li11lemore In this paper, I will propose a different reading of Ro than a simple vertical. The comer is a banicr; the in1egri1yof manesqueaes1he1ics. based on a group of sculptures in which each side is absolute. severalvan tagepoin ts were considered. This phenomenonof With points of view. the sculp111ralfield was unified.• One "points of view"- i.e., the various angles from which sculpture of the mos! successful works with multiple viewpointsis the SI. was dc.~igned10 be seen-is usually associated with Manner Michael and the Devilconsole (nave facade.S.Xl) from Vezelay ism: morerecent ly. ii has beenextended 10 Gothic production a~ (Yonne; Figures 3-5).' Set a1the corner and deeply undercut, well.' In my opinion, the phenomenon was already present in thearchangel p ivo1saround his own axis,prcscnL inganalways the Romanesque period. however surprising this may seem in changingview . TI1c(irs.l. and predominant view. is thecentral light of the prevailing 1heo1ies on Romanesquesculpture. one (Figure 4): the second is defined by the direction toward I will concentrateon sculpmres from theCluniac group. As which the figure moves (Figure 3); the third view is delined by used in this essay. the term "Cluniac"designates only 1ha1Style thal directionfrom which the ligure moves(Figure5). Between associatedwit h 1hece lebra1ed eight choir capitals of Cluny. In each there is a nuid transition. This triple viewpoint became my view, the majorexponen1sof1hismanner. apart from Cluny standard in the Cluniac group. itself (e.g.• ambulatory and nave facade), were Montceaux A na,1hcxcapital from Perrccy-les-Forges(Saone-e1-Loire) l'Etoile(nave facade). Perrecy-Jes-Forges (nave facade).Saint pl'Ovidesa non-figurative example of the same method. Seen Barnard of Romans (two capitals in the nave). Vezelay (lateral fron1ally.the foliage appears stiff. but from the side ii nows portals of nave facade. especially).and Saini-Vincentof Macon (Figures 6-7). A standardderivative of the Corinthianhas been (various fragments in 1hc Mus6e des Ursuline.~). Sculptural rethought: the principal stalks ro1a1ea round the edge of the activity at thesesites extended over severalgeneratjons. par• block, rather than defining a vertical where the 1wo sides 1icularlya1 Cluny. Vezelay, ~nd Macon, but 1he period of the intcrscct.10 A single fonn-in this case a leaf-can be read in choir capitals and their shop can be situated c. 1115-1135.' different ways according 10 the spcc1a1or'sposition. As a, Rather than discuss each site separately. I will proceed by type, Ve1.elay,points of view unify the sculptural field by joining examining each of the major sculptural fields (capitals, con sides which morecommonly were treatedas disparate un its.11 soles. tympana, and linlcls).7 The Cluniac group is the bcsl The approach of both works is inherently sculptural, lum example I know of sustained experimentation with points of ing 10 advantage lhe point of greatest salience. For Wilhelm view in monumental sculplUre. 11needs 10 be s1resseda, the Viige,t his rethinkingof the block in 1ennsof projectingcorners outset 1ha1ii was no1the only group 10exp lore this acs1he1ic. cons1itu1edthe mosI significant innovationof Gothic sculpture; Pointsof view never became as widespreada phenomenon these Cluniac sculpturesdemonstrate. however. 1ha1the tech in Romanesquesculpture as the "laws of frame and plane;" but nique was already practiced in a systematic way during the they help nuance our view of the complexity of Romanesque Romanesqueperiod." In conception 1hcengaged capital is no style. The aim of this article is thus two-fold: 10 offer new longera sculpturewith three sides and l wocorners: instead. it is 9 a curved surface susceptible of representingconti nuous action. of view." Where a corner was not available, sculptors devised other A moreimmediate conn ection survivesi n theconventions methods for enhancing visibility. The choir capitals of Cluny of Romanesque sculpture. For instance, "heraldic" capitals. (Saone-ct-Loire) show a characteristic solution in the adoption i.e., compositions in which identical images intersect to form a of a deeply carved mandorla, creating a "stage" for figures new one at the center, had two vantagepo ints by definition. This (Figure 8). Traditionally the mandorla was reserved for repre approach represenL~a first step toward ovcl'tun1ing the pre sentations of the thcophany; at Cluny (capitals 4, 5, 7, 8), dominant"one side-o ne scene"of Romanesque sculpture;i t is however.j t enframedvarious person ificationswhose meaning still far, though, from poinL~of view. A comparison between continues LOmystify scholars." In other words, the maudorla Cluniac and non-Cluniac capitals may clarify this point. In a wasex ploited for its artistic potential, even though this involved capital fromSaint-Rustice( Hautc-Garonne), for example, both the incorrect use of a symbol. sidesare ide nticaJ; theimage is immobile;two creaturesm erge Similar in approach, though now iconograpbically correct, into a new, composite one (Figure 13). The views are linlited is the tympanum of Montceaux-l'£toile, where the rotating and rigidly fixed:e ithcrst1ictly frontal for each sideora t a forty• Cluist in a deep stage looks suspiciously like a borrowing from five degree angle forthe con1ers. At Vczelay, by contrast, each a Cluny choir capital (Figures 9- 10). The mandorla made high side was differentiated;the figurewas conceivedas movingin relief possible even on otherwise Oat surfaces. space (Figures 3-5). Transitions are fluid; each view gives more Other solutions were found for lintels." At Perrecy-les infonnation about the figure: images tun, wi1hi11the block. 19 Forgcs the lintel wascarved as a half-eoncavc(e11de111i-c11ve11e) Another possible source is Mosan metalwork. In works (Figure 11). Tilis created a deep base, or platfonn. for the such as the font of Renier of Huy {I I07- 18) or the foot of the figures, allowing them to twist and turn in the prescribed triple crossofSai111-Be1tin(c.11 70-80), tl1ehumanfigurehasbecome viewpointme thod. Reinforcing this effect, variousconvcrsa ~ an organic whole, conceived in the round, and successful from tional groups link figures across space. Bodies turn in one several points of view (Figure 14).20 Indeed, metalwork pro direction, heads in another; figures work equally well whether duced by the lost-wax method, a teclulique of modelling wax seen from the right, the lefi, or head-on. prototypes, was three-dimensional from its inception. Ponable The working methods of the time underline the achieve pieces can also be picked up and examined from different ment of this new technique. For work executed apres la pose. angles. i.e., aftercmplacemcm, the craftsman approacheda piece at eye ln manuscript illumination as well- not to mention stained level. but did so without compensatingfor the changed perspec glass, frescoes, and the other arts-vio lently contorted figures tive from the ground. For sculpture carved avant la pose. the present a wealth of postures,juxtapose d to heighten the sense sculptor was obliged 10lean over his work; only after comple of excitementa nd valiety.21 With sculpture, artists were now tion would it beset at eye level. Renaissanceand later anisls, by able to realize these poses in three dimensions, within the same contrast, placed their blocks on a high table, allowing them to figure. attack a piece from the same perspectiveit would enjoy once in lnmy view the crucial parallel is with Burgundy,homeland siru." Whether the decoration was executed avant or apri!sla of the Cluniac style. The rympana of La Charitc-sur-Loire pose, then, Romanesque sculptors attacked their blocks at an (Nievre: Transfiguration tympanum), with its stepped-back angle differentfrom that accessible to the spectator. With points panels; of Donzy-le-Prc(N i~vre), with its deep proscenium; of of view-effective only if the observer's position is taken into Saint-Vincent of Macon (Sa6ne-et-Loire),with its fivesuperim accoun1- this indifferencevis •li•vis Lheaudience began to posed registerscarved en demi-cuvette:of Montceaux-l'Etoile. change. with its carving e11c11ve11e; of Avallon (Yonne), with its Oat ground.suggest so many approachesto the problem of relief." Origills. Variousroots forth is transfonnation can be suggested. This rethinking of the ground bears witness to an interest in ThesculpmreofClassical and Eal"lyCh1is1ianAntiquity offered creating a stage for mulLi-dil'ectionalfigures. a ready model as theonly major precedent for a craft with ashon Other Burgundian seulptors devised "all-over" composi history. The abundant cull statues of Burgundy may, for in tions in which figures uncoil across tbecapital. Tbebest-lmown stance, have furnisheda paradigm for images observable in the example is the "acrobat" from Anzy-le-Duc (Sa6ne-ct-Loire). round.16 Among relief sculptures, an Early Christian "imago" There is no triple viewpointper se, bm tl1es tasis of a fixed view sarcophagus discovered near Aries provides a parallel for has been oven urned. A shop which Neil Stratford has centered PeITecy-les-Forges, with its high salience and twisting figures around Neuilly-cn-Donjon (Allier)speciali1.cd in such "serpen (Figures 11- 12). Such evidence is consistentwith theclassicism tine creatures.••2.l of Burgundian art, e.g., at Saint-Lazare of Autun, where both The calligraphic quality of Burgundianscu lptt1remay have the arcllitecture and the large-scale nude of Eve recall ancient favoredt he development of points of view, 100, by transfonning models. 17 These similarities do not, however, establish a direct the nowing line into a tlu-ee-dimensional mass. Other regional or exclusive relianceon ancicnlan. For insLance.,1wo of the "schools" excelled in this agitated calligraphy. as seen, for most classicizing regions of RomanesqueEurope , Tuscany and instance, in the 1rumeauof Souillac (Lot) or the apse capitals of Provence, were largely untouchedby the phenomenonof points Vigeois (Correze). ln Cluniac sculpture, however, the pattern 10 docs not lie on the surface, but penetrates tbe stone. Fu1thermore.many of thesculptural ensembles disp layingpoints of view (e.g., Vezelay) do so in a sporadic way. On the other Chro11ology.A chronology of points of view remains elusive, hand, point~ of view also occur in different regions, such as thougha roughoutl ine can perhaps be attempted. Several of the Western France. Therefore, the phenomenon is neither unique "preconditions" alluded 10above, such as hieratic capitals, the to a single workshop tradition, nor consistent within that tradi• calligraphictr eatmentof line. and an experimentationwit h tion. 11 developed in the early-twelfth century in a Cluniac groundswe re all known, it would seem, by the eleventh cen• cootext. with Burgundianroots. but had parallel manifestations tury." The flourishing of the Cluniac shop, c. 1115-35,com• elsewherewhose interrelationships and chronology remain un binoow ith theevidenceofMosan metalwo*(e.g .. Renier'sfont clear. of 1107-18), suggest that poinL~of view, as a conscious and As has beenseen, aUarchitecniral members were subject 10 coherent system. began in the early-twelfth century. innovativereinterpre tationsof their func1ions. Consolesand In this first generation, the adoption of points of view capitals were attacked from an angle. lintels and tympana were appearsto have beensomewhat haphazard. On the nave facade hollowed out: in every instance the ground was transfo11ned. ofVezelay (usuallyd ated after 1120).forinstance, they affected This transformation was accompanied by an animation of some figures (console $.XI, among others), but not others." figures which resulted in constant reorientationsof direction. If Over time they became increasingly schematized, as on the we think of the sculptureds111face as a picture plane. the figure nanhex facade of Charlieu (usually dated about mid-twelfth depicted is always turned at an angle 10 us, captured in mid century; Figure 15). 26 In the lintel and capitals of the majesras movement.A basicformula of threeprinciple v iews wasde dominipona l. the multidimensionality of figures decreases on vised. The type of architectural suppon affected the images' approaching the center. The roundest forms are the foliate visibility: figm-escarved at the corner of a capital allowed for a capitals. followed by the figure.~of King David and John the wider are of vision thao those on a single side. Baptist in the outerjamb, King Boso with St. Stephen (?) and Point~ of view also offer a new way of assessing the Bishop Ratben with St. Fonunatus (?) in the inner jamb. and relationship between the work of art and its audience. Over the finally the apostles in the lintel propcr.27 The arrangement, past decade. reception theory has attracted considerable auen• strictly symmetrical.implies a degreeofforc.~ig ht in organizing tion among medievalists." The phenomenon studied here ex the relief. pands on the type of evidence produced. by introducing argu. Points of view also affected the production of other re ments of a technical nature: at the same time. it shifts the focus gions: but to the best of my knowledgeon ly in the sculpture of by examiningthe methods employed by the creator to reach his Western France can anythingcomparable 10the Cluniac devel• audience. opment be found. The archivolt sculptures of Blasimon The principal precondition for points of view may indeed (Gironde) and Saint-Aubin of Angers (Maine-et-Loire) provide be the changed status of the anist, no longer a craftsman. but a twon otableexamples. 28 professional. Subjectively.this can be sensed in the subtlety of The genealogyof points of view can be traced further 10 form, the gradations in relief. or the mastery of composition. theear ly Gothic sculpture of Senlis (west portal archivolts; c. among other features.The emergenceof the professional sculp• 1170),R cims (arehivolt of the "pone romane:'"c. IJ80). and tor is alsoconsistent wilh a broaderhistor ical contextin its beyond." In works such as the Last Judgment pillar of Stras reflection of the division of labor, arguably the signal achieve bourg (c. 1230) and Claus Sluter's Moses Well from the ment of the Romanesque period." In this light the vinuosity chancrhouseof Champmol( 1395-1405)-where freely articu implicit in points of view can be interp,-eted,llSthe product of a latedfigu res wc,·c loosened from their architectural suppon different type of worker. points of view had their richest expression in medieval art. To Correspondingto thisnew sculptor was a newobserver; the derivefrom th is, however.a lineardescent from ClunytoGothic "vi1tuoso"found his counterpan in the "connoisseur.'"" Thus sculpture requires a leap of faith that the current state of the implications for the spectator must be addressed. too. knowloogedoes not suppon.'° Despite the emotional power of much Romanesquesc ulpture, 1herejs nothing in thesculpture itself which in vites a viewerto Concl11sion. Al this j uncture, it is possible 10 advance prclimi• approach it from different angles. The standpoint is dictated naryconclusions as to the sources. method. and original recep• from the outset. PoinLo;of view elicit a more participatory tion of a liulc-knownphenomenon . response from the spectator. who had to circulate around the Various roots were pl'Oposedhere. both in ancient and image 10comp rehend it fully. contemporary an (Romanesque sculpture, Mosan metalwork. Indeed. no an was more public than sculpture, particularly and Burgundian developments). With points of view. these the church ponals designed to reach the whole community. elements fused to create a new aesthetic. Despite their many Manuscript illumination, by contrast, was the preserve of the ,-ontinuit.ies, however. Burgundianand Cluniac sculplUrcwere few. Church treasure.~were available 10all, but on rare occa not synonymous,as shown i n the contrast betweenAunm and sions. Frescoes.mosaic. and s tainedg lasswerca lsocmincntly Vezelay(Figu res 1-5). This dichotomy is all the more striking public. When images were possessed by spirits good or evil. as Gislebenus of Autun probablytrained in a Cluniac atelier." however. they tended 10be sculptures-doub tless because, II being more corporeal, they seemed more lifelike." Sculpture looking. The emotional chargeof Romanesqueart, often p0ised braved even the Bible in its injunction against idolatry ("non between threat and promise, joy and anguish, offered another facies tibi sculptile," in the Vulgate's wording of the Second means toward achieving the same end. Commandment, Ex. 20:4). The emergence of points of view is notj ust another trans The appeal of sculpture was thus innnediate and public to formation in style, then; it is the perception of the possibilities an extent no other art could rival.,. Points of view renect this of sculpture which has changed. cultural context by directly engaging the audience in the act of New York University My tha nk..~to Lauro De Prestand StCphaneC h~ tien for lending a critical ear, " The merging of capitals Md consoles on the na\·e porcalof Perrccy-les• Forges can be interpreted in the same light Henri FociJJon.l l\r1 d~s sculpteurs ronums: reclrerches sur l'his,oire dt.t fomres (Paris: Presses univtrsirn.ires de Fn:ince.1 931). Wilhelm VOge.Die Anfiinge des m,:mumemale11Stil ts im Miuelalter: " eine Unter.mchung iiber die uste Bliileuil JranlJjsisd1er Plostik Jurgis Bahru aitis. Lt, s1ylis1iq11eoniememole dtms la sc.14/pwre roma,,e (Stnisbourg: Heitz..1 894)58ff. Also cf. PanofSk)'. Renaissance60f: and (P.ari.s: Leroux. 1931). Raymond Oursel. Fhm,i.so11de la sci,lp111re ronw11t'. vol. 2 (La Pierre• qui-vin:: Zodiaque. 1976) 387f. LouisGrodecki . "ProbJ~mesdel'espacedans la dffmitiondc la scuJpcurl) golhique.· Arcl1fres de l'nrt fratrflliS 25 (1978): 77-85. The same " For a recenL intelj)l'el~nionof thesecapitals. see Peter Diemer. "WM 1 oppos i1ion between Romsoesque fron1ali1y and Gothic diago nality is Docs PnuJentiaAdV'ise?: On lhe Subject of the Clu.nyC hoir Otpitals." common in arcllitectu.rallheory. See Pau I Fran.kl. "Der Beg.inn der 001 ik (;es,a 27 ( 1988): 149- 173. und das allgcmeine Problem des Stilbeginnes." in Fes1sd1rift Heforich \ViJl/f1ir1: Beitrlige z.11rKunsr-und Geistesgeschiclite ium 21. Jun; /924 " Mandorlas rarely appeared on lintels. One exception was the church of tiberreichr(Munic h: Schmid!, 1924) 107-25; id .• The Gorhic:Lirerary Saint-Picrre-le-Puellicr at Bourge.~(C her). S(}uffes ,wd t,11erpreu11io,1sthrough Eig/11Ctmuries. trans. Priscilla Sil1.(P rinceton: Princeton UP. 1960) 792-826: id. . Gmhic Archire,:111,e. " Several medieval examples are illu.slratedin Ganther Binding('/ al,, Der trans..Dieter Pevsner, Pelican History of Al1( Baltimore: Penguin, 1962) mittelalterliche Baubetrieb WesttllftJJNJS. 32. Ver This unific:ilio n was visual and contrasts wilhother means that were more " There we-realso hcraldic<:apitals in Ourgund)'.in<:-ludingsomeat Vb.clay. intellectual in na1ure. For ins1ance.1he sides of capitals might be linked Otherconven1ionso f Romanesque s.culpcurc.w hich may haveinnuenced in terms ()f their iconography, turning heads. gesture. or other me.ans. thedevelopmen1of poini.sof view. ineludeilie frieteca pital and lhe three• qunrter view. In lhe fonncr. thecomp0sition is predicatedon the \•iewer·s Al~ cf. lhe angel in the Sacrificeof lsa.1ccapi tal rrom CluJlY. physic.-iJdisp lacemen1.e.g . • a Passion sequence from the cloister of La Daurade al Toulouse. The figures. however. remain embedded in lheir for more on this 1ypcof c.1..pital, sec Georg Weise, "Vort>cmerkungcn :r,u rcspoc1ivc sides: whal movemcnl there was re.wiled froma successionof " einet Fonnengromrnat.ikder \'ege.tabilische1l Grundmo1ive romanise-her sm ic forms. Kapi1clldekor.1tion,,.i n Das Werkdes Kiinsrler.t:S11uJie11 :µr lktmographie An()(her convention arose from tl,e need 10 suggest space in an 111ul Fom1e.11gesc/1ic/11e: Hfiber, Schmdt zum 60. (ieb11rmag,ed. Hans ac.sthctic inimic-al 10 rnuurali.stic r<:prentation. One approach was to Feger.;;(S1uugru1 : Kohlh:immer. 1960) 72- 100. create 1hree-quru1erprofiles. as on the 1ymp.,num of Conques 12 (A veyron). The figures can Lhus be perceived from various angles: )'Cl third of the twelfth century. A brief sununruy of earlier opinions is gi\·en only one view, p.imllel 101bep iccurep lane. remainseffeclivc. The back in Eliz.abethRead Sunderland. C/wrlieit lJ l'lpqque mldilmle (Lyon: sides of 1..hefigures are anislic.allyneu1ra l. tcscuycr. 1971) S2. ,, For lhe rooLSof this coocepcion. see 1he classic a.nicle of Wilhelm On the iconography orthe..;c figures, sec Zink, 77ff. Koehler.'" By.taruineAn in lhe West."'D1tmbarton Oaks f>apus 1 (1940): 61-87. Piem Oubourg-Noves. Guyennt ronu111r (La Pierre.qui-vire: Zodinque.. " 1969)300d:i1es Ola.~imonto c. 1160-70. Jacques Mallet. L'art romn11de " E.g.• the Ponable Altar of Liborius andKilian by RogerofHelmarshau~en fancie,i Anjm, (Paris: 1>icard, 1984) 146 dates Angers 10 c. 1180. (c. 1100). illus1.r;ued in Hanns Swttr1.:cnski. Monumems <>fRoma,,esque Whc1her 1hese pieces were innue1lced by Burgundian sculpture-as A.rt: Tire Art of Ch11.rd1Tren.wres in Norri,-Wesrem Europe. 2nd ed. suggested by their "s1.arched folds" andsi nuous Hoo-remains an open (Ch;cago: U of Chicago r. 1967)fig . 234. question. If so.poinL~ofview may have been imported, too. On 1hcother hand, i1 is possible there was oo direcl innuence. only a set of similar The problem of lhe sculpturnl ground has long interested scholars. s« for conditions. for inStance. the pfacemen1of figu~ on archivohs. i.l' .. al ins1ance. Emanuel Loewy. n,c Rendering()f Nat,m• i'n EarlyGreek A.rt. a comer. recalls Lhe Cluniac approach lo capitals. Other examples of lr.lns.. John Fothergill (London: Duc.kworth. 1907), 34-44; Alois Riegl, points or view outside Burgu1)clyinc lude 1he Three Maries c--.ipit.alof SpiitrOmi:rclre K111w;11d11.urie, 2nd ed. (Vienna: Oesterreichische Mozac (Puy-de-Domc) and SC\·cral c.apilals from Na1,an::1h. S1aaLSdruckerei.1927)chaJnenwo: \Villibald Sauerlander. GotIrie Sc1dp- 111re,·,, Fra,ice //40-1270 . 1rJns. Janel Sondheimer (London: Thames N The dates gi\'en here for Senlis. Reims. and S1.J'3sbourgare adopted from and Hucl~oo. 1972). On the ground in Burgundian Romanesque sculp. Sauetl:inder. G1>rhicSClllpturr . 1ure. sec Man.in Gosebroch. "Ober die Bildmachl der burgundischen Skulptur im fruhen XJI. Jahrhundert: Beilr.ige ,.ucine r Bcstimmung des ,. Kenneth J. Con.'Ult, Ct1roli11gia,,tmd R01111mt"squrJ\rd,itectun 800 to Stile.~."di~s .. U Ludwig-Mu.ximili:m, 1950; Wilhelm Messcrer, Das 1200.Pelican History of Art. 2nd ed. (revised) (Hannondsworth: Pen• Relief;,,, Mitt el(,llu (Berlin: Mann, 1959) 52•59; id .. Romanise/it guin. 1987) l85ff made a similar claim for the Cluniac l'OQ4sof Oodl.ic Plastik i,i Fr • Jochcn Zink,"Zurdri uen Abteikirche \'OnChatlieu (Loire). insbcsondcre ,. On sculpture as public an, sec Willibald S:iuerlH.oder. "Romanesque zur Skulptur der Vortulle und ihrer kUnstlerischenNac hfolge," Wallraf Sculp1ure io its ArchitCCl"Ur31Comex.1." in TIit"Roma11~u,ur Frit'Zt' 16- Rithartz.-J,1./1.rlmclr 44 (1983): 128 dates this camp:iign to the sccood 43. 13 Figure 1. Au1un,S:.1int •l.a1,arc:Wu lh l'la.,·e a«ade. pier 6. eas.1face (fronlal). Two Vinues and Tu•o Vices.. Figure 2. Au tun, Sainl•Lazare:so ulh nave arcade. pier 6. east face (from left). Two Virtues and Two Vices. Figurc3.V¢,.ela> •:na,•ef~de.S .X1.SaioLMichac l and 1hc l)cvil. Figure 4. V6,.elay:nll\'C foca de. S.XJ(co rner view). Saint Michael and lhe Devil. Figure 5. Vb.el:iy: 1lave facade. S.XI (from rear) . Sta.inl Michael and Lhe Devil. 14 Figure6. Pem:cy.le.~•For&-es:nart hCJCcapi lal (fronrn.l). Foliage. Figure 7. Pcrrccy-lcs•Forgcs: narthex C3pital(f rom left). Foliage. Figure 8. Cluny: capital #1 (from right). Fourth Tone. 15 Figure 9, MomceJux•l'Etoilc: tymp.,num (froo. Figure10. Montccaux-l'Etoile:tympenum(from 1:11).A.~cc n5-ionof Chri~.t. Detail. left). AscMsionof Christ. J)ctnil. Figure 11.Pcrrccy•lcs•Forgcs: lin tcl(from abo\·e). BetrayalofChrii;t(Am:sl). Figure 12. Ade.,;.Mush: d':u, chrt1je.n:" Imago.. sarcophagus. De1ail. Dern.ii. Figure 13. Saint-Rus licc: up~ <::lpitul. 16 Figure 14. Renier of Huy. Bapeismal font (Ll~ge, Sain14 8 an~ lcmy). John ba.plizing the publican. Detail. Figure 15, Ola rlieu: n:uthex. pona l. Majestns do111i11i. apos1lc.o;;, King Oavid, John the Baptisl. King Boso. SL Stephen?. Bi.shop ~uLbcn. St. F'onun:uus? 17 An Examination of Miniatures of the Office of St. Louis in Jeanne de Navarre's Book of Hour s TaniaMertvnan Historians agree that in the second quarter of the four- manner, and this event sparked the conflict that became the teenth century an elaborate Book of Hours (Paris, B. N., MS. Hundred Years War. n.a.l at.3!45)wasexecu tedforJeannedeNavarrc. This book Philippe V[ was not politically agile enough to inherit includes the unusual addition of an Office dedicated to St. Navarre. The Cortes (the people of Navarre) rejected him as Louis. Marcel Thomas sugg0-~1Sthat Philippe VI was this their ruler.' Jeanne was crowned, but because the Cortes manuscript's patron and a.~signst he miniatures a date between thought she was 100 French, she acted only as regent until her 1332and 1333.1 Both the date and the patronage of Thomas' son reached twenty-one.• hypothesisare erroneous, and can be proven so in an examina- Much of Jeanne's problem attaining lands and title may tionof the illuminations of St. Louis' Office. Hcraldry,subject have been due 10 questions about her legitimacy. In 1314, maner, and iconography of this miniature cycle suggest a very Jeanne's mother, Marguerite of Burgundy, was accused (prob differentset ofcircums1anc0-~fort he manuscript'sc-0mmission. ably falsely) of adultery.• This scandal resulted in doubts This article will show that the date of the manuscript was later about Jeanne's legitimacy and became an important obstacle 10 than Thomas argues. and that Philippe VI is an unlikely patron. her claims of succession .'° These themes can be identified in Purther, it will show that Jeanne de Navarre is not only the 1heiconograp hyof thc illuminationsof1beOfficeofSt. Louis recipient of the Hours,' but also a possible patron. in her Book of Hours. For an analysis of the Hours' miniaturC-~,it is important 10 The Hours of Jeanne of Navarre can be undersiood in understand elements from the life of the person for whom they terms of the concerns of Jeanne as a dubious Capetian and were designed, Jeanne de Navarre. She plays a very important disappointed heiress. The iconography of the illuminations of and unfortunate role in thedevelopmentofthe Salic Law. After the Office of Saint Louis suggests that Jeanne is a worthy and her father Louis X, and her half-brother John, died, the eight direct descendant of Louis IX who should not be denjed her year old Jeanne was a possible heir of the French throne. place in the Capetian lineage and succession. However.her father's brotherPhi lippc!Vascen ded the throne. The miniatures appear in chrono logical order and only After he was crowned King, a general assembly decided that show the first thirty years of the saint's life. The subjects of the although a woman could inherit other titles and properties, the eight minia1ur0-~of1heNavarre Office have an unusual concen royal line was unique: "only a man could be fit heir to St. Louis tration on the saint's kingship which the other illuminated or and Charlemagne."' This law was later called the Salic Law.' textual portrayals of the saint's life do not share. The subjects Jeanne bad difficulty inheriting lesser propen ic,_~as well. are as follows: On his deathbed, her father had expressed his wish that his Matins: The Education of Louis• daughter receive properties be had acquired from his mother: Lauds: Louis as a Child at the Mass Na,•arre,Champagne, and Bric.• Though there was a precedent Prime: Louis and His Mother Blanche Traveling to for female regency of these properties and Jeanne was the legal Reims for His Coronation heir, Philippe became King of Navarre in addition to France. Tierce: The Coronation of Louis IX: the Unction His succession ignored the laws of that region which recog- Sixte: The Coronation of Louis IX: the Support of nized women as rulers.• Jeanne was twice denied her rightfu l the Crown succession by Philippe IV. None: St. Louis Carrying the Relics of the Crown When Philippe died without a son, his younger brother, of Thoms Charles, became King of both France and Navarre. When he Vespers: St. Louis, Sick, Deciding 10 Go on Crusade died also without a male heir, there wa.~a struggle in which Compline: Tbe PreachingoftheCrusadebyt heLcga tc, many men claimed the French throne. Philippe VI won this Eudes de CMteauroux struggle and was crowned as King of France. Once King, Instead of showing the pious works and miracles as earlier PbiUppeelaborated theSal ic Law to ban women from transfer- cycles of St. Louis, the Navarre miniatures concentrate on the ring the rights to the French crown 10their descendants . He did events of Louis' early years of education and events of his reign this 10 invalidate the claims of the powerful Edward II[ of askingofFrance.Thrceofthee ightillumina tionsshowevents England 10 the French throne. However, Edward could do of Louis' coronation and two others portray events before his more than the eight year old Jeanne when dealt with in this first crusade. The miniatures' emphasis on the kingship of 19 Jeanne 's ancestor may reflect the princes s' personal in1ercs1i n show 1ha1the Grammar wpos was an important source for the dynastic success ion. Hoursartist. To composeth e NavarreHours' education min Tbe iUumina1ions themselves further emphasize Jeanne's iature, the St. Pathus education scene that inc ludes Blanche is ancestry and con tinue 10 allude 10 the character she and her son comb ined with the Grammar wpos . inheii1ed from them. Her ancestry and charac ter are offered as The Hours miniature also changes the chrono logical place support of her legitimacy and her place within the Capetian ment of the education scene within Louis' life. ln La vie, the lineage. Two illum inations of 1he Office make 1he persona l even t follows the coronation. 11comes after a passage de.scrib na1t1reof the cycle's iconography clear : the first, which deco ing the regency of Blanche because altbough Louis was rated the Matins , and the third, illum inating the Prime. crowned, he wa~ s1ill 100 young 10 rule. In the Navarre Hours, The first illumination in the Office of Saint Louis begins this scene is well before 1hoseof the corona tion; Louis was still the prayers of Matins. It shows the educatio n of the young St. only a prince in his father's kingdom. This lesser status may Louis (Figure I). Loui s' mother, Blanche of Castile, siis in a also help to explain why Louis' position at his teacher' s feet was throne poi ming at her son. The boy's tutor sits on a stool and preferab le 10 his sining on a stool as in the St . Path us miniature. directs his student's attentio n to the book held by the young By altering the education's chronological placement in prince. In his other hand the teac her holds a whip, ready to Louis' Ii fe, the Hours miniature also changes the event's mean• discip line his student, if need be. Louis sits on the floor, ing. In 1hc scene from La vie, Blanche's appearance empha uncrowned with a halo. He bas not yet become king. Hierarchi sizes her status as Regent for the yonng King. but in the Hours, cally , he is humbled , but the halo suggesLs his saintly nature . she was not yet the boy's officia l guardian. In this light her role Blanche is represented as a Queen. carefu lly watching her son, is differem. This miniature portrays the queen's imponance in raising him to be a good ruler under the gu idance of a monk's raising heirs to the throne . Blanche appea rs here as a model or discip line. This picture emphasizes the role of a woman in the a parallel of Jeanne, a Spanish queen raising a fururc king. This raising of a ruler . scene almost seems to be one from Jeanne's life; the illumina The Hours of Jeanne d'Ev reux includes an illumin ation of tion from La vie has clea rly been modified 10 accentuate the St. Lou is being disciplined by his confessor (Figure 2), which similarity of their situation s. hasa composition similar to the Navarreeduca tion scene.The Dynastic issnes are involved in the miniature' s emphasis compositions of both the Navarre education and the Cloisters' on intergenerationalparaUels. Af ter Louis'caoonjz.a1ion, hi s manuscri pt scene of discip line recall the 1opo. M:treelThomas, "L'iconogrnphic de Saini Louis dans lcs Htmres de Cockerelllong agopnwedlha1JeanneU de Navarrewasthem:i.nusc ript's Jfat111cde N 21 as a Queen named Jeanne who ruled NavalTC."pro ancilla tua Johanna her sis.ters•in-law (Blanche of Burgundy was charged with aduJtery; navarrc rcgina... S. C. Cockerell, "Home of Jeanne ll Queen of Navarre." Joan of Burgundy was charged with keeping !heir sccrcls). Some A Descriptfre Series of Fifty Manuscripts (nos. 5/ tu JOO) i,r the suggest that she meant 10 discredit them 10 help her rcc.:endy born son Colleclimr of Henry Yate.f Thompson (London: Cambridge Univers..ity aH.ain 1he1hroncof France. Hers on, Edward Ill of Bngland,came close Press. 1902) 155-6. Coc-li.erellwas able 10i deo1ifyth.is queen as Jeanne 101hethrooe. and his struggle for succe.ssion with Philippe of Valoi" JI of Na\•arre by study of lhe hentldic de\•ices in the manusc.ript. The began 1he Hundred Years War, anns of France. Evreux (this.sciofanns belonged to Jeanne's husband, Philippe d'Evreux). and Navarre decorate the Book of Hours..Jeanne " Hallam 233. Also see. C. T. Wood, "'Queens, Queansan d Kingship; An II was1hc only Jeanne or Na\•arrc who was cntitJcd10 all three coats Enquiry imo Theories of Royal Legitimacy in France Md England,"' of arms. Order and Innovation in the Middle />s; e.ssays in hono11rof J.R. Strayer. eds. W. C. Jordan, 8. McNah and T. Ruiz (Prince~on, 1976) Andrew W. Lewis, Royal Succession i11Capetia11 France: Studies on 385-400. Pamilial Order and tile State (Cambridge, Mas.sachuseus, and London: H:m.·ard Uoh·ersi1y Press. 1981) 154. " The connection of thi.s illumination to the same scene in the Navarre Hours wasmade by 'Thomas (211). Rachel Bard, Navarra: TheDurabl e Ki11gd<>m( Reno, Nevada: Univer sity of Nevada Press. 1982). Also see Eli.zabelh M. Hallam. Capet/an " Thomas 2 11. Franc, 987-1328 (London and New York: Longman. 1980) 284. Hallam also men lions that the next few kings of Franccs trcngthcncd1hc " Guillaume de Sain1-Pathus. La Vit tt mirocl~sde monse;gntur saint• Salic Law which they claimed was based on laws of the Salian Franks. Louis, transcribed by M. C. d'E.spagne (Paris: Les Editions du CMrc, Much of the history of the Salic. Law was falsified to give ii more 1971) 26. strength. For the history of the Salic Law, sec Ralph Oicscy. "The JurisLie Bas is of Dynastic Righ110 the French Throoe." Trans<1cu'o,,s of " Lewis 125. 1he Amerka,r Philosophical Society. n.s, 51 (1961). pt 5: 1-47, " Nei1herth e research of Marcel Thomas nor my owo has UDCO\'Cred any 8ard 66. oomparablc scenes. Thomas 215. Bard 66. .. Margaret Wade Labarge. Saini Louis: I.nuis TX. Mosr Chrisria11K ing of France (Boston and Toron10: Linle, Brown and Company, 1968) 34. Bard 67. " Thomas 215. Bard 68. 1• Thomas 230. , Hallam claims 111:11severa l chroniclers believed lhat ls.abclln orFra nce, wife of Edward 11of England. brough1charges of adultery agaiost all of " Bard 69. 22 lobta nun all'fl(&• ·ttumn1utunaa tnumnnunn. l& 1nnbuttOUltfJ Figure I. Unknown. £duca1iort of St. Louis. from the H()Urs <>fJttume de Namru, 1336-1349. glair and gold on vellum, 7" x S 1/4". Paris. Bibliod~que Nationale, MS n.a. lat. 3145, fol. 85\·. 23 Figure2. Je:anP\Jcclle . s,. Lt>11isDi sciplinc-dby Hi s Ctmfessor.from th e 1/01,rs of lemme d' Evreux. 1336-1349. grisailles on vellum. 3 5/8" x 2 3/8". New York. lhc Cloisters Collcc1ion.54 .1.2. fol. 103. " ~c,, 0'Ji..t~ -R: ·-< . I;\~ .,r.., ,... ::-:;:=-:r-:.~~~ -:-::~ :;:: s..f" ~ , Jou(ha-. ll'Ul:!1!1tttlalaooa €£ , £.~.~Contond' cutr.r licunpltCtt. • nc.ru .ttfll ll'lli1U1t r ~clgnmtt. , !:.,htt.ttfa IOrigut µm(Uft!Ultt:• QOu Cll!pl6luttu Figure 3. Unknown. Ed11<·01io11of St. Louis. from l Figure4. Unknown. SI. loui,f and Blancheo/Ca.nille Riding t() Heinis/or the Coro,w1io,1.rrorn the IIOJ1rsofJemme ,teNm-a"e . 1336-1349. glair ind gold on ,·ellum. 7~ x 5 1/4". Paris. Biblioth~ue Natiooalc. MS n.a. lat. 3 14$, fol. 97. 25 Controlling Images: Portraits of Charles V as Representations of His Political Agenda in Fourteenth Century France Jennifer L Fields-Crow The Valois dynasty in fourteenth century France was an standing historical fact at the time was largely molded by the entirefami lyof art patrons. King John's four sons-t he Duke of way these miniatures portrayed past events.' J would add that Berry, the Duke of Burgundy, the Duke of Anjou, and the Duke Charles gave a personal context to the understanding of these of Normandy who succeeded him as Charles V- patronized images by constantly referring the content of the manuscripts many artistic projects, but it can be shown that Charles utilized back to his patronage as king by the inclusion of his portrait. his artistic patronage to bolster his political position. Jn particu- In the fourteenth century, French kings, who had previously lar, he used his portrait image in the illuminated manuscripts he had linle interest in manuscripts, began to commission a number commissioned to emphasize specific aspects of his political of literary productions with an emphasis on new texts or ambitions and specific traits of his own personality as a ruler. translations.' John II commissioned manuscripts even while Through recognizab le portraiL~in various senings, Char les V captive in England and Charles inherited this penchant from his offered himself to his contemporaries as a just leader of a father. Charles achieved his historical appellation "le sage" properly and intellectua lly organized government. However, through the number , and especially the variety , of the texts that scholars have not considered how these many portraits served 10 he commissioned. Charles is most often pictured on the frontis build an ideology of kingship. pieceanddedic~llion page which are among the few illustrations Charles was respons ible for the trnnslation of many texts on in his manuscripts. 6 subjects ranging from philosophy and religion to history and A number of books that Charles commissioned were on government. Even more exceptional, he organized his books subjects that specifically supported monarchy. However, the into a lending library, from which, as we will see, his ideas cou ld manuscript most favorable 10 monarchical power and Valois be effectively dissem inated.' legitimacy was the Corona1io11Book of Charles V, completed In particular , he made these texts his own by including his in 1365. In an effort to reaffinm the authority of the monarchy portrait in them, the aspect of the illuminations on which I will and his dyna.~ticlegitimacy, Charles decided to be crowned on focus. Portraiture was increasing in popularity and in a manu- Trinity Sunday as had his Grandfather. Philip of Valois. The script served as a mark of ownership, distinguishing the owner CoronationBook documents the ceremony in detail and was a as would initials or a written name. Charles controlled these way for Charles 10put into tangible form the beginning of his manuscript portraiL~for two purposes: 10 record the ideal reign over France. "good government" in France under his reign, and to Charles' clerics revised the earlier coronation ceremony to demonstrate that he was personally capable of directing this supportastrongermonarchywh ichintumincrcasedtheimpres govemment. These two purposes were symbolically illustrated sion of the power and control of the king.' TM miniatures in the through references to monarchical rule, to history and to the 1365 manuscript function as supplementary information 10the personality traits of the ruler. text and help to decipher the complex ccrcmony.8 For example Wearefortuna1e1ohaveade1ailcdcye-witnessdescription the illustration of the King receiving the kiss of his peers of Charles' facial features. He is noted by contemporaries as documents the nobility's acceptance of Charles as their new having had a thin face. long nose, high forehead and defined ruler (Figure I). cheekbones.' This description can be compared easily to the Charles was one of the first French princes 10 note the many portraits of Charles.3 A distinct move is made here, and political imponance of the great ruler Charlemagne. As docu in all portraits of Charles, away from a generic royal figure in a mented in the CoronationBook, a statuene of the enthroned crown 10a specific, recogn izable face. Although portraiture in Charlemagne decorated thescepterofCharlesathiscoronation, general is moving from the vague 10the specific, we should not illustratinghisdesire to imitate this model ruler(Figure2) .9 Not assume this has no political meaning in Charles' case. Portrai- only was Charlemagne an ideal model in the realm of adminis ture is used here to particular effect, Charles' face is repeated tration, since his military conquests were de-emphasized, but he over and over, and textual descriptions reiterate its specificity. was also a saint which represellled the idea of a "Christian Such a specific po1trai1was needed in order to link forcefully royalty ."•• Charles owned Raoul de Presles' translation of St. the particular visual image with the ideology of government. Augustine's City of God, which contained a long passage on Many of the manuscripts Charles had translated had never Charlemagne in the prologue, and a series of biographies of before been illustrated. Brigine Buettner argues that under- Cha rlemagne as wcl I. 11 This image of Charles as a new 27 Charlemagnewas seized upon rather quickly by contemporary idealized, for the King has aged in !his representationcreated historians. However, ii is imponanl 10 recognize !hat Charles only one year before his death. The illustrationof Charles in this began this poli1ically astute association of his reign wilh lhe manuscriptis a dedication scene staged in a royal receptionarea historicallyimportant image of Charlemagnedu ring his corona receiving the translation from Jean Golein. II emphasizes tion and in addition documented this special relation in his Charles' royal persona, in contrast to his depiction as a simple CoronatilmBook. man in his 1371 Bible, in ordcnodcmonstratethat lhe King was Manyof Charles' manuscripts seek to depict certain aspects to sci the example of virtue and chivalry. With the dedication of his pcrsonaliry. Spiri1ua.li1y,chivalry, and in1ellec1are espe of this manuscript, Charles was not only a daily example of cially impo,1ant 10a ruler and are illustratedthrough the minia virtue 10his contemporariesbut also set an example that could tures as attributes of Charles by their association with the texts be transmiued by this image through many generations. they illustrate and document. In addition to adhering to !heexpec ted rules of nobilityand In demonstrating his spirituality, Charles was careful to chivalry, Charles charted new ground in the intellectual realm. balance the images of his devotion with the images of divine Known as the most intelligent of the sons of John 11,he was right 10rule. He commissioned many religious texts, such as a associatedwit h the scholars at the Universityof Paris." While Bible historiale in 1371(Figure 3). The frontispieceof the Bible images relating to his intellectual endeavors vary from manu shows Charles taking possession of the work from Jean de script to manuscript, the representations are there to stress his Vaudetar,C harles' valet de chambre, and depicts him simply as own intellect and to show how this intelligenceas.~isted him to a pious man with few of the trappings of his high station. rule over France. Claire Shennan has noted that the most However, although he docs not wear a crown, he does wear a important step is the "transfer of an iconographic type previ beg11i11or cap to preserve the anointing he received at the ously reserved for authors and scholars to the representationof Ceremony of the Unction at his Coronation, another sublle a specific historical personality;"in this way evolution of king referencetohispower ." The oil forthe Unctionwas presented into scholar is complete.19 10 lhe Archbishop of Reims from a heavenly source at the The scientific text, Le livre ties 11e11fa11cie11s j11ge s baptism of Clovis and, therefore, this cap signifies Charles' d'twrologie, was created in 1361 for Charles while he was still royal power through the blessing of !hechurch, illustratingin an Dauphin (Figure 6). This manuscript is an astrological treatise understated,humble way and making specific reference 10lhe showing Charles' interest in science; during the middle four divine origin of his power." This image equates the piety of a teenth ccnrury wisdomand astrologywere consideredsynony wisem ler with the actof receivingh is religioustext in a simple mous.'° The King at times consulted the stars prior to major anddevout manner . decisions, a fact noted by the contemporaryhistorian Christine In addition to his image as a man of devotion, Charles de Pisan. In the miniature, the Dauphin is shown addressing wanted to exploit further his image as God's chosen ruler. His Aristolle,one of che ancient intellects who was to answerhi s Tres beau breviaire de Clu,rles V shows him in the context of questions." It is no coincidence !hat one or lhc first recogniz Psalm I 09 (Figure4)." God is seated on His throne motioning able portraitsof Charles showshim addressinga sage of the past. for Charles to come closer, emphasizing the close relationship It shouldbe noted that Charles began his program of associating between God and His monarch, lhe theocratic concept of royal his image with an important scientilic treatise while ruling for power." Donal Byrne argues that Charles V and his court did his captive father." During this time he faced many trials, and everythingpossib le 10under line lhc "supernatural connection" must have realized the importance of projecting a positive, 1 betweenGod and Frenchmonarchy. • This relationship helped imeUigentimage. to solidify the divine right to rule, illustrated in this image. An interest in social science and govenunent lead to the Therefore, along with accepting religious responsibility to rule, commissioning of Denis de Fouleehat's translation of le a king must also possess the divine right in order to control his policratique de JeaJJde Salisbury as part of the King's system nation effectively. Charles alJudes to spiritual aspects or his to make important writings favorable to monarchical power position as ruler by direclly associating his recognizable face available in French (Figures 7 and 8). " The first illumination wilh these ideas of divine light and piety. from this manuscript develops the ideals of !he Kingin a selling Althoughall commissionsby Charles for infonnative texts or scholarly ambience complete with lectern and books. The for the bettermentof his people must be consideredroyal guides, Policratique puts forward a contrast between virtue and folly Charles' library contained specific instructive books on the that is represented in another image from the manuscript. governmentof princes and kings. A proper king, like any of the Charles is in one of four small partitions. while Christ blesses nobility, would be aware of the customs that guided everyday the virtuous King and olher sages on the upper level, while the manners and procedures. A king must set an example in lhe courtiersandhuntersbelowarerepresentationsoffolly." Being areas of virtue and chivalry. Orde11ede cheva/erie, a text from set apart as lhe only single figure and depicted alongside c. 1250, existed as an instructional manual, and was consulted historical figures of sagacity only strengthenedthe impression at lhe time for proper royal and noble actions." Charles com or intellect and wisdom possessed by Charles V. missioned L'i1iforma1iondes pri11cesin 1379 as an instructive Why would Charles need such a programof illuminations? guide (Figure 5). We arc presented wilh a portrait that is not A considerationof the situationin Francejust prior to and duiing 28 the rule of Charles V demonstrates the relevance of such a sage roy CharlesV. This biography was written at the request propagandistic display. Charles needed to stabili1..cthe country of bis brother, Philip of Burgundy. 10commemorate Charles upon assuming the throne. and toeonfront theehallenge that the and 10 be a guide for future mlers. It combines Christine's own HundredYears War presented against the Valois successionto firsthand recollections of Charles with additional infonnation the throne of France." supplied by members of the Valois family and court While The previous reign of the Valois dynasty from the time of much of what Christine relates are generalities about an ideal its first king. Philip VI, through the reign of John II, had been ruler. many topics included specifics. For example. she states inept at best. The devastation of France resulting from the that the ideal ruler would want to receive instructions from battlesof Creey and Poitiers left France with a host of social, intellectuals of his time and it is known that Charles often met political, and economic problems. It was becoming clear that with Nicole Oresme, a noted scholar. She also emphasized the governmental direction in the economicd omainwas necessary association of Charles with Charlemagne as illustrated in his to COl'rect situations over which an individuaJwo uld have linle Coro11a1ionBook and connected his wisdom 10h is understand control.'" II was during this period that Charles was developing ing of astrology. This blending of the ideal with the specific is his administration and concurrently striving 10 create a public a trait of most images of Charles. whether verbal or visual. image illustrating sound and benevolent government." Charles always controlled bis image and, thereby, kept a tight While literary and visual artists helped Charles V promote rein on the image of his government. his interests and embody them with his image, the nobility, Brigitte Buettner muses that it still remains to be under helpedto disseminate these images of Charles interlaced with stood how images could define national and class identities wisdoma nd knowledge. His library in the Tour de Fauconnerie and at the same time be kept in privately owned manuscripts.'° in the Louvre contained approximately nine hundred manu However, I propose that for Charles. these "private images" scriptsand became the basis for the Biblioth~ue Nationale in were not kept private, but were deliberately loaned during his Paris. Con1emp0raries describe the library as well equipped for lifetime 10 affect the opinions of his contemporaries and to research with candles and a "guardianof the books"o r librarian. influence the historians who would transmit them to the future. Charles lem booksto his nobles for personal use, he helped in By controlling an image's creation, circulation, and destiny, theest a b l ishrnent of other libraries, and he commissioned works Charles V was able to exploit his personal association with 10 be translated into French for the bettennent of his people."' specific p0litical and personal ideas. The miniatures showed Throughthese strategies he was able to circulatecena in images the spirituality, vinue, and intellect which enabled him to rule. among his people to show that he was rc.~p0nsible for the and in tum, lead 10 the image of good govenunent in France greatnessof France through his astute governmental policy.,. under the reign of a wise king. The collective effect of many Thecontrol that Charlesexhibited over imagesan d texts created recognizable ponraits associated with cenain types of texts the imageof him that existed at that time, and still exists today. conscious!y circulated for viewing is Charles'original contribu TI1osemost affected by the King's control of images were tion to his history and to the history of his reign. the contemp0raryh istorians, and chief among them was Chris tine de Pisan. In 1404, twenty four years after his death. Christinede Pisan. wrote Le livre desfais er 1>0111,esmeurs du Florida Stale University I wi$h to thankDr. PatriciaRose for her generousscholat l)' and personal fron1et largea\ 'C>il. sorc:ilzen arch.iez.ks yeulzdebelle formc. bicn ass is , supportd uring every phaseof this projcc1and Dr. CytHhiaHahn for her chasu1inse n coulcurct arrcstezen regart. haull net assez Cl bouchenon dir'CCtion andcarefu l readingor this 1opic. I would also like to thankChris.10- lroppetite et tenuesJevres. Assa barbucstoit ct ot unpou lcs os des jocs pherCrow for his helpful sugge.~tions and his oominuous suppon in all my haulz.le poiI ne b1ontne noir.l achan1eureclere brune: lach.ierc oc asse1. ac3demicendeavors. pale. ct c-royquc cc, ct cc qu'il es.toit moultmaigre. lui cstoit \'Cnupar :K'Cidcn1de m.aladiect nonde oondicionpropre. ClaireR ichterSherman. "Represe 1muioosofChartesVofFrance(J33S J380)."Mediei ·alin ti Jlunumisticans 2 (1971): 86-87. aiar les' imerest For a comp1e1cdescriptio n of the types.of portraiLSof CharlesV in in learningincluded 1h edc\'clopmen1of Qt her libraric.,;by domuingsome differemmedia see Sherma.n.The P<>nraits<>f Cltarles V of Fra11u. of his books10 them . 8riginc Bucnoc:r. "ProfaneIllumina tions.Secular Illusio ns: Manu Bue1tncr78, 80 discussesthcro lesorimagcsascon\·eyorsoridcasfrom scripu in LateMed ieval Counly Society,"Art Bullttin 74.1 (1992): 89. the past to the pre.senI and the creation of these images for the fi~I lime TilC largenumber or manuscriptsxquired by 1heValois demanded a duringthi s period. recordkeeping S)'S. tem that includedrecords or the circulalion or the manuscriplS. Fordc1ailsof Olarles' librarysee lhee..x.hjbitionc:ualoguc LoUbrairie de Cl,arles V (Bibliod~uc N:uiooalc. Paris. 1968) CharlesV commis ClaireRich ter Shemutn.T11t Ponrait.s oJCharlts Vof Franu (1338· siooed an enonnous numberof manuscripcs,so many that his library 1380) (New York: New York University Press.1969) 10. Quotedfrom becamethe basis for theBibliocMque Natjonale in Pruis. His personal Ctuis1inede PisanLe livre de$Jais et b<>nm:sme11rs d11 sage roy Cltarles libraryconlaincd worts of various dh.cipline.~:among lllCSe were histO• V, I, l>aris. 1927, p. 48-9. riesl ike theGr Pigurc 2. 1'heDelfrery of the $.t:cpta 31 -s..v' ·, I I ,. I - • I Figure 3. Jean Bondol. CJmrlesV RC'uivrs 1hrBook from Jr,m de-Vtuulnur. Figure 4. Cl,ar/('s V Praying to Gt>d. 1're.f bem, bri 1'iairr de Bibi, histori,,le,1311 . The Hague. Mu~eum Mccrmanno.WcsLreenianum. Ch(lr/t's V. 1370. Paris. Bibliolh~que N:uion:1.le.MS lat 1052, MS 10 B 23. rol. 2. fol. 26 1. vttn,;,trtan«ffllltMt. 1ttMmptlltt~WG: stt lCIIII C'b ff,1! ""'11rl4 J,~, JQISfrtl!C(t-- ...... gllOltm°11a.aatCC1""''"' \>Nl&iftllt-, -:fGiflCIffllill .-, lnlPUI ct1til'll'I•~ tn.w, ·- Figure 5. Clwrles V Rttrt1fres the 1'ramlatio11from Jem, Galei11. Pigurc6 . 771ePlllltrl' Charles V Disputl!swith lhe Nini! J11dgesof L'i1tfoni,miQ11drs princts. 1319.Paris. Bibl iothCquc N:1.1ion.1lc, A!itrology. I.£ /iv~ ,Jesneuf ,mcitmsjugf'S ,l'as1r<>1ogi,.1361. MS fr. 1950.fol . 2. Brussels.Bibliod>Cque Ro) •:de• .MS I 0319. fol. 3. 32 Figure 7. Cllarl,s V ;,r His St11dy.U 110/icr,11iq1,etie Jt(ltf de' -:£./itt.;f:jP!i.oot\ (~ GJ.~ ...,_~ ' 5'1lisbury, 1372. Paris. Bibtiolll~ue Na1ionale, MS fr. 24287. fol. I. ~ ,~i, 110Mtc.or-t..c. ,l"tr«nm,1.wlr_p,t n-ff~(oii....-Lt,lf!.Jt qiattwii.t~ ,-.,.,._.rrtllft'1111' ct•Or:u "*•r N fflh\ touwetC6 Ut l"fflk llt"! t Srctt¢l• AS Figure S. Charle,,;V. f'alhers of the Clwrch,. Pagan PhifQSQpllers011d Solomon (above). C()lmitrs ,md Hw11trs (below). U po/itratlquc- dt Jr,111,le Salisbury. 1372. Pnris. ttut'O Ct' Biblio~ue Nationale. MS fr. 24287. fol. 12. 33 Mantegna's Minerva Overcoming the Vices Reconsidered Gail A. Ka/li11s Andrea Mantegna's painting Minerva Overcomi11gthe lec1ual, a reputation she managed to win in childhood. Vices(Figure I) is one of his more enigmatic works. There have Not only did she involve herself in intelleclUalendeavors, been ongoing disputes about the identification of its many Isabella also believed she was a person gifted with an acute figuresand their relationships lo each other and lo the whole sense of quality' and sought 10 possess objects tha1no one else 1hemeof the painting. To come 10 a beuer understanding of had. For example, if Isabella invemed or was the first to model Mantegna's Mi11erva,one must consider several fac1ors and a hal or to use a fabric, a woman wanting 10 copy her was their in1errelationship. The painting was conunissioned by required to ask Isabella for her permission. When she gave a Isabellad'Este for her studialo, a room usually reserved for buyer instructions for black cloth to be bought fora mantle, she maleha lian Renaissanceru lers "with aspirations to learning."' wrote that il should be "without a rival in the world," and "if it Sucha room also served as a retreat from the world and a place is only as good as those which I see other people wear, I had 10 s1ore a collection of books and art. Isabella was the first rather be without it!"' This desire to exclusively own unique womanof the llalian Renaissance known to have a s111diolafor objects must be kepl in mind when interpreting the Mi11erva. herprivate use. Because she aspired lo be the epitome of good Isabella began lo decorate her first stutlialo, located in the taste and humanistic knowledge, Isabella's personality and Castello di San Giorgio, in 1491, a year after her arrival in background, as well as her choice of advisors used in planning ManlUa, and she worked on it for almost fifteen years.• II would lhe decoration of her studiola and the demands she may have be helpful to know who developed the program of her studiolo madeof Mantegna, become critical considerations in examin- and of 1he paintings in it Poets and learned people often helped ingthis painting and the other painlings and objects she placed artists and patrons plan not only the i11venzio11e,the literary in 1heroom. Above all, Minerva's relationship to Mantegna's idea that a painter revealed in works of ar1,but also the istaria, fi~I painting for the room, his equally famous Mar., anti Venus "the most appropriatefonn fora given content "' There has been (Figure 2), must be taken imo accoum when atlempting an much debate about who advised Isabella for the first two iconographical study of the Minerva, for in some ways the two paintings installed between 1497- 1502, either Mario Equicola, are companion works. Although many of the figures in the who was employed by Isabella's family in Ferrara, or Paride da Minerva have been satisfactorily idemified, several remain Ceresara, who was in Mantua and was regularly employed by problematic.In addition, not much atlention has been paid to Francesco, Isabella's husband. Perhaps what mailers more is lo details depicted in the background and how they relate lo the know what humanistic literature existed at the time, how my general theme of the work. As important, a vertical reading of thology was interpreted in such literature, and how Mantegna the paiming that arises from the action of the figures in the usedmythology inhisothe rworks.Sincen6 survivingcontrac1 foregroundoffers a more coherent reading of the painting and, exists, which would have probably included an inve11zione, no in fact, corresponds lo Isabella's notion of the functions and one knows how much direction Isabella gave to Mantegna or ncec.,;,~i1yof a humanistic education. how much he was allowed 10 invent. Considering thal thesewere Isabellawas a princess from the court of Ferrara. In 1490 the first two paintings Isabellacommiss ioned and remembering at age sixteen, she married Francesco Gonzaga and moved 10 her penchant for innovation, quality, and exclusiveness. how Mantua1 0 live in his estate. Her extensive patronage of the arts could she have nol had the general theme and some definite earnedherthetributethe "tenthmuse."2Through the humanistic ideas about it~ illustration already planned? education that she received in Ferrara, she developed a keen A description of the painting's iconography and a discus senscofenjoyment fonhec lassics, music and the arts. Although sion of the possible meanings of its various pans will reveal how theseimerests partially explain her appropriation of a room for well Mantegna'spainting is an expression of the "fine meaning" a s111diolo,her decision was most unusual for a woman. In that Isabella required.' The painting appears 10 be a confusion comrast, her mother, a more typical Renaissance patroness of of figures, over thirty-five of them arranged in various poses lhe arts, spent her money on religious foundations and altar- and at different levels, moving and making eye con1ac1 in pieces.Becoming the first Renaissance woman to collect antiq- differentd irections.Beginning on the left as the "heroine" of the ui1iesin a serious way, Isabella used her income 10 buy art, picture,Minerva(Figure la)appearsas thegoddessofwisdom, especiallyclas sical art.' Her passion for collecting art and leaminga ndpoetry.Althoughshea lsotaugh11heartslohuman accumula1ingknowledgeperpetuatedherrcpu 1ationasanin 1cl- kind, she was especially associated with the feminine arts of 35 tapestry, weaving and embroidery.• She is the perfect symbol theslothcausedby love, for the owl wasthecmblem ofSomnus, for the themes of the picture and for adorning the walls of a the classicalgod of sleep. 18However. owls are also the emblems woman's s111diolo.Mantegna paints her as a fonnidable adver of the nighcand of evil. sary. He catches her as she is just about to take the next vigorous The next set of Vices stands below the rest in an opaque step. One can feel the thrust of her lcfl, shieldedann as her upper pool of water, as if to indicate that they are even more vile in body twists forward in space. Her pru1ed lips suggest her nature. Mantegna has resorted to identifying some of them by detennination toc-hargeahead and swing the broken lance in her lettering the nan1eof the vice for which they stand on white right hand. Lightbown argues that her broken lance signilies a bands around their heads. Idleness (OTVl\ol).a female with score and is a symbol of victory according to the code of the small breasts and a rotund head, has according to Ligh1bown 10 1 chivalric tournament battle. "stumps of arms, signifyingher reluctanceto toil, " • or have they Minerva seems to be responding to the cries of the anthro atrophied from disuse? Inertia leads her by a rope that is tied pomorphic tree to the lefl of her that has swirls of banners around Idleness' waist. Bc.~idcldlcnc. ~sis wriucn line 139 from wrapped around iL~body. Written in Latin, Greek and Hebrew Ovid's RemediaAmoris, a poem that describes the cure of love, is the following: OTIA SI TOLLAS PERIERE CVPIOINIS AGITE PELLITE SEDIBVS NOSTRIS ACRUS FOEDA HAEC VlCIORVM MONSTRA (If you do awaywi th idle hours, Cupid's bows VIRTVTVM COELITVS AD NOS have already perished)."' REDEVNTIVM DIVAE COMITES To the right of Idleness and Inertia, a black-brown her (Come. divine companions of the Virtues maphrodite with a monkey's bead moves 10 the right but turns in who are returning to us from Heaven, expel body to look at Minerva. The monkey, whose breasts differ in 0tese foulmons ters of Vicesf romo ur seats).11 sexual attributes, is a combinationof sexesand vicesas indi The use of the three languages of the ancient world is meant 10 cated by a white scroll wrapped around his left arm. Tiie scroll show Isabella's breadth of knowledge, for she could read Latin is inscribed with the words Immortal Hatred, Fraud. and Malice. and had an interest in Greek and Jewish textS. Four bags, labelledevils, worseevils, the worst evils, and seeds The tree has imprisoned Daphne, a symbol of chastity. of discord hang from the monkey's body. Lightbown asse11sth at Mantegna painted an olive. the tree of To the right of the center of the picture stands Venus on a Minerva, rather than a laurel, the tree into which Daphne was Centaur. a creature of lust (Figure lb). Standing provocatively transfonned while escaping Apollo, and argues that Mantegna with her left hip thrown 10 one side, she is the most tranquil deliberately created the motif in order to unify learning and the ligure amid~t the rest of the confusion and fear. This Venus. artsw ith chastity." However, the tree is indeed a laurel." and then. is Venus vulgare, the Venus of sensual love. Her counter according to Mirella Levi d'Ancona, a laurel already signifies part is Venere celesre, the Venus of celestial glory who is "the idea of union" because ii is associated with poetry. pro represented in Mantegna's first painting for the s111tliolo.the phetic gifts, triumph and chastity." Daphne with her message Mars and Ve11us. frames the paintingon the left. On the1igh1another banner stuck Other vices flank Venus on her left. A satyr with an apish in the stone wall, Lo which Minerva may also be responding. face carriesan animal skin over itSl eft arm indicating the beastly plead~ nature of lust." He cradles a golden-haired Amor in his anns. ET MlHl VlRTVTVM MATRl SVC The Amor's wings bave been cut offin ballle, and he holdsthem CVRITE DIV! in his left hand. The next three are identified by their labelled (And you, o Gods, succor me, the Mother of headbands. Ingratitude. a woman with a pointed nose, and the Virtues)." Avarice help carry Ignorance. Ignorance is a fat, crowned, and !tis the Vices who have captured the Mother of the Virtues, blind woman. For Mantegna, ignorance is always the enemy of and who apparently have her imprisoned in the wall. The virtue. In a leuer lo Marchese Francc.~o dated January 31. numerous Vices inhabit a triangular space to the right of 1489, the learned painterwrote, "Virtufi semper adversarur Minerva. Of the group on the shore of the pond, many seem 10 ignortmtia. ·•• Isabella's possible thoughts on this subject must represent evil in general, while 01hers refer to lust. The first also be considered. As an educated woman, she would have Vice, a beautiful satyrcss (Figure la), who hold~ three infant deemedi gnorancean anathema. satyrs to her chest, looks back fearfully at Daphne. Above the Some ligurcs have been omitted from the discussion so far satyrc.~smes a band of Amores. According to Lightbown, the becauseof the controversy that surrounds them. Two womenin eye.~i n their wings represent inconstancy," but eyes are also front of the beautiful satyress rush 10 the right. The one in blue associatedwith evil.'' Two Amores carrybow s; one graspsa carries a bow and quiver, and the one behind her has a wooden yellow sash; a fourth, an-ows and a quiver; a fifth. a broken net torch. Lightbown identific.~t hem as nymphs of Venus whose of gold. In the from of them four more companions hover. They beauty deceptively pleases those who are entrapped by love." are smaller. and three have animal heads, one a bird, another an On the other hand, Verheyen interprets the two women as owl and the third a monkey, wbile the fourth's head has a human goddesses who arc rushing with Minerva to the right to rescue shape. Lightbowns unnises that the owl may be associated with the Mother of the Virtues. who lie.~t rapped in the wall. Most 36 likely, !he women are associated with Venus, based on their ally but not exceptionally pious."" did not conOict with her fearful facial expressions and !heir hair waved like that of the humanism, for the pagan myths functioned as a vehicle for female satyr's. They arc dressed more like Minerva. but they philosophicalthought in the Rcnaissance..10 HumanistS, besides may be in disguise, as in Prudentius' The Fightfor Ma11soul.a finding a concealed morality. discovered the Christiandoctrine psyclwmachia in which the Vices disguise themselvesin decep within classical mythology.As the lines between the Bible and tivegarb in order 10confuse the Virtuesand win the advantage." mythology began to blur, "Christian dogma no longer seemed The two garlanded womenon the bank between the centaur acceptable in anything but an allegorical sense."" and satyr are also problematicfigure s. One holds a bow and the The confluence of Christianity and humanistic thought is other has lowered her eyes. Lightbownspeculates !hat the first evident in Mantegna'sMinerva . whicb contains a mixtureof maybea simulationof a chaste nymph of Diana, the laner False m)'Lhologicaland Christian figures. Noone has emphasizedthe Modesty." Verheyen simply identifies them as maidens of verticality of the painting and iL~connection to a possible Venusand thinks that the bow belongs 10the defeated Cupid in underlying spirituality.In the upper left. several towersof rocks thcannsofthemalesatyr .,. What is more interestingabout them slide 10 the right. compositionally leading to a grey cloud is that they are dressed more like the Cardinal Virtues than any containing two definite male profiles and perhaps a ridged otherfigures . Like the running maidens, they 100may be posing forehead of a third (Figure Id). Lightbown secs no symbolic a,;virtuous women. imponance in these cloud faces and describes them as mere In front of them, standingon the satyr's shoulder, is another on1amentation.However, in an allegoricalwork as complex as Amorwith two naming torches. Perhaps lhc torches represent the Minerva, it is hard to imaginethat lhese faces would bear no his capacity to light love's fire, as Lightbown surmises. How meaning. More imponant, Isabella would have expected them ever. the torches also function as poin1ers10 an allematc route to havea part in theoverall i11venzioneof the painting. outoflhc garden.They. like the inverted V-shapcd linesformed If seen as three faces. the clouds correspond to the notion by the bodies of the centaur, satyr, and Avarice and Ingratitude of three cosmic principles, the geniusesof light. time and earth carrying Ignorance, draw attention to the three ill-defined on the second rung of a lheological organization of the uni women, identifiable as Vices, in the background (Figure le). verse." Above the faces, the exploding rock and sky represent Thethree women look very similar to Ingratitude.Avarice. and the highest level of the hierarchy,1 hesea1of the PrimumMobile Ignorance.The seated woman is almost a twin of Ignorance and Prima Causa in the Empyrean. To the right of lhc face fat and crowned, but now carrying a scepter- and she looks cloud, three of the four cardinal vi11ues,who arc also associated entrenchedthere. as though she were on a throne.The womanto with the second nmg of the organization, stand in an oval theright urges her on. The profiled breast and the skelet0n-like mandorla of a cloud that hovers ovenoward the ,ight side of the musculaturearc reminiscent of Avarice's. Another figure be frame. balancing the weight of the rocks to the left. These hindthe hedgeat the lower left is too sketchy for a more definite Christian vim,es, forming a trinity, arc encased in a form usually comparisonto Ingratitude, but they both seem to share such reserved for the Ascension of Christ or Last Judgment. Justice facial features as a pointed nose and juuing chin. Although they typicaJlybears her sword. while Temperance carries her ves arc not in the typical configuration, they resembleportrayals of sels. Looking the most concerned, Fonitude. a vim,e which can the Fates and of bewitched Graces. If anything. these figures only be displayed in the trials of life." peers down to the show how far the Vices have penetrated into this world. as commotion in the garden below. thoughthere are always other Vices in the background.ready 10 The garden is defined by seven tall, narrow arches set at a come to the forefront. This idea of the continuity of evil, the diagonal to the left and a pergola of four wider arches that cut ongoingbaule, is also suggested by the baby satyrs in the arms the picture in half and help to define the shallow depth of the of the female satyr and by the bag labelled "Seeds of Discord" foreground. In the comer of each arch, Mantegna has placed hangingon the monkey. citrus trees of a t)'pe !hatrecurs inseveral of his other works.Not Beforedescribing tl1etop half of the painting,the religious only dolhcy add color to the overall darknesscreated by lhedark sideof Isabella's life must be taken into account. Some of her green of the leaves, the treesa lso protrude into the sky, directing friendsand correspondentswere the "most learnedand eloquent the viewer's ga,.c upward and in effect reconnecting the two friarsof the day."" In 1492. she so impressed Fra Mariano da parts of the picture split by the arched walls. Orange and lemon Gcnazzano.a popularAugustinian whose oratory made him a trees arc symbols of chastity, purity, and the Virgin Mary, but rival of Savonarola, that he wrote to Isabella's mother extolling also fertility and lust." Since the trees are rooted in the arches her daughter's intelligence and devotion. Also, she had a close of the garden and extend into the heavens, they dwell panially relationshipwith a Dominican nun, Osanna dei Andreasi,con in a space populated by lustful creatures, but their fruited sideredthe protectoressof Mantua.The nun's fame extended to branches extend into lhc purity of the heavens. theQueen of France, and people believed she had received the Within !he confines of the garden Lightbown identifies a stigmataand wascapableofforesecing the future. Isabellaoften row of white rose bushes fenced by a low trellis that lines the tumedtoOsanna in timcsoftroubleandcredited her with saving bouom part of the pergola." White roses have both pagan and her life from a dangerous illness." Christian meanings.They are Venus' Oowcr,symbolizing pride Isabella's piety. even if one describes her as "convention- and triumphant love, but they also denote the Virgin Mary and 37 represen1 the joyo us mys1eries of 1he rosary.36 Like 1he ci1rus the two paintings as companion pieces and helps interpret two trees, the roses encompass bolh meanings. The Vices have been puzzling questions: Who is the Mother of the Virtues? and triumphanl in lhe pasl, bul lhc garden is going lo be made pure Where is Prudence, the fourth Cardinal Virtue? In Minerva again. The garden itself indicales lhe Vices have been holding Overcoming the Vices, an Amor holds the yellow sash of the court for awhile. Daphne has been entrapped in 1he tree long celestial Venus from Mars and Venus over 1he head of the enough lo grow a short cap of leaves. The previously well• femalesal)'r as though the sash were a trophy, If read as a trophy trimmed arches of 1hepergola have leggy branches shooting off of the celestial Venus, it becomes obvious that 1he celestial in various directions. The pool's water is opaque and stagnant, Venus is the Mother of the Virtues who is trapped in the wall conlamioaled by the Vices, who appear reluctanl 10 leave and crying for help. In the Mars and Venus, the Muses dance, because they have been lodged in the garden for some lirue. Apollo plays his l)•re, the hills arc green and nourishing, the Lighlbown descr ibes lhe land beyond lhe arches as a water in the pond is transparent, the expansive blue sky has "landscape of soflly- lil hills" and refers 101he "tranquil beau!)' wispy tiers of high while clouds: the world is beaulifu l and of the landscape ."" However, io compar ison 10lhe background flourishing. Wilh thecelestial Venus imprisoned, the Mother of landscape of Mars and Venus, !his landscape appears barren the Vices, 1heVenus of Lust triumphs. The world has shrunk to and rugged. Oflhc four arches , two frame jagged rocks; the far a prison -like garden, guarded by a lustful queen and her troops left conlains 1he base of the mountain above, and lhree Vices who have defiled il and stripped it of its beauty. lns1ead of the scalter among a clearing of rocks and tree stumps in the window sweet music of Apollo's lyre, the shouts and clamor of battle of the far right arch. The middle arches frame hills that are reign. "Love and Charily , Comeliness and Modesty, Dignity jagged and lifeless, and the viewer is drawn deep into the space and Magnanimity, Charm and Splendour," the qualities of by a winding river. In contrast, lhe hills of lhe background of Venusof Humanitas, arem issing. Mars and Venus are fertile mounds populated by people whose Lightbown, however, surmises that the Mother of the presence is indicated by buildings nestled between trees. Church Virtues trapped in the wall is Prudcntia because Prudeotia was s1eeples rise from the clumps of the cities. The space indica tes often shown as the queen of the Liberal Arts and that the other a thriving and harmonious environment. In Mantegna 's Min virtues cou ld not be acquired unless she were present." But why erva, the Vices · takeover has had far reaching consequences : would Prudentia be calling 10 her colleagues with such defer• the result of their progress is s1erili1y. Similarly, the mora l ence? "Come to my help, o gods- lo me who am the Mother of conveyed is that people who are consumed by thoughts of lust lhe Virtues," she cries. Why would the other Cardinal Virtues idle away their lime while their intellect withers. send Minerva 10 rescue Prudentia while !hey s1and back and A further compa rison between the two paintings, which watch? Rather , it seems 10 make more sense to see Minerva as Verheye n stresses shou ld be interpreted as a pair, " helps to a symbol for Prudcntia ." In fact, Paul Deeharme makes that explain the meaning of Minerva. The Venuses of both paint• connect ion in his twentieth -century study of the Greek gods. ings wear the same bracelet wilh dangling jewe ls on their upper He writes. "Miuerve est la Prudeuce, et Vinus la Beaute. •~3 right arms, and they both have golden hair. These are their only Prudent ia is the Christian emb lem for reason and wisdom: similarities. The humanists took Plato's notion of distinguishing Minerva is her mythological counterpart. In a moralizing hu the two aspects oflove and expanded it. There exists Venus , the manistic work, substituting one for the other would have been Goddess of Lust, and, according lo humanis t Marsilio Ficino, quite natural. Venusas Humaniras , one who The murky pool, populated with figures representing lust .. .is a nymph of excellen t comeliness born of and evi l, represents the soul in its bases! condition, a mass of heaven and more than others beloved by God confusion, disorie nted from concentrating on the body and all highest. Her soul and mind are Love and senses. Minerva/Prudence, has come down from the mandorl a Charil)', her eyes Dignity and Magnanimity, cloud to bring order through reason. According to humanist the hands Liberality and Magn ificencc ... The Fici.110,the soul is in constant turmoil between the animal whole , then, is Temperance and Honesty, instincts and the desire for reason . Ficino writes: Charm and Splcndour. 39 Wisdom, who is born from 1he exalted head The purity oflhe Venus of Mars and Venus is illustrated by her of Jupiter, crca1or of all things, prescribe.~ 10 nowing hair and her nude body, since nudity in Renaissance philosophers, her lovers, that whenever 1hey allegory is associated with morality."' Her spirituality is indi desire to grasp a beloved thing they should cated by her position with Mars oo the highest plane of the rather aim at 1he top, at the heads of things, picture, and she is encircled by citrus trees the way the cardinal than at 1he feet below. For Pallas, the divine virtues are enclosed in the mandorla cloud. By contras!, the offspring who is sent from the high heavens , Venus of the Mi11ervahas intricately curled hair and is partia lly herself dwells on the heights which she makes clothed, indicating her false modesty and her alluring nature. her stronghold. Furthermore, she shows us Moreover, she dwells in the lower regions of lhe painting, that that cannot attain 10the summits and heads of is, one step above the Vice-infested pool. things before having mounted to the bead of Perhaps one small detail shows both the correspondence of the soul, the intellec t, leaving behind the 38 soul's lowest regions."' adversities. rsabella/Minerva promotes the idea of the active Minerva,then, can tum her followers away from desires of the life, Isabella, in fact, cultivated similar resolves in a le11er10 her flesh and bring one's soul into the sphere of heavenly wisdom. sister-in-law Elisabe11a.who was ill: However.she cannot accomplish this feat alone. If she "is sent ...I hope you will force yourself to take regu from the high heavens," then the Divine guidance from above lar exercise on foot and horseback in order 10 may be represented by the faces in the clouds and by the drive away melancholy and grief. whether volcano-like mountain at the lop left. The mountain bathed in a they arise from mental or bodily causes ...and fiery orange light fits a description of the Empyrean and seems those who do not know how to spend their 10 have spewed forth its heavenly contents, the faces and the time profitably allow their Lives to slip away mandorla. The case for Minerva's connection to the mountain, with much sorrow and li1tlepra ise." or "high heavens" is strengthened by Mantegna's use of color. Whether the line about leisure is actually the mo110of the Her tunic and skirts are the same shades of orange light as the painting remains elusive. Manlegna'sjo b was to convert a mountain. Celestial Venus· sash is golden, aligning her with the literary invention into visual fonn by means of metaphor and heavens,too. Ficino goc.~on Lo say that Minerva promises "that symbols that would only partially reveal the theme." Isabella, if we withdraw ourselves into that most fertile head of the soul, who delighted in exclusiveness, fashioned the paintings to lllatis the in1ellec1...[ourowninte llect] will be the companion of conceal their full meanings;only a chosen few within her circle Minervaherse lf and the help-mate of Jupiter the all highes1."'' of friends would have known the invenzione, Questions remain Although Minerva is not a portrait of Isabella, as in a about the identilication of many of the figures and their signifi physicalresemb lance, surely, viewers were supposed to make a cance, yet despite such problems, it is clear that the Minerva symbolicconnection be tween the two. After all, Isabella seemed and itS companion painting served as an exemplum suitable to Loseehe rself as a champion of the intellect and of the arts. The the functionof the room. Ideally, the s111diolowas a humanistic comparisoni s made more clear by the fact that Minerva stands chapel where Isabella could withdraw from the ordinary de over the words inscribed next to Idleness, "Take away leisure mands of her day and aspire to higher, nobler. thoughts. If the and Cupid's bow is broken." Verheyen notes that no one "has Mars a11dVenus represenL~ the heightS 10 which one can soar tried to lind out LOwhat degree this line constituteSthe motto of if dedicated 10 the pursuit of knowledge and reason, the the painting.".. Given her drive and ambition, Isabella might Minerva Overcomingthe Vices is a reminder of the depths to havecons idered the statement her creed, for she was a woman which the human soul can plummet if it does not vigilantly who pursued what she wanted relentlessly and despite all combat the Vices and avoid succumbing LO the rule of desire. University of Georgia Oa\•id Chambets andJane Martinea u, eds.. Sphmdo14rsof the Go11zaga: Mirella Levi d'Ancona.The Garde,1of JheRenai ssance (FlomlCe: LcO Exh 4 Nov 198/ -3/ Jan 1981(Loodo n: Victoria and Albert Museum. " Olschlo. 1973) 202-3. 1981) 164. Lightbown 202. Ch.ambersSI. " Lightbown206 . Ch•mbers 53, 55-56. " " The markingsof theirwlllss are carcfull)' differemiated and are recog . Chambers 52. nizable as actual varieties of butterflies from the family Satyridae. Althoughnamed ccnl'urics after the painting,the bcuterflicsdwcU in dark Julia Cartwright,Isabella d'&te: Marchioness of Ma1111,a1474-/.539 woods. perhaps linking them to the eviJ of the satyrs. Cecil Smith. (New York: Dunon, 1932)n. Associate Cur.norof lhe Museumof Natural History. Entomology Collections, Universityof Georgia,persona l inlcrview, 22 December Egon Verheyen.The PaiJlling.fi'1 the Srudioloof lsabe.llad'Este (New 199 1. Yo ,. d'Ancona 206. 272,.4. .. Ver heyen 35 . ., Lightbowo 201. Cat1wrig)1167 •68. ,. d'Anrontt 330, 339. .. Sc,.nec97 . Figure I. Andrea Mantegna. Mlneritt O•·c~omhlg 1hc Vices, 1502. egg 1cmpcraand oil on canvas. ISOx 192 cm. LOuvre.Paris . 40 Figure la. Andrea Mantegria..Minen·o. detail of Minel'\•aand Daphne (left). and detail of female satyr and Vices (righ1). Figure lb. Andrea 1Vlan1cg.na.Mi,ier.'O. detail orVenus and Vice:,., 41 Figure le. Andrea Mantegoa. Ml11er,.,'(l,detail of 1hrceVice., in background. Figure Id. Andre.,Mantegna , Mi11erva,detail or gods in clouds. 42 Figure2. Andre.-iMan1egna. Mars and Ve,ms. 1497. egg tcmpemon CM\'.lS.. .150x 192cm. Louvre, Paris. 43 The Sabbatarian Struggle of Michelangelo John Gabriel Haddad There is one particular day in Western his- orits youth, and shall enjoy the beauty that arises frompreserv- tory about which neither historical record ing symmetryand proportionin all its members."' The nudity nor myth nor scripture make report. It is a of the figure has often been misunderstood (so much so as 10 Saturday and it has become the longest of have been coveredby a gilt leaf) and was deemed inappropriate days. We know of that Good Friday which by many. Leo Steinberg'ssuggestion is well taken in this Christianity holds to have been that of the instance.He positsthat the consequentrobing of the genitals has cross... we also knowabout Sunday... that day had the effect of "therebydenying the very work of redemption signifies... ajustice and a love that have con- which promisedto freehuman nature from itsAdamiccootagion quered death.... But ours is the Jong day's of shame."' This imageof Christ possessesa human poignancy journey of the Saturday. Betweensuffering. which lies at the basis of Christian thoughton the redemption aloneness,unutterable waste on the one hand from sin. Michelangelo's and the patron'schoice to portraythe and the dream of liberation on the other... figure nude emphasizesthe humanityof Christ and suggests a George Steiner ' life where menand womenw ill no longerbe burdenedby the sin Throughout his life, Michelangelowas tormented by the that mars their bodies on earth. The Risen Christ carries his thoughtsof death and his salvation in Jesus Christ. Living in a anna Christi, the instrumentsof the passion, a strong reminder timeof greatreligious thought and controversialchange, he was that the humanChrist suffered. d ied, was buried,and roseto free influenced by the many Christian and humanist thinkers in the faithful from the scourgeoforiginal sin. This is only the first RenaissanceFlorence. Although it is extremely difficult to of many recurringoccasions in which Michelangelodep icts a ascertainspecific i nfluenceson his faith and religious beliefs, it human Christ who suffered for man; many of the later images isobvious that Michelangelowasadeeplyspiritualmanand was conveythis messagein a much more dramatic way. This work troubledfrom an early age about what was 10be his fate after is also significantin that it maybe the only depictionof the Risen death. Manyofhiscreativeendcavors, both hisart (paintingand Christ bearing the instrumentsof the passion,one of the many sculprurc)and poetry, shed light on his religiousbeliefs and bis instanceswhere Michelangelo overcomes traditional iconogra overwhelrn.ingpreoccupationwith a humanCh rist whosuffere d phy to convey certain deeply felt beliefs. ln order to be saved, like a mortal to free man from the burden of Adam's fall. one must understand and accept the magnitude of Christ's It is well documented that Michelangelo"thoroughly en - suffering. A verse from Pau.l'sl etter to the Romansstresses this joyedreading the HolyWrit,"' and it is apparentthat his reading point: "Andif we are children we are heirs as weU:h eirs of God of the Bible. especiallythe Paulineepistles,influenced his ideas and coheirswith Christ, sharinghis sufferings so'as 10 share his abouuheresurrcction of the body,one of the central tenetsof the glory" (Rom. 8: 17).Pau l emphasizesthe need to share in the Christian faith. God's incarnation in Jesus and consequent sufferingof Christ as a means to salvation. sufferingon the cross is a striking image for Michelangelo, one The nature of salvation in Christ can also be observed in that frequentlyreappears in his art from the early depictionof one of Michelangelo's grandest yet most controversial and the Risen Christ to his late drawing of the Crucified Christ. misunderstoodworks, The I.Ast Judgment (Figure 2), on the culminatingin his last Pieta, a work left unlinished at his death. altar wall of the SistineChapel. Muchof the commentaryon the Thisbelief was upheld stronglyin Papal Romeduring this time, work emphasizesa wrathful and angry Christ, condemningthe and "often the preachersconjoin the two eventsof the lncarna- sinnersto eternal hell and raising the faithfulto glory in heaven. tionand theCruciftxion, as in Theliatus'ssermon forAll Saints, Other viewpoints represent the figures not in reaction to an 1492: ·.. .i n the Virgin's womb and on the cross he kissed us and angryChrist, yet as pawns of fate.• Althoughan analysisof the renewedall reality.' .., entire frescois beyond the scopeof this paper,a freshexarnina- ln his Risen Christ (Figure !), Michelangelohas carved a tion of the central figure of Christ provides some insight into figure influenced by the classical trad.ition, in a contrapposto Michelangelo's feelings about salvation. Most of the contro pose and of perfect proportion.This may have been influenced versy surrounding the work focuseson the central figure of the by the feelingsof St. Augustineas expressedin the City of God, powerful Christ.Whereas most of the commentarydescr ibes an "in the resurrectionof the flesh the body shall be of that size angryChrist (possiblytaken as truth from the early accountsof whichit either hadattained or should have attainedin the flower Vasariand Condi vi), the figureapparently is not. Hisexpression 45 is calm and he glances downward in the dil'cctionof the saved. church.9 However, some of these ideas did nm harmonize with His posture is strange. not siuing or standing but stepping back his beliefs because Michelangelowas a practicingCatholic and from the actionunfoldjng aro und him. His right arm is raised, "he believed in the efficacy of prayer ... the efficacy of the pos.~iblymotioning for the rise of the faithful while his left ann sacrameuts... the efficacy of good works, almsgiving,and char seems 10 point 10th e wound in his side.' These gestures stem ity. " 10 Some of the details of The Ltw Judgment arr.rm these from a relatively passive figure,n ot one involvedin the active traditional Catholic beliefs. 1\,•o figures are raised up into the gesture of damnation. His body suggests an Apollonian model heavenly realm,cl inging to a rosary, a fairly obvious reference yet it evokes a sense of corporeality unseen in the proportions of 10t he Catholic tradition of prayer. Many figures help others in the classical canons. Perhaps in the grand proportions of the their ascent, possibly alluding to acts of charity. Man remains nude Christ and many of the other figures in the fresco helpless without the grace or God, yet good acts and prayer are Michelangelois exclaimingthe idea of bodily resurrection, first evidence of his faith. In his book on sacred liturgies in Renais and foremost in Christ and, because of his sacrifice, the chance sance Rome, John O'Malley evaluated sermons preached in SL for his faithful followers. Relatively speaking, in light of the Peter's and the Sistine Chapel between the years 1450-1521. subject, Michelangelo's work is one of compassion and hope. From his research he observed one aspect of the C11holicideal The figure of the Virgin may arr.rm the sentiment expressed. of charity: "having created man in his own image and likenes.s Sheis often seen a s an intercessor,one w ho showscompassion and having investedhim with 'agcndivin:utcs,' God now en for the damned. She draws near to Christ, sharing the holy light dowed him with even more perfect gifts. He lavishedthese gifts withh er son. Sincethere i sno active damnation,there is no need on man not that he might live in seclusion for himself alone, but for her intercession. The fact that she shares a spot with Christ that he might be active in the service of others."" 11,is is aJsoaffirms her assumption into h eaven. Inchi s drama manhas evidence of a church that preached helping others. the ideal set made his choice 10e ither accept or deny Christ; each man must by the example of Christ for the Christiancommu nity; his death be the judge of his own deeds. Every man has the opportunity was the ultimate example of chariry.Typ ical of many scenes of to embrace the sufferingof Christ and the idea of resurrection in judgment. the (11'111(1 Chrisri appear in the sb.-yabove all of the his name, asa verse from Corinthiansexpresse s: "Now if Christ figures. keeping in tradition with the Gospel account and again raised Ii-omt he dead is what has been preached. how can some placing importance on Christ's act of mercy. In his "self of you say there is no resurrection of the dead. If there is no portrai1" on the nayed skin of St. Bartholomew.Mi chelangelo resurrection of the dead, Christ himself cannot have been raised may be asking for redemption: and if Christ had not been raised then our preaching is use As in Dante, of whom M ichelangelowas less ...." (ICor. 15:12). The belief in the resurrection of Christ known 10 be a profound expositor. the is central 10the Christian faith; without it man has no hope of Marsyas-likeportrait is a prayer for redemp salvation. Although man has free will. he is totally dependent tion. that through the agony of death the upon the grace of God for salvation. It is a unique part of the ugline.ssof the outward man might be thrown Christian condition 10place faith in Christ and work for him in off and the inward man resurrected pure. the world yet still remain unsure of his fate. still somewhat having shed the morta spoglia." scarred from the fall in the garden. In a sonnet wriuen on the Michelangelo may be suggestinghis hope that in death he will back of a Jeuer from Battista Figiovanni dated November 23, shed the skin of earthly tormelll and will be raised 10heaven in 1532, Michelangelo expresses the condition of a believer un salvation. sure of his fate: The placement of the scene on tht altar wall diverges from 0 nesh, 0 blood, 0 wood, 0 Ultimate Pain! traditional practice. II is more traditionally placed on the en through you may be justified all of my sin trance wall. since the church is the city of God and those in which I was born.ju st as my fatherwas. entering it must undergo The last J11tlgme111.In the alten.'d You aloneare good; may you r infinite mercy placement. the church becomesthe pathway 10 salvation." The relieve my predestined stateor wickcdne. ~s, tradition of the cross over the altar is given a subtle twist; the so near 10 death and so far from God.• scene of The last J11dg111e111is pro of of the incarnation and Michelangelo 1111derstands the need for the grace of God 10 resurrection of Christ and is a reminder of Christ's suffering on achieve salvation. The imagery or the Crucifixionis compelling the cross. evidence of his devotion, yet he also expresses the magnitude It was during his painting of The last J11dgme111tha t of his shortcomings, unsure of his fat.e. Michelangelo's relationship with Colonna intensified and he During the years he workedon the altar wall. Michelangelo feels purified by this holy woman who is "the bestower of had become friends with Viuoria Colonna and through her was Divine Grace and the mediator between the Divinity and him introducedto some radical theological ideas espoused by Juan self."" For Michelangelo, Colonna assumes a heavenlychara c Valdesan d others involvedin the Italian Reformation. One idea ter and through her help he can reach salvation. His descrip held by Valdes was that of justification by faith alone, whereby tions of Colonna may call to mind the mercy and compassion of man emphasizes his allitudes of belief in relation to the sacrifice Mary. It was in this context that Michelangelocreate d for her of Christ. independentof good works or the rites of the Catholic some of his most compassionate works.emphasizing the hu- 46 mani1y and suffe,ing of Christ. In his drawingof TheCrucifix physically as they hold bis lifeless body and emotionally as io11(Figure 3), Michelangeloveers from traditional represen evidencedin the pain on their faces. It has been suggested by tation of the subject. Whereas most artists represeotedChrist manyscholars that Michelangeloportrayed himself in !hefigure dead on the cross, Michelangelo has depicted Christ in one of of Nicodemus, bearing lbe weight of the great sacrifice.This is his most human and suffering moments. He is still alive on the poignantin light of the inierior struggle of the artist, weighted crossbeseec hing his father, "Eli. Eli, lema sabach1hani?" That down with the sacrificeof Christ, feeling inadequateand unde is, "My God. My God, why have you deserted me?" (Mauhew servingofhismercy.It calls 10 mind theencounter of Nicodemus 27:46-47)Chris t is sufferingand feeling pain, asa humancou ld. and Christ where Christ aflinns the resurrectionof those who Thechoice of thispoignant momen t from the passionof Christ believein Him as the savior: "Yes,God loved the world so much rcnects Michelangelo's worshipof the sufferingChrist, maybe that he gave his only Son, so that everyone whobe lieves in him influencedb y Colonna and her circle. The body of Christ is may not be lost but may have eternal life" (John 3: 16). 1wisted and caughtin an unnalural tension,struggling on the In a la1cpoem of unknowndate , Michelangelo expresses cros.\before his ultimate peace in death. The angels under the the sufferingof Christ: "Delightedbecause you redeemed wha1 outstretchedarms of Christ float in a sorrowful limbo, lament you'dcreated fromthat first sin that led to his wretchedfa1e; sa d ing the pain of the savior, unlike their more usual position of fromfeeling how , in harsh and intensepain. you made yourself, catchingt he blood from Christ's side. on the cross, the slave of slaves. ..."" Chris!indeed was the slave In another work made for Colonna, Michelangeloaga in to the humanityhe saved. It is interestingto note that lbe cords depicL~the sufferingof Christ in a drawing of the Piela (Figure pulled acros.~the chest of Christ in the Florence Pieta arc 4). Whereashis earlier depictions of the subject placedempha reminiscentof the fetters that bound the figures of his earlier sis on Mary and were of a more traditional composition, the slaves. The cord or feuers echo tbe poet's descriptionof Christ drawingof the Pieta becomesan imago pielatis, the redeemer's as the slave of slaves aod also express the freedom from the sacrificingp ity for mankindand in tum mankind'spity for the slavery of earthlytorment granted men by bearing the burdenof Godwbo sacrificedfor their sins. The vertical axis of the cross the ultima1esacrificc. This imagery is used by Paul in his letter draws the viewer through the body of Mary down 10 the dead to thePhillipians:"His state was divine yet he did ootcling 10 his Christ. The inscription on the cross rellecL~Michelange lo's equality with God but emptied himself to assume the condition Dantesque influence and the magnitude of the image: "No11vi ofa slave." (Pltll. 2:6-7) si pe11saq11a1110 sa11g11e cos1a" (they think not howmuch blood Io his last work of sculpture,the Ronda11i11iPiela (Figu.rc it will cost).'' Mary with her arms outstretchedin a gesture of 6), still unfinishedat bis death,Michelangelo lea ves a symbolof despair and hergaw pointedheavenward, magnifies and he ight his owndebility in old age, a strongs1atemen1 of physicalde cay. ens the image by fonning a cross with her gesture. The figures arc rough and unfinished yet the intention could In addition to the drawings, Michelangeloalso wrote po never have been a lifelike bodysim ilar to his earlier works.The emstoCo lonna, expressingsentimentS similar to thosein his art, absenceof any sense of a corporealbody is a striking testimony all 1hewhile praising her spiritual purity and lamentingh is own to 1he extreme sufferingof a human Christ. The figure echoes inadequacies. He alludes to his drawiog of the crucifiedChrist the condition of Michelangelo, suffering both physically and in a poem: "O Lord, in my last hours, stretch oul towards me mentally.yet still focusedin his devotionto the crucifiedChrist your merciful anns, take me from myself aod make me one In a late poem of 1555the artist again reflected on the saving who'll please you."" He sees the sacrificeof Christ as his only power of the crncified Christ: means of salvation. In another poem of the same time ...Your thom s andyou mails and both,ofyour Michelangeloexpresses his spiritual indirection and search for palms and your benign,humble and merciful salvation askingof Colonna," I beg to knowfrom you, high and face, promiseto my unhappysoul the graceof godlyl ady, whether humbled sin bolds a lower rank in heaven deep repentanceand hope of salvation.Ma y 1hansheer good."" He seeks answers from Colonna and ques your holy eyes nol look upon my past with tions the salvatioo of a penitent sinner. justicealone. nor likewiseyour pure ear, and TI1elate 1540swas a time in Michelangelo's life markedby may your stem ann no1stretch out 10 ii. May heallbp roblems(kidney s tones)and by rcOectionon his mortal your blood suffice to wash and cleanse my ity, probably caused by his realization of his deteriorating sins, and the older I grow, the more may it health. It was during this time that he began working on the overflow with ever-ready aid and full for Flore11ceP i eta (Figure5). The figuresall confrontthe viewerin giveness. 19 a moving way, save 1befigure of Mary Magdalene,carved by Io 1hispoem Michelangelois confessingthe sins of his past in TiberioCalcagni after Michelangelohad abandonedthe group an act of repentanceand plead\ for a mercifu1 freedom from his out of frustration. As in most of his later works, the figure of tormented earthly existence. The poem echoes sentimentsex Christ, limp and lifeless,soon after he was 1aken down from the pressed in an earlier poem to Colonna where he wonders if a cross, forms the ceotral axis. The burdeo of his weight and his penitent sinner is judged lower than a manof sheer good. Since sheerphys icality accentuatet he gravity of the scene.T he figures man was stainedwith the sin of Adam, he cannot auain a purity oft he Virgin Mary and Nicodemus bear the weight of his death, of spirit without the gift of grace in the son of God. 47 Before Michelangelo finally succumbed10 dcal h. he had Jesus for man's salvation, a salva1ion Michelangelo wanted asked lhal in his lasl hours the passion of Chris! be read lo him. more tl1anany thing in his eanhly realm, a final peace he surely In his lasl moments. he reflected upon the ultimate sacrifice of reached. Universi1y of Virginia George Steiner. Real Presences (Chicago: U of Chicago P. J989) 231· 1960) 5 I •55. For further infom1aticmo n the ideas of justifica1ion ttnd 232. morcdetail on the complc,i: theological issues refer 10StevenOune nt's T/i,Ag eof R,fo rm 1250-155Q (New Ha-·en: Yale UP. 1980)398-418. Robett I. Clernenl'i. Micht!lnngelo's17umry <>I Art (New York : New Yori. UP. 1961) 107. " Charle.-.De Tolnay. 77,~A.11 and Thm,ght of Mid1ela11gt!lo(New York: Random House, 1964) 57. John W. O'Malley. Praise ,md /Jla111tr ;,, RtmaiJ.Sm1ceRom e (Durham: Duke UP, 1979) 141. " O'Mallcy242. Augu:,;linc. Tiu!City of Got!A g11il1S1lhtr P,, gm,s, lmns. G.E. McCracken. " Edgar Willd. Pnga11/tty .~teri<'Sin th~ Rmalf !itmc, (New York: W.W. W .M.Green. I).$. Wiesen,P. Le,•ine. E.M. Sa11ford(London: Ca mbridge Nonon & Co., 1958)1 88. Un.iversil)• Press) 22. 20. TI'(:oonnec tioo bc1ween the Ris~11Christ and ;-\ugustinc's notion of 1hercsu1TCCtcd bodyi s made by David Summers " John W. Dixon. Jr .. "The Christology of Michelangelo: The Sist irte in his book. Micl1t'ltmgelo a11d 11,r la11g41age()j Art (Princeton: Chapel." Jounial of the America,, Academy <>fR ,!igi()11LV/3: 524. Princc1on UP. 1981) 395,6. " De Tolnay. Michtlongelo 52. Le0S1cinberg. 77,eSex11alil)'of Cl1.ris1 hr Re,1oiss"'1ceArt and ht Modem Obli\>iq,r(New York: Pantheon. 1983) 18-20. Howard Hibbard, Michela11gt.lo( New York: Harper and Row. 1974) " 258. Loo Steinberg 's article, · Michclangck>'s 'Las1 Judgmem' as Merciful Heresy.· Art i11Ameriro63( 1975): 48-63. nea1ly summtuizt-s1hemujor .. Sai,low3 17. schC>laThhipco ncerning 1hefigure of Chris.I. " sa.~low 3 19. This C>bscrvation is amibuted tC>Leo Steinbe rg in his ttrticlc, "Miche lange lo's 'Last Judg ment' • Chttrlc::. De Tolnay. Micltt'ltmgelo. vol. 5 (Princc1on: Princc1on UP, 48 Figure l. Mjchclangclo. Rise1tChrist. 1519-20. matble. heiglu 80 3/4". Sanrn Maria Sopm Minc"·a. Rome. 49 Figure 2. Michelangelo, The LastJi,dgmem, 1534-1541.fre.~. 40' x 45'. Sistine Chapel.Vatican Ci1y.Rome . 50 • • .. t , Figure 3. Michelangelo. Crncifixitm.c . 1540, black chalk, 14 5/8" x 10 5/8". Bricish Museum, London. 51 Figure 4. Michelangelo.Pi~u1. ,:, 153840. black ch:tlk. 11 5/8~ x 7 518... lsabeU:iS1ewru1 Gardner Mt1seum. 80S-1ot1. 52 Figure 5. Michelangelo and Tibc.ro C.akagn i. Flor~11u Pitta. c. 1547-55, marble, height 89"'. Musco dclr Opera dcl 0oomo, F'lorencc. Figure 6 . MtChcl:mgclo, Ro11da11i111·Pitrta, 1555-64. m3rblc. height 76 3/4". C'.asleUoSforze:.co. Mil.an . 53 Socio-economic Aspects of Netherlandish Painting during the Sixteenth Century Thomas Bayer "Art follows wealth for its rich rewards." ( Carel va11Ma11der 1548 - 1606)' l11ephenomenal output of paintings in the Dutch Republic the growing patronal environment around the coun.' Charles inthe seventeenthcentury inspired several studies of the socio- IX. however, demanded in 1570that all Spanish subjects who economicconditions which facilitated this production.' Thus had lived in France less than two years must leave on penaltyof fa,·. however, no explanation has been proposed for the causes death. This resulted in a panial dissemination of the local of this rise in output. The highly developed an market of Netherlandish anists' community which, in tum, positively Holland's "Golden Age" did not come about suddenly but as a affected Netberlandish art exports to France. result of developments which can be traced throughout the The economic development of the region during this cen course of the sixteenth century. A combination of historical tury echoed that of the city of Antwerpwhic h, between 1493to events.econom ic conditions,and anistic innuences during this around 1520.had emerged as the trading metropolisof Europe timel aid the foundationfortheart industry which characterized largely due to an expansionof internationaltrade. S tartingin the the subsequenlcen1ury . This essay will explore these circum- fourteenth century and continuing through the sixteenth. the s1ai1cesand demonstrate that socio-economic aspects must be city underwent a process of rise, expansion, maturity, and considered10 understand fully the art historical developmcnL~ decline, experiencing simuhaneously a growth in population, of six1eenth-centuryNe1herlands. I intend 10 show that the particularly of the middle class, and stimulating general com applicationof economic 1heory reveals that Iconoclasm and mercial growth of the whole of the northern Netherlands.• This warwere among the major stimuli of this increasein artists' economicexpans ionwas facilitated by a correspondingcxpan outpul and that market forces were largely responsible for the sion of consumer credit which was vi1al for the stimulation of chan_gesof a11is1s; products aoq production met)\odg. ,!\!!!1.iUrnl!"<.!ll.1d. ~p!£e\1.i.2,11.,9(.£,WAw.!~!l'jP\[!\i_r,;.• Thehis1ory 01'1he Netherlands in the sixteenth century was Unquestionably the economic growthof theNetherlandish dominatedby the drawn-out conques1of 1he Netherlandish cities and their urban middle class were primarily responsible provincesby Charles V which was concluded by 1549with the for the flowering of the region's artistic production.•• Besides fonna1ion of the Seventeen Provinces of the Uniled Ne1her- expendablecap ital, however, patronage also required an inter lands. and !he subsequenl rebellion agains1 the Spanish rule est in the arts. The high literacy raie, liberal social struc1ureand culminating in 1he Eigh1yYear War of Independence (1568- generalnationalcharacteroftheNetherlandswerefertileground 1648).This virtually continuous waifare caused. in addition 10 for the growth of patronage. The medieval definition of the 1heloss of lives. widespreaddestruction of an. Contemporary function of art was gradually replaced by 1berecogn i1ionthat at-counis specificallymention this in connection with the sack- everything imaginable could be described, and the dialectic mg of An1wcrpduring the "Spanish Fury" of 1576 and 1be between producer and consumer stimulated the exploration of 'FrenchFury " of 1583.' Besides 1hese martial occurrences this new potential." During the fifteenth century 1here were ,cveralother events are imponanl for lhis investigation. very few independent paintings in middle class houses." In 1566the lirs1Calv inist preachers arrived in the Nether- Gradually in the more afnuent homes there appeared votive lands,and by Augustfollowers of these reformersbegan break- panel paintings and the predominantlyre ligious subject began inginto churches demo lishing images or worship, and within to move from a primary 10 a secondary position to allow twoweeks.iconoclastic acts werccommiued in almostall of the aesthetic beauty to overshadow religious content." In order 10 seventeen provinces.' This wholesale des1ruc1ionof art not economize the production process anis1s began to substitute only affectedlhe churches but also private individuals. and cloth for panel." and other cost effective devices followed furtherdep icted the Netherlands' stock of an.' According 10 during1hes ixtecn1hcentury." Correspondingly. the-reoccurred Calvin. paintedreligious images were frivolous and false, and a change in marketing. The u-aditional relationship between onlythings wh ich were visibly apparent should be represented anist and patron was being replaced 10 a large extent by a new fori nsiruc1ionand pleasure alone: his doctrine, and the desnuc- sys1emwhereby painters worked for an anonymousmarke t and liveeffects ii had on religious art. lhus boosted the production auempted 10sell their goods outside !heir workshops, ci1hcrat of secularpa inting.• one of the newly established markets or through a middleman. As a result of iconoclasm a number of anists lefl the 1heandealer,whobegan1oplayanincreasinglyimpo11an1role. 'setherlandsforneighboring countr ies, pa11icularlyFrance which The risk ofinvestingtime and capi1al without guaranteedreturns hadalready a small Ne1hcrlandishartists' communitycatering 10 s1imulated01hereconomizingproccdurcs whic h. in turn. further 55 fueledthe market.16 By 1560the re were over300 mastersactive Whenpeace was finallyestab lishedi n 1648,an an market which in Antwerpcompeting in an international1 narkcLasindependent had expanded significantlyfor well over a century was firmly in entrepreneurs-as compared to 78 butchers and 169 bakers." place. While other cities" also had trade in arl. Anlwerp played II shouldbe noted here thal 1heapplication of this economic the leading role." From 1450 IO 1560 the number of anists model addresses the art markel as a whole and should not be working in this city grew twenty-fold and by the middle of the applied in this form 10 individual artisls. The model explains. century Antwerp had become tbe a,1 center of northern Eu however, many of 1he characteristics of the market, a few of rope.'° The earliest records of art dealing ac1ivi1yin the city, which l wi11now consideri n greaterdeta .il. daling from 1he1450s. show that imports from Bn,ssels. Ghenl. The firs! 10be addressedconcerns the rutis1as producer of Bruges,andToumay had 10s upplemenuhe limited local supply the goods. As early as J382rccordsshow 1ha1lhe manufac ruring produced1hen by no more than one and a half dozen anists." To of art in An1werpwas regula1edaccording 10economic guide facilitate this. the local Dominican church leased an adjoining lines." The fourteenth century still viewed pain1erslargely as properly to visiting m1isls and merchants. By 1540 the enler craftsmen,and not until thes ixteenthcentury did theyconsider prise had grown 10 such an extent that the city decided 10 thc,nsclves as artis1s.The practice of copying was compara provide a11is1sand art dealers with a permanenl facility on lhe tively rare before L600,bul then as a result of halian Mannerist uppergalleryoftheAntwerpstockexchange." By lhen An1werp influence, it became the very basis for studyingart. ~ This had develoJX,' Peler H. Crew, Calvinist Prt,,ching and Iconoclasm i,r :he NerherlMM " It is interesting 10 note th.a.Ii n spite of the six1eeoth•ccn1ury influence 1544-69(C"ll.ubridgc: <:a inbridge Univers.ity Pre», 1978) 10.26. of J1alianideas regarding the clc\'atod status of pain1ingand pain lers. the productioo ofan inlheNetherlands s1ill showcdan iden1ifica1ioowit h Yao Mander LL 174. 216. the medieval craft conccpe. Not until the eod of the century c.:inooe detect a significam change. Zirta Zaremba Filipczak. Pic,uri,1gArt in Keith P.F. Moxey. Pieter Aense,r, Jonchi'm&llcke.laer, and rlt~RiJe of Antwerp (Princeton: Princeton Univcrsi1yPress. 1987) 16n. 16. s«11far Pai11ti,1gin Conrextof rlt~Reformatio,1 (New York.and London. 1977) 158-9. Flocrtc 1S4. citing Guicciardini. Also La.uma Campbell. -n-tc An " Market in the Soulhcm Nethetlands io thefi flccnth Century.• Burling1q11 Van Mander 331. Magai,i,:e 118 (April 1976): 100. Hcmuin van der Wee. The Growth of tht Antwerp Marke, and the " F1oerke9-1 1, discussing ar1 deali1ig act ivity in Utrecht European&onomy (The Hague:Martinus Nijhoff. 1963) n . 5-136. The period from 1521to 1550 was one of initial crisis followed by are.newal ,. Van Mander76. "Fineattcamc10Antwerp t,oc--juseit followed wealth."' of industry and the Antwerp urban economy. lbis re,•ival wasmos11)' DanEwing. "'Marketing An in Antwerp, 14~1560 : Our Lady's Pand," due 10 lransit trade atld induslrial reocwal which lod to a flourishing Ari Bulldi11L XXJJ. no.4 (December 1900): 559. luxury industry spreading. viaAnl\vetp. o,•er lhccntirc Europeantnill'ket. ,. W~ sta1es1hlu.rrom arouod 153Son. the position of artists and an:i.sans, Filipcz.ak3. in ccrms of wages. impro"ed considerably (186•7. 192). The fi.ftie1> brought a periodof ncr\'0us activity for the An1wcq, money market and " floerkc 67. intrOducedthe final phase of the town's financia.1rise (205·208). Com:• spoocling.ly. this and the subsequent decadewitnessed a slowing down of " Floerke 8-9. commercial cxp:1nsion offset to an ex1ent by industrial growth (209· 234). Commerce and industry suffered severely in 1566 when the Ewing 580. icoooclnsL~brough t the entitc city 10 a s.landstill. The ani,.·al of Alva's army from Spain to squelch the reformis1 rebellion brought further ,. Ewing S79. Kooh 64 notes the large number Orsixteenth ccnlUT)' financial pressures through the imposition of he3V)' e;,i;ploits (235-241). Netherlandish paintings exiSting in oeighboring countries. Toe years 1572101587 were a period of crisisand marked the final phase of Amv.-erp'sdec line. aecelerated by the S~ni .sh hardship (265•268). t.! Koch 129, "'" Mander 158-160. The remaining yerusof the century saw a gradual reco,·eC)'of commerce a.odindus try. F1oerke l29•134. van Mander ISS..160, 1be prnc-1iccof copying al.so " produced a profitable trade in forgeries. The Manneris1 cooccpt of • Wee 324-334, bujJding upon preexisting animpliesth., 1 the original must be special, i.e.more expensive. Onecan c.asilysec how this would promoce selling " Georg Friedrich Koch, Die K1111sta1issrelh111g(Bertin : Walter de Gruytet of forgeries (Aoerke 155). This prncti<.-e pervaded the market 10 such & Co .. 1967) 55. an extent I.hat specific legislation h3d 10 be passed 10 deal with this problem (333). Van Mander infonns us that the painter Hans Bol gave " Koch 83-4. Ralph Edwards. Early Ccm·ersatiQnPictures from the up painting on canvas entirely during his stay in Antwerp (1572-$4 ) Middle Ages to around 1730 (London: Coutltry Life I.Ad.. 1954) I I. because of widespread forgery of rus work (Van Mander 270-n ). Edwards quoccd Roger Fry in Flemish Art (1927) 2: " ...a man•elous exactitude of literal reporting and the people for whom 1hey c.,uered Van Mander XXX. Floerke IS4. enjoyed lhe things of this Life with so wholesome. so uncriticala n appetite th.'11they loved to find in their pictures \livid remini.scencesof what was " Campbell 193-4. The tenns of such ltrl'3ngements were generallycontrae- so familiar 10 them." tually agreed upon and cegislcred with the guild or a civic authorily. 1'hcy included dc1ailcd specifications.. deadlines, paymcnl schedules. and a " Usually the walls were coveted wilh cloth shccis which were sometimes statement of penalty if any of the above were broken. 58 Campbell 195. Aoerir:et5, on Adriaen Pre\'OSLshowing his paintings in three stalls in " Brugcsin 1532at thcmarke1of1hcMiooritcmonastcr)': Alben Cornelius Campbell 194. of Bruges paid. in 1515-16 and 1522 ren1 for m.'IJ'te1stalls ; Simon Bmnynch of AntwelJ)sold his miniatures 31 1he Bruges rnad:ei. Van Floerke30 -35. Mander(XXVU, 60) reports thal the wifeofthcpaintcr Jan de Hollander " lr.:weUed10 the marke1s "making good profit" while he stayed :u home. Van Mander 24,173.224. 261,353.425 . Peter Moxey. "The Criticism of Avarice in Sixteenth Century Ncthcrlandish Painting." Nttlierlo11disl1 " Floerke 88-89, CampbcII I 96-7 discuss-ing artists who travelled to these Mtm11erism.ed . Corel Cavalli-Bjorkman (Su>ekholm : Stockholm mark.ecs. Nationalmusei. 1985) 21-34. Floerke 12,1 3. Sec also Jean C. Wilson. "1bc panicipcnionof painlers in Stephen H. Goddard,"' Brocade Panemsio the Shop of the Master of " the Bruges 'pandt' market. 1512-1550; Burlittg1on Magazi11e1 25 (Au Frankfurt: An Acce.~sorytoSty listicAnalysis."Art Bulltrin LXVO( 1985): gust 1983): 476-479 for more detailed discussion of this subject. 401-417. Lynn Jacobs. "The Marketing and Standardization of South NetherlandishCar"cd Aharpi«es : Limits on the Role of the Parron,"Arr Bernard Hubcnus Vick.kc."The Dutch before 1581.~ The Nerhufa111l.f, BulleUn LXXI (1989): 203-229. " ed. BanholomewLandheer(Los Angeles : Univers.i1yof California Press. 1943):28. Floerke 60. J.1 Van Mander 125. 254. 311 . s.a Floerke 39. 40. u Van Mander L.Vl l u Floerke 55. 56. 16 Van Mander299. ,. Floerke 60. Filipcz.ak21. 41. Koch 64. mentions that the art fair in the n Van Mander LIX. 23. 125, 170. 239. 261. 400. 41 l. H.rndsehinin Prague under Rudolf JI was modeled after the Anlwerp S<:hlldetspand. " Van Mander 49. 52. 74. 83, 109,290.29 1, 364-5. llwing 559, 569. Floetl.e 160-3. 178,9. Filipcuk4I. " " Ewing 569. Shortly after I 540. Our Lady's Pand shifled to yw -round .. Filipc:z.ak30 ·1. mentioningFrans Floris' inscription "iovenit ct fccit" selling in response 10 compcliLion from the newlyopened Schilderspaod aooompanyingh is signature which emphasized, in her opinion. lha1 a1 the Bourse. P3inLing.besides manual cxecu1ion,also involved Lhe inven1fon of an idea. She also poin1so u1 th.ti forgers coukl earn more money 1hrough Ewing558-583 . for corroboratingdata as well as a detaileddiscussion of forging of "'Old Mas1erS'"th an thl"O\lghtheir own wOrkas an indicationof " the hiMory of 'Our Lady's PMd.' The p:tnd is also mentioned by Koch thclcndcncy1owardsn on•craftprici ng (44) . Van Mandertellsofthe high 56n. l20. priceMorore«i\'ed fora portra.ilof CountA1va'sconcubine (144), which further underscores this change in attitudes, as does his statement .. Floerke91-2. 114. 116.Mere.hams such as dea.l.ersin devocionalobjects • regarding expensive paintings by rich artist,;. book deakrs, jeweler$,frame makers. etchers. engra\·ers. a11deven junk de,1lcrs. u Floerke 163 n.353 refers to lhe edict of Maria Theresia. .. F1oeri.e86-89. van Mander 148. Campbell 196,.7,Koc-h 66 . ., Campbell 191. As van M:\Ddcrinf onns us. these regulations we.re frequ.endychalle nged. as was lhe system a.sa whole. " Floetl.e 85-6. ., FiHpczak 12 n.3. Van Mander229 . AlthoughEwing describes lhe inventoryof the painI er / " dealer Jan \'an Kessel as consisting of over 600 p.1fatings. F'ilipczak12 . .. Roe.rte 74~80.J ean Ad.hcmar,"Fre nch Sixlccnlh CcnlUf)' Genre Pain!• " Floerke 38. 42. 44, Often est.ate au.etionswere used 10 undennine guild ings," Journal of the Warburg and Oxtrtm,ld /,1Jti1u1e 8 (1945): l92-3. regulations by adding oLherwisc prohibited goods to their inventOf)'. Campbell 197. Koch 59 61. "'1n Mander79. 216. .. Koch 67. ., Wolflhal 19. Crunpoell 188-90 . ., Koch 73. .. Campbell I 88·90. Forna mes of spccificcollcc1orSandgenernloommcnt s on patronagesee Floetl.e 164-65. 171, and van Mander20, 55. 69. 101. .. Koch 62 . 156. 173. 187,267. Such si.alls' renis were established on the basis of the amount of display " Filipczalt 44-5. space. 59 "Cloth of the Spider:" Deciphering Alfred Stevens' Intriguing "Puzzle Painting," Young Woman with a Japanese Screen Glenn Taylor You11gWoman witlo a JapaneseScreen (Figure I), a l989 unmanly for his absorption in the civilized genre of drawing acquisitionofthcl .B. Speed Museum in Louisville, Kentucky, room interiors, the same critic has this to say: "AlfredStevens has been viewed by lhousandsof visitors who were unaware of is broad-shouldered. with... theappearaoce of a cavalry colonel; its nature as a complex skein of double entendres, all in French. bull he face with ilSwann brown tintthat matcheswith the hazel The provenance of this painting, completed around 1880 by eye, the kniued brow. ..reveal perfectly the man of contempla Belgian painter Alfred Stevens (I 823-1906), who moved to tion and action in one. the man who has lived out his an."' Paris in 1844, can be traced back 10its sale at auction by an A contemporary artist was moved 10 say, "Everything anonymousowner in 1940. The beauty of Lilework is obvious, depends on the amount of life and passion that an artist knows but what makes the painting unusual is the focus it provides on howtoputintohisfigu res. When they live, as Alfred Stevens' ... Stevens'skills as a semiotician.' It contains what appears 10 be for example, they arc really beautiful." These are the words of a complex visual metaphor: Thefemmefarale, represented as an unsuccessful but still discriminating artist named Vincent a spider in her web poised to enmesh her victim. This portrayal van Gogh. in a letter 10hi s brother Theo.• is crafted through the association of the subject with items Stevens' career was linked with that of Edouard Manet suggestive of decadence, and the use of numerous double Friends for many years. they shared an early interestin the work entendres. of Diego Veh\squez,and both were early collectors of Japanese ThenarneofAlfredEmileLeopoldS tevens,unlikethoseof prints and objects of art. Edouard Manet's umcheo11011 the PaulGauguin, Vincent Van Gogh and Georges Seurat, is not a Grt1sswas emilled TloeBarh at its first scandalous hanging in household word today. This is the reverse of the situation a 1863.7 Alfred Stevens' painting of the same title, of 1867,w as hundred years ago. The latter three, who Jedlives of compara- more conservative. Stevens' bather was still clothed in her tub. tive misery and struggle for recognition, are now seen as Stevens had reason 10 be circumspecl; his career was proceed important figures of modem painting and S1evens, the first ing very much to his liking at the time. He was the close friend living artist to be honored by a one-man show a1th e Ecole de and perhaps lover of Sarah Bernhardt Charles Baudelaire sat BeauxArt~ .' is now Lilerelative unknown. Al the Paris Expo- in Stevens' sumptuousdrawing room and read his latest transla sitionof 1867, a remarkableeighteen of Stevens'paintings were tions of Edgar Allen Poe.• Alexandre Dumas fils came to displayed. He owned a succession of expensive houses and watch him paint Sarah Bernhardtbrought the Prince of Wales studios in Paris, each enclosing a fine garden within an urban to visit. Edgar Degas. a frequent guest at his home. was the courtyard. He filled his home with beautiful and exotic furnish- godfa1herofhisd aughter Caroline. He was friend and associate ings from Louis XN furniture to fashionable and expensive of Eug~ne Delacroix, Theodore Rousseau, C<1ro1,Courbet , gownsmadefor lhemodelsheemployedinhisstudio. Atypical Whistler, and Berthe Morisot.9 Despite these remarkable cir painting from the high point of Stevens· success might show a cumstances,many people who hear his name today assume the womanalone in a room. deliberatingoverthecontenrs of a letter reference is 10hi s British contemporaryAlfred Stevens ( 1817- sheh as just received, oreontcmplating an object of art. Among 75), portrait painter and sculptor. thesemight be included expensive decorative items such as Lile Today Stevens is becoming known again as a "minor carved ivory elephant and the tapestry beneath it in Le bibe/01 Impressionist," a tenn whose unjust prefix may eventually be exotique ( 1866),' the depiction of whose varied surfacM he removed. There is nothing "minor" about You11g Woma11wirh usedto give his work a breadth of technique. This practice, his ti Japanese Screen. Without regard to the "puzzle" aspect of sureness as a draftsman. and his fine color sense contributed 10 the painting, which will be explained sh0rtl)•, it is a fullyreali,,cct his wide success. masterpieceon the basisofits more conventionalcharacteristics Stevens' acclaim was international. First in Belgium, then alone. In forn1alterms it is a compendium of Impressionist in France,and finally in America, museumsand wealthycollec- elemeots(Japonism~;ahigh -keyedpa lette; a contrast of comple tors clamored for his work. An American critic of 1880 wrote: mentary colors), built upon the framework of totally sound "The artist is the interpre.terof Lilenineteenth -century woman; drawing. There is an extra dimension to the painting, however. he records her graces, her airs, her caprices, her temper, which has remained hidden from the time of its anonymoussa le with. . .infallible and sympathetic acumen...... , over fifty years ago. 11contains numerous double emendrcs Lest it be thought that Stevens was considered a li1tle used to reinforce a complex visual analogy. 61 Nearly every item in the painting is the object of a visual cetera. During the act of mating the windpipeextends, forcing trope, often risqu6. Before enumerating them the simple but the neck back in a seeming parody of human sexual ecstacy.12 essential fac1 must be noted thal these double entendres are Those who findfauil with this observationwi ll neverthelessfmd effective only in French (as should be expected), and that they it difficult to deny 1hat the birds on 1he screen are positioned are of clear and definitive nat11re. They establish 1he three according 10 their respective roles in the mating ritual: the male essential images necessary to illuslJ'atethe theme of prostitu emitting his call, and the female in a receptive position. tion: "Prostitute," "Pimp," and "Brothel." Each is presented so The problem of intent arises a1this point, and the question subtly tha1,taken individually, they migh1elude our grasp or be - "How would one illustratethese concepts if such a program taken as accidental. When placed in conjunction within the were the objective?"-can be asked. The answer might well limited context of the picture, however, their import is inescap involve anaching an identifying double entendre (crane) to the able. They are presented on the screen itself, the nominal motifof the screen; placingthe crane behind the young woman's defining pictorialele ment of the work, as the titleof the painting arm,just as shown: and placing the entire iconographicscheme tells us. under an identifying label, "bord d'leau." The firstofthese visualdoubleentendres lies in the identity It is the nature of this type of verbal exercise tha1it does not of the birds prominentlydi splayedon the Japanese screen. They translate well from one language 10 another. It is therefore are cranes, the name for which in French, "grue," is also the significant that various permutations of the subjects actually Frenchs lang word for"prostitute." 10 It should perhaps be noted shownon the scrccn-"crane." "bird," "water bird," "river• that Stevens could be expected to be sufficiently familiar with side," "strean1,"etc.-cannot be manipulated in any fashion 10 the species which these birds most resemble, G111sgms, or the reconstructthe central concepts into an English language form. commonEuropean crane, to reconstructit from memory. Stevens "Bordello" is recognizable, but only because it is a borrowed was a keen observer, and his older brother Joseph was perhaps word. Theotherhalf of the equation, its homonym,is meaning the most important European painter of animal subjects at the less in this context. time. Stevens is known to have engaged in a mock-serious Stevens, of course. would not have 10 use such verbally competition with his brother in the depiction of animal sub associative means to introduce the simple theme of prostitution jects." to his painting. The identification of the young woman as a The second double entendre lies in Stevens' positioning of prostitute is in fac1 incidental to the central theme of the the crane at left, a male,which stands behind the young woman's painting: thefemme fatale. The key to tl1istheme is provided right arm. Figuratively,the verbsoute11ir,to suppor1oruphold, by the panem of the silk coverlet on the table. At first it is a means 10 •s1and behind." Its presence in this position is to simple flowerdesign, but Stevens' flowers must never be passed establish that it is a soute11e11r, or "pimp;" the homonym of the over without notice. Stevens was particularlyconscious of the word. This positioning would have no significancc singly, of effectiveness of flower themes, and used flowers and their course, and at this point the correspondence between the two images on various surfaces to reflect the moods and inner concepts, "prostitute" and "pimp" can be viewed as coinci qualities of bis subjects. "One can judge of the sentiment of an dence. artist," he once wrote, "by the flower he has painted."" In this It is when the third of these related concepts is introduced painting his words can be precisely applied. into the confined context of this screen that a panem emerges. The surface decorated in this instance is silk, and Steven, The wondcrfully calligraphics treak at the top of the painting is has emphasized this fact by a contrast of surface textures. The the representation of a meandering river. The third double woven cane surface of the chair back at rjght shows strong entendre lies in 1he fact that the area below the 1iver depicted individual strokes whose purpose is to create textural opposi• lies, spatially,a l the side of tl1eriver. "Riverside"i s, in French, tion to the silk tablecloth. The contrast of materials points ou1 bord de /'etm, a 1ermwhose homonymis as effective in English the thematic note tha1 the young woman is completely sur as it is in French. rounded by silk: there is the screen behind her, the silk coverlet, These correspondences are sufficiently provocative 10 and the elegant gown of raw silk with finished bow of hand warrant a second look. A close examination of the cranes at the painted silk which flows about her. Stevens used a variety of righl of the Japanese screen reveals that they are engaged in the fabrics 10cover and decorate his interior arrangements,some act of mating. Their proximity, the outstretched wings of the what in 1he manner of the old Dutch masters. In some (e.g. femaleat righ1,and the charac-teristicarehof the neckof them ale L'/tuie a Paris, c. 1867)" the table cover is an oriental carpet. at left make this apparent 10 anyone who has observed the In the similar Le bibe/01exotiq11e, thec overis a tapestry. Young mating dash of waler birds across 1he surface of a pond or lake. Woman with a Japanese Screen, like some (e.g. News from For those who have nol, ii should be explained that 1hewindpipe Afar, ntid-1860s)," shows a silk coverlet, as the sheerness of the male crane is much longer than the neck, and is normally revealedby the fold at the right comer and the sheen of the fabric carried looped within the abdomen. In this position it acts as a at the leading edge of the table indicates. soundresonat ing mechanism.an evolutionaryadaptation which Now we come to the real point of Stevens' use of word play allows mating water birds 10find each other in fog and ntist, and on the Japanese screen. It is to prepare the viewer for a more accounts for the haunting power of the calls of cranes, loons, et complex double entendre introduced in his treatment of the 62 design (Figure 2) on lhc silk covcrlel. Stevens has emphasized out that one of the tricks of the "disastrous woman" (femme the spaces between 1he pe1als of the flower, to enhance the fatale) is 10advance oneself as virginal. By placing an empty flower's resemblanceto a giant spider. Onceagain. the message glass between this opened "siring of tricks" and 1heviewer 1he has not survived the translation to English, and must be ex• experienced Stevens assures us that this is a transparent ploy. plained. "Spider web" in French is wile d'araig11ee("clo 1hof The message of this assemblage, dependant upon the un the spider"). The young woman, sealed casually. is surrounded demanding of a number of generalized puns, would perhaps go by yard~of expensive silk in the fonn of her gown. The spider unnoticed were it not for their presencewithin the comextof the image gives a clue as to why the young woman is virtually painting'ssetting of repealedwordplay. There are other clues 10 swaddled in 1hisfashion . This silken assemblageis figuratively 1he Iheme of decadence, however, which are more dircclly her web; her toiled'art1ig11ee.S1evens has gone 10specifics in visual. The spoon in the glass, for instance, has a direct refer order 10 make sure we understand thal this "spider" allusion is ence: the museum exhibits 1be painting with a card which in1en1ional. 1 Juler legs, at second look, are not a pan of 1he remarks lhat lhe glass has been used for absimhe. More telling spider al all; 1heyarc the web. S1cvcns'real spider is poised in is the trio of horizonial stripes of brown which Stevens has so her nes1in the interior of the "flower." Stevens' reference is to casually placed on the wrist of the young woman's upraised a widespreadgroup of spiders which share similar trailS,habits rightann (Figure4). A closeexamina1ionrevea ls 1ha1lhesearc whichSteven s would have had an opportuni1y10 observe in any imperfcc1lyhealed slashes,arranged 10 tell theirown littles tory: of his fine gardens.16 The female builds a round web and UN .• • DEUX TROIS! There is the initial hesitation mark and perches on lhe inlcriornest 10 awai1her prey, just as shown. To lhen 1woserious gashes. S1evenshas delinca1cdt hem beneath complete the referenceStevens has includedthe 1inymale. at lefl the cuts by directionalstrokes of lighter flesh color 10highlight (the smaller flower) whose hazardous mating ritual is 1odash in 1hem. and impregna1e lhc female al the proper momcnl, wi1hout The evidence of a11emp1eds uicide darkens the theme. gelling ea1en. To assis1 us in distinguishing these separate There is a latent strength in lhe figure. yet lheexpression ofthis elemenlshe has given the web ten strands 1odifferen1ia1eit from strength may not be entirely wholesome in intent. The en1asis the cen1ralspide r, and has depicted the strands of 1hcweb as if of the young woman'sou tstretched left forearm is well defined, drooping in response 101h e pull of gravity. and the muscle tone is good. Stevens reinforces this gesture by While ii is nol necessary for Stevens 10know more of the 1hethrust of 1befema le crane's neck, for ii is imponan1. He uses habit~of spiders than an observation of the common garden it 10 portray his spider waiting with deceptive languor, her left spider would reveal in order 10crea te this visual analogy, the hand grasping the fabric of her web, alen 10the slightest touch. complexityof verbal com1ectionsin the painting is intriguing. Stevens bas depicted her only visible fingenrnil, that of the One of Stevens' friends oflong standing was Alexandre Dumas thumb, totally straight acros.~at the base, emerging from the fils. The world of science was open 10 Stevens through his thumb like 1hec law of an animal. The idea is strengthened by relationship wi1h this wriler of protean interests. Dumas fils the use, in French, of the same word, 011gle,for bolh nail and wasan imponan1figure al the Acad~mieFran~aise , and one can claw. The single pupil visible in her shadowedeyes, the left, is easily imaginelheconversa1ionwh ich might havetaken place in elliptical, likethal of a cal, a second allusion to animal vitality. Stevens· garden, 10 lead 10 1he creation of th.is painting." !1 S1evensev iden1lyrespec ted the streng1hof 1hiswoman, regard would shed ligh1onacryptiecommeni which Dumas la1crwro1e less of what his other feelings might have been. The mix1ureof 10 Stevens, upon the publication of Dumas' La femme de tragedy and wordplay approaches the macabre. but regardless Claude: "My dear Stevens. we were both painting the moo of 1beimellectualdetachment implici1in the frequentplay upon ster. "18 word~,there is an undeniable wannth and vitaliiy in the handling Al lirs1this plea~antli ulc paiming with its sof1and harmo- of the pai111edsurface. 1tiouspa leue gives no hinl of its mysteries. Only the small One senses from the beauty of this painting tha1 it could assemblage of glass, spoon, paper, and string (Figure 3), a hardly be lhc vehicle of expression of a specific animus; but group of items not easily explained, stimulates the viewer 10 rather that S1evensfell a sympalhe1ic affection for this challeng probe more deeply into the in1ageryof 1hepainting. Inhereol in ing young woman. The marks of dissolution are displayed wi1h 1h.isgroup of objcc1s is a number of more general puns, such as detachment, while the subject is treated wilh sensuous wann1h. the similar sounding words verre (glass) and vierge (virgin). The blend of distance and involvemeni, a mixture of concern The similarity is underpinned by lhe secondary meaning of the and disapproval, is consistenl with the view of a clissolu1e word viergeas "blankpage," since a blank page is indeedshow n lifestyle which a worldly and sophistica1cdman might be in association with the glass. The glass has a chip in it~ base 10 cxpcc1cd10 po ssess. One feels 1ha1in any evem Stevens was show lhat the play upon words is ironic in iment. This still-life affected, consciously or otherwise, by the poignancy of the arrangemen1is 1he most ingenious of S1evens'word play asso young woman's sorrowful pas1 more strongly than he cared 10 cia1ions. The page is pan of a packer of paper which has been admit; a testament 10 lhe underlying potency of the ce111ral bound with a string (ficelle). The French expression for "tricks theme. It is inthis sense of authenticemotional involvement. as of the trade" is ficelles du metier, or li1erally "strings of the opposed 10a mere manipula1ionof 1heS tylish parade of poses trade."The assemblage lhen becomesa minor seminar poinling struck by so many of his subjects, tha1 Yo1111gWoma11 with a 63 JapaneseScree 11occ upiesa unique niche in the work of Al fred Philippe Jullfa.rl. Mo111rnar1re, (New York: E.P. Ouuon. 1977) 38. Stevens. Although it would be pertinent 10i n,,-'e!.tigate the relation.~hip of Stevens' work. p.1rticularly Young lVoman wilh a Japanu e Sc rt14'n,t o the ani.sts Univcr,,ity of Louisville of the Symbolist group. this-paper is necessarily 100 brief a vehicle for such a discussion. 'fwo earlier Stcve nJ p:tintings , Tltt! Lener QjA1111ou11 ce,nen1( 1862) and 11,,.Clr ew,1-glass (1871) serve as comp::irisoos. The fint contains a Coles xi. p.'l.iming-wilh.in•a-painting showing a figure described ;:i.s lhe allegoryof painting (William A. Coles. Alfred Ste, 1ens (Ann Arbor: Univcrsily of .. For Ibis key obscrvnlion I am indebted to Dr. Dario A. Covi, University Michigan Mu~u m, 1977] 13) holding a mirror. In the L87I pain1jog of Louisville Allen R. H:ile Professor. Stevensuses a clutter of personal objects in lhe roomto create aponr.:tit of theartisi in his absence (Co les 41). Although a oom plcx p3inting, " Coles 9. this latter work fc:uu rcs many objects whose significance would be known only 10 the artist Ml.1his acquaint:mces. lo this sense Yo,mg u 1be Afri~ Crested Crane. or /\n1hr<>pqides i·irgo. is perhaps named in Wom,111witlr n J11paneseScree n. which demonstrates 1heabi li1y of ar1t o ironic reference to !his e,.·ocativc correspondence. simullaooousty concea l and revea l ils mean ing, occ upies a ::;ingular position within the body of Stevens' wort in ilS degree of complexity " Alfred Stevens. Impressions of Pt1i111ing(New York: J.W. 8ou1on. in dea ling with the allegory of painting. (f he boo k cited above is o 1886) l l. etd..tloguc of a major cxhibi1ion of Stcvcos' wost held Ill the University of tvtichigan Museumof An.Ann Arbor. September l•OclObet 16. 1977. " Coles 31. II is the definitive w ori,: on Alfred Steven!.a t the moment). Now in the Wal1crsAn Gallery in Baltimore. Coles 27. Diane Hcilcnman. "Two Acquisitions Enhance Speed's Impressionist " Collec1ion."' Tire O>,.,rier.Jou m al. (Louisville. Kentucky: TilC LOuiS• " The larges! of these specie.,;i s the silk spider. oc Nephi/a, found in the \'ille Courier•Jou.mal. 0cc. 31, 1989) I, 6. New World tropics. 80th the NcphiHds and a more extensive group, lhe Argiopes. spin large. rndial-:umed webs and sit in the middle 10 awai1 Now in 1he Shickma,i Gallery i11New York. Coles 41. prey. {Tilanks are due 10 nO\'CliS1Gra ham K. Watkins, who numbers among his accomplishments an MA deg.reclo Biological Science :u Duke Earl Shinn. TlteAn Treas11nso/Am~rica. vol. I. PhiladeJprua.:G . 83.J'rie. Un.i\'ersity.) 1880. 30. " ln this regard the tuning of Edgar Degas' series of monocypesdepicting Shinn 3.1. prostitutes on display in theirbn.xhels. do11c 1879-80. is also suggestive. Robert ~osenblum and H.W. Janson /91h•Ct1nmry An (New Yori;: • In a leuer to Theo. /might (Louisville: J.O. Speed An Museum. n.d.) 7, Harry N. Abrams. 1984)375 . fro m Vi.nc:en1 \!an Gogh's Complete Uuers (Giun wieh. Coru:iecticut: New York Graphic Socle1y. 1959). 1• Coles 37. R. H. Wilcnski. MtXlcm FrenchP aimers (New YOtt: Vintage. 1$()() ) 27. Critic Arthur Stevens. younger brother of Alfred. de.fended Manet in the press. 64 Fisure I, Alfred Emile Leopold Stevens, Young 1Voma,1with a J"JHmeu Scren,. c.1880. oil on can\'aS..23 1/2"' x 20 ... J.B. Speed An Museum, Louisville. Kcnlucky. 65 F'igurc 2. Alfred Emile Leopold Stevens, Ymmg Womm, wlth ,,Japanese Sc~en (dctnil: silk coverlet on table). c. 1880.o il on can..,as.23 1/2" x 20·, J.B. Spcc::d Art Museum. LouisYillC.Kentu cky. 66 Figure 3. [ri&ht) A lfred Emile Leopold Ste\·en.s. Young\Voma11 wilJi a Japa,1eseScree,r (deta il: a.,;. semblage of glass, paper. and S:lring). c. 1880.oil on canvas, 23 112" x 20 '", J.B. Speed Art Museum. Louisville. Kentucky . Figure 4. (ht-low) Alfred Emile l...copold Stevens, YoungWoman wi1ha Jap{l11~seScree11 (de.la.i i: marks on wrist), c. 1880.oil on canvas. 23 in· x 20 ". J.B. Speed An Museum, Louisville, Kentucky . 67 Frederick Carl Frieseke Rediscovered Belly Lou Williams Historicalevents are sometimes rewriuen over time, dem prior to I966. This corpus consists of a series of reviews of onstrating a change of attitude or a justification of belief to exhibitions of the artist's work, inflated with superlatives and illustrate what should have happened instead of what actually lavish praise, altogether lacking in profound insight. The other occurred. Hans Belting suggeststhat arch iscoryis a representa major deficiency in the literature is that there arc no known tion of its own, distinct fromeither historyor art where opinion books abouc Frieseke that have been published. One major becomesrepresentation of fact.' This discourse of "truth" ap research contribution is an interview in 1914be tween the anist plies 10 the historical research surrounding the nearly obscure and New York Times rcponcr, Clara MacChesncy.The other is anist Frederick Carl Frieseke, even thoughbe was probablythe the correspondence between Friescke and bis dealer William mostfamo us internationally knownAmerican Impressionist by MacBeth.These primary sources have furnished direct access 1932.' This same year Friescke is described as to the anise's beliefsand attitudesillustrating wha t Shiffidentifies ...one of the best represented... i f not the best as the dual role of the artist who also functionsas his own critic.6 of all anists in Americanmuseums. Even the There were only four anicles about the artist that contributed smallescof the public galleries is pretty sure scholarly insight and infonnation. These were the two catalogs to have a Frieseke.3 for each of the retrospectives,a I 968 articleby Allen Wellerfor Histrack recordof awards, medals and prizesis impressivefrom the Art Joumal, and a discussion of Frieseke'syea rs at Givemy 1904 through 1915, the years which span the grand era of in WilliamGerdts' recent book, Monet's Givemy. The nature in1ema1ional andna1iooal exposi tions. biennialsand academy of all four articles is historicaland biographical focusingon the showswhich were held in both the United Sllltesand Europe.' structuresof time, placeandeventsintheanist's life. This paper Frieseke'swork is representedin the An Instituteof Chicago, is designed to examine any clues these sources hold to help the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, the National Gallery of Art, explain Frieseke'sloss of fame with respect to ru1 history and the Meu-opolitanMu seum, the Terra Museum of American Art, the changing twentieth century aesthetic. the Los Angeles County Art Museum, the HuntingtonLibrary , Bom in 1874 in Owosso, Michigan, Friescke was trained the High Museum, the St. Louis An Museum and countless for a brief period of time at the Art Institute of Chicago and the other public and private museums and galleries in the United An Students' Leaguein New York. He arrived in Paris in 1898 States. Nearlythirty years after his death in 1939. a rediscovery with 500 dollars given to him by his father,' thus exemplifying of Frieseke'swork began with retrospectivesin 1966a nd 1975. the trend of financially supponed upper-middle to upper class In Gardner'sA rt through the Ages (eighth edition, 1986, Americanart studentswho went to Europe1 9 1rain during the de la Croix and Tansey) and in Janson's History of Art (fourth last quaner of the nineteenthcen tury.' his interesting to note edition, 1991), thetopicof American Impressionismi s neglected that Friesckearr ived in Paris duting the final phase in this era of with only brief mention of individual American artists Mary transatlantic migration. Cassatt, James McNeil! Whistler and John Singer Sargent. Ina Marxistcontext, F'rieseke's participation in this sweeping Frieseke's name is often omitted from books, catalogues and migratoryepisode portrays a widely-shared class value. With a groupexhibitions on American Impressionismi n favorof other dearth of an academies in the United States, able and aspiring notewonhy American painters of the same period including art students journeyed to London, Rome, Munich and Paris to John Twachunan. Childe Hassam. Willard Metcalf, Maurice study academic realism in search of a new American pictorial Prendergast,Ernes t Lawson, Edward Pouhast, WilliamMerri ll style.• JamcsAckermanoffersaposs iblecxplanationconceming Chaseand TheodoreRobinson, most of whomwere me mbersof this quest for style: "Often the an of carliertimes or of foreign a New York and Boston based group known as "The Ten."' places offers solutions to such problems. too- it even may This paper will examine the literature regarding Frederick suggest new problems since its language is less familiar." 10 Carl Friescke to date. My strategy in approaching this largely Frieseke may have chosen Paris for some of the same reasonsas unresearchedtopic was to scrutinizeand aoticipate appropria te so manyo thers: the collection of masterworks at the Louvre,the methodologies of art history that would help to contribute to a nourishing an market,the activity of artistic criticism,as well as morecomprehensive understanding of this anisl. There are both the opportunity for traditional academic training in the ans deficitsandimponaotcontributionstothescholarsbipconcerning which revolved around the life study.'' Friesekc. One of the drawbacks is the nature of the literature During his first year in Paris, Frederick Friescke attended 69 the Academie Julian under the tutelage of Benjamin Cons1am Friescke was similar 10 other American Impressionists and Jean Paul Laurens." Founded in 1868, Acad6mieJulian working both in the United States and Europe. Like them, his was the most popular private art academy in Paris among handling of subject mauer emphasized the solid form of the American art students. lns1noc1iona1 the school, as well as the figure rather than the effects of light and atmosphere on composition of the facully, was modeled afler the Ecole des Ja,1dscape." It is unimaginablet hat his demonstrated knowledge Beaux Arts." The curriculum provided instnoctionin drawing and use of anatomy did not occur as the result of his academic from casts, engravings and paintings of historical subjects in training. Nevertheless. Frieseke echoed one of the central addition 10drawing the life model." tenets of Impressionismby denying his academic training 10 AfterleavingtheAcadem.ieJulian, in 1898,Friesek es 1udied define a break with tradition in order to belier pursue nature. In for one week with Whistler in Paris." In 1898, thesame year1ha1 the spirit of the avant garde he considered himself 10 be self Friesckc arrived in Paris, Whistler opened his own private art taught, acknowledging his formal training while downplaying academy. The encounter between the two artists occurred its contribution 10his artistic developmen1. When asked if he during the period of Whistler's decline in reputation as the perceivedhimself t o bea truelmpressionist, Friesekeresponded result of the Ruskin Trial of 1878.' ' The only comparisoni n the to an interview question in 1914: "Yes. I believe I am ....! laid literature of the work of Frieseke and Whistler is William aside all rules of painting when I began and went to nature."" GerdlS' contention that Friesckc's freedom from naturalistic The artistic climate in Paris during the ftn -de-siecle was depictionbased on perceptionis similar to Whistler's adherence characterized by a variety of coexisting avant garde artistic to art for art'ssake. 17 Nowherein the literatureon Frieseke is scyles.26Frieseke 's arrival in Paris in I 898occurredtwelve years there any description of the similar use of an:isticconventions after the last of the eight cooperative Impressionist exhibitions shared by both artists: a monochrome palette, accessorizing held in 1886. Successcame easily to the artist in the early phase with oriental objecL5.poses of women standing in front of the of his career. By I 90 I Frieseke was clearly working in an mantel (Figure I and Figure 2 ), or the female gazing upon her In1pressionis1manner, the sameyea r he begancxhibitingannuall y mirrored reflection. at the Socictc Na1ionale des Beaux ArtS." Frieseke adopted an It is not known if Frieseke ever did copywork while in the Impressionist manner well after the height of this period bad Louvreduring this formative period. Friesekeis known to have developed into Post-Impressionism and its varioussubspecie s, visitedthe Louvrefo r purposesof "study."" Amongbis favorite which were soon 10 be followed by a rapid succession of modern artists wereBotticelli, T itian, Waueau, Fragonard, Lancret.and movemems. Furthermore,Frieseke was an artist who maintained of his contemporaries Fantin Latour,and Renoir.••No in depth his use of Impressionist,Post -Impressionist and Nabis artistic fonnal analysis of any con·elation between the works of these conventions without going throughthe metamorphosisof radical artists and Ih eir influenceupon Friesckc has been undertaken to twentiethcentury stylistic cha,iges.28 date. Gerdts does mention the "swelling proponions, sensuous Frieseke was among the second generation of American colorsand caressing s unlight" wb.ichcharacte1izebo th Frieseke's artists according 10Allen Weller, or the third generation acc and Renoir's paintings of nudes."' E.V. Lucas also connects ording 10 William Gerdts, who resided in Giverny where life Frieseketo Renoirthroughidentifying charac teristics of Rococo was remote.rural and largelyuninterrupt ed." In 1900 he began style apparent in both artists' works (Figure 3). spending summers there, remaining until 1920, eventually Like Renoir. his favorite artist. Frieseke renting'° or purchasing in 1906" the home of Theodore looked to Rococoart for inspiration. In Tom Robinson, whichwas next totbehomeofClaude Mone!. He was lingerie the lacy peignoir, confectionery separat.ed by a wall from Monet's residence with the Epte paleue, racily exposed legs, and Dircctoirc flowing across both propenies,32 Frieseke is discussed in only style chair all recall the eighteenth century one of four contem-porarybocks on Monet's life at Giverny. 'boudoir art' of Boucher,Fragonard and their Mention of the artist is al1oge1her omiued in a catalogue tilled followers." Claude Monet and the Give my Ar1is1s(I 960). II is unlikelyt hat This statement provides a circuitous route linking the influence Monet and Fiieseke were entirely unfamiliar with one another of Rococo a,1 to Frieseke through Renoir, whose work serves as neighbors, painters, or as Impressionists. One possible as an intermediary. explanation forthis void of informationwas the reclusive nature One of the shortcomings in the literatureis that the artist is of both men." In the literature on Frieseke the influence of compared to manyother contemporaryand historicalartists and Monet is largely dismissed or downplayed.This is illustratedb y conventions of Style, but these issues arc not clearly analyzed. this comparison wriuen by Donelson Hoopes, who describes A thorough iconographic study of Frieseke's work separating Monet's followers.Theodore Robinson and TheodoreButler, as icon from index" would close tl1isgap and give th.isa11is1 who becoming devoted disciples, while " ...Frede rick Frieseke, on overlaps and borrows fromso manyt raditionsthe context his art the other hand, developed his own impressionist idiom needs 10be historically understood. As Ackennans uggests, the characterized by a penchant for bold design and astringent analysisof style helps to establishrelationships between various color."-" Hoopes credits Monet as having the "most formative related works of an that share factors of Lime, place, people or influence" upon Frieseke'ss tyle but does not specify the nature group." of this influence. Instead. Hoopes identifies characteristicsof 70 Post-impressionism in Frieseke's use of "sLrong. Oat color and a centra l paradox and discrepancy affec ting this artist's design," especially in his interior subjects. " Fiieseke 's work international reputation." Due to censorsh ip and puritanical shared many similarities with Monet's. including the use of restrictions, Frieseke's nude subjeclS were seldom exhibited in subject matter.compos i1ion,and multiple pain1ingscontained the United States."' Conversely, these were the artist's most within a series (Figure 4 and Figure 5). Both artists illustrated popular subjeclS among European audiences." imagesofleisureremoved from profound social realism. Weller Moussa Domil suggesL~that a more thorough analysis of characteriws Friesekc's life a.~happy and unevemful. receiving this artist'ssu bject matter could resuh in a revision of scholarship numerous awards aJld attention in the early and middle stages of conceming Frieseke. his career. 36 lt is precise ly this uncomplicated idyllic tranquility He simply did not find the market in this in the artist's work which may have comributed to its later country and thus the expos ure for the kind of demise. His subject matter and handling are devoid of any painting which really interested him and might suggestions of socio-political issues, nor are Lheyof a profound have eame d for him an entirely different psycho-symbo lic or scientific nature. reputation.... .- , Frieseke's repertoire of subject matter includes five basic Thus we witness the profound and last ing effec ts of themes: I) illleriors with women; 2) garden scenes with women; conno isseurship upon the identity and reputation of this artist. 3) female nudes (usually outdoors); 4) the mural projec ts: and Frieseke's commercial exposure in the United States was 5) pure lalldscape (withou t figures). In the Uaited States he is facilitated by William MacBe th. MacBe th became highly predominantly known for his intcriorsccnes(Figure6) : kitchens, innuemial in the Amer ican art market. In 1892 he operated the the boudoir, or the living room with females gazing at their first comme rcial gallery in the United States 10 exhibit reflections, reading a book. sewing, serving tea, exam ining contemporary American art.•• Frieseke had his first one man birds in cages or quietly daydreaming. 'The artist, similar 10 the show fearuring seven teen paintings at MacBeth Galleries in Impression ist landscape paimers. in general. reserved working New York in 19 12.'° The correspondence between the artist and indoors for periods of inclement weather.,. The second category, his deale r began the year they met in 1911." The content of the garden scenes with women (Figure 7), generally reveal a these leuers is referred to extensively by Allen Weller in his shallow landscape space with reclining. seated or standing 1968 article for the Art Joumal . His research reveals the females quietly meditating, gracious ly reading, serving tea, or ongoing disputes andd.i fficullies between Frieseke and MacBeth posed under a Japanese parasol. The third category (Figure 8) in negotiating over suitable material for the American market. includes close-up, full-length views of the nude painted These letters prov ide a major source of historica l infonnation outdoors, characterized by prismatic flesh tones reminiscent of that lay unexplored until I 966. This correspondence reveals the Renoir's dappled use of color. The fourth category of the artist's financ ial. emotional. and personal relationsh ip between the work encompassesthe muralscommissioned for Wanamaker's art.ist, his dealer and the limes. Department Store in New York City, for a se,ies of hotels William MacBeth was 1101on ly Frieseke's most reputable includ ing the Shelboumc in Atlant ic City. and for priva te promoter but MacBe th also functioned in part as Frieseke's patrons ." The range of subjec t mailer in the murals is not adversary. In 1908 MacBeth Galler ies held the first exhibition clearly stated in the literature. Althoug h Frieseke did not of "the Eight," popularly known as the Ash Can School." By especia lly enjoy the laborious aspects of the mural pl'Ojecis, 1907, the seeds of an opposition to American and European these commiss ions provided an important cont1ibu 1ion to the Impressionism were taking root.The members of this movement artist's popularity and early financ ial success ."' gradually redirected the subject mauerof Arnerican art towards The common theme in these first four subject categor ies is social realism. depicting images of contemporary urban life." the celebration of the feminine spirit." There is no feminist The leader of the group, Robert Henri proselytized for a more literature currently available on Frieseke. His use of the female authentic fonn of American art to replace derivatives and as a central theme is compatible with Carol Duncan's description imitations of European art. which had previously dominated." of the Symbo list portrayal of women. "They are always more There were two other key even ts that penna nently ahered drivenby instinctsand c]oserto naturethan man, moresubject the future of American art. One of these was the series of to its mysteriousforces. "• 2 Fric.,;ckecominucdto paintin teriors. exhibitions of European modem masters held at the Stieglitz garden scenes and nudes throughout the majority of his early Gallery from 1910 until 1917," and 1heot her wa.Hhe landmark and middle career until approximate ly age 68. At that time he Armory Show of 1913, which showcased sixteen hundred suddenly turned 10 landscape subjecL~(Figure 9) perhaps in an European and American works representing "The evolution of aucmpl 10 restore his declining marketability ." Previously, in modern art since the romantic period ."36 "From 1913 onward 1914, the artist revealed that although he preferred being there was 10 be no turning back for American art into the outdoors. his use of the landscape was intended only a~ a comfortable sanctuar ies of the established academies of paint "backgroun d for rigures. ""' Eighteen years laterFrieseketumed ing."" This explanat ion of development echoes the sound of 10 pure landscape devoid of figures. There is little information Wolfnin and Rieg! who believed in an evolmionary model of art about this fifth catego ry and final phase of the artist's career. history." The range of subject mauer in Frieseke's work has created With the advent of Modernism, Impressionism was 71 overcome by 1920." By the mid 1920s, Frieseke'ssalesdrastically considcraLion you can ever expectfrom 1he declined and the :utisl's work received "disparaging reviews French is. conccniing your work, "Not bad with unfavorable comparisons10 morerecc m Lrcndsan d basic for an American ...and you will lose touch rejection of his works as outmoded and unduly conservative.'"" with America." And this has happened." Frieseke's hardest years were the decade that followed. By In 1909 Charles Caffin projected the future of Frederick 1932, the year of his last exhibition. the artist was living in Fries.eke. He noted that American artistswho remainedin Switzerland.61 Four years later Friescke temporarily stopped Francebecame cri ticized in Americaro r notcon1ributing to the painLing becauseof personal confusion andunccrc.aintyovcr his progress of American an. They arc taken to be, in the author's work.62 At the invitation of MacBeth. Frieseke came to the words "sellishly interested in themselves. rather than fighters United Stales in 1937 in an auempt 10 relocate pc,inanent ly and in a common cause."06 Carrin remarks that although this belief rcacliva1c his career. Afler one year the artist retumed 10 was commonlys haredit may not be entirely truthful. I believe France.63 He developed neuritis in his right arm but resumed that because Fricscke was 100 far away from the United State.~ painting before his death two years later in 1937 in Mesnil-sur 10 maintain a foothold in American art and because the French Blangy, France."' A psychoanalytic and Marxist investigation exhibit a particularly strong variety of ethnoccntriei1y, neither of this linal phase in the artist's career would reveal personal country has seen fit 10 claim ownership of this artist. TI,e page and financial hardships that were the direct results of both the was n,rned on Frieseke, his story mostly forgouen in both deprcs~ion as well as the changing contemporary aesthetic. languages. and the chapter on moden1 an took over. It is my Perhaps the ethnic dichotomy of this artist contributed in hope that someday this very private man will return to the public part to his loss of acclaim by the mid I 920s. In March 1937, arenato resumethe place in historyh e onceocc upied; then the Fricsckc wrote with insight 10 MacBetb: fac1s concerning Friesekewill not be "as much 'invented' as I remember yc:u·s ago MacMonnies telling 'found."'61 me don't stay too long in France, the best Florida State University Thjs paper, v;:is de\•elopedd uringlh e fall scmcMcrof 191)I in lhe Methodso f BelindaTbomi.o n. V1,i/lard(Oxford: Phaidon Pre ss Ud .. 1988) 10. Art HistOJy~mi n3r taughtby Or. L.,urenW eingal'den. [ \\,ish 10express m)' 1hanl.:s10 Or. Weingardenr or her inspir.i.tion andcncoun1gc mcn1wi 1hthis " Allen S, Weller.· FrederickCar l f-ri~e: The OpinK>Osof an American project. lmprcssioni~t" An Jmmwl 28.2 (Winter 1968): 160. Mans lk hing. 17,~ f:11dof,!11' Hi s1<>ry<>I Ari? (Chi<:ago:U or O,icago P. 1987) 58. .. RichardJ. Boyle, Amt'rica11lmpre.ssioni sm(Bo$ton: New YorkGraphic Socic1y, 1974) 7 J. William !of. Gerdis, A111erica1tlmprrssio11ism (Seaule : Tbe He.nry An Gttllc,y, 1980) 86 . n William H. Gerdis. Mo11e1'sOfrnn y: An lmpr<":,'sio11is1Colony (New York: Abbeville Press, 1993) 174. "Frieseke.a168.1'umH0PurcL'lncl-.c.'lpc,"Thc>ArtDigest 6 . 15 (1932): 12. " Clar:iMacChesney . "lnlcrvicw wi1hFri esekc." N<"II'York Time s 7 JunC' 19 14: 7. Moussa M. Domit.Freduit:k Frieseh:., l$74 -19]9 (Savannah: Telfair Academyof Ans and Scicooes. 1974) 10. .. MocChesncy7. Donelson Hoopc..,_, The America,, lmpressio,1ists(New Yol'k: WatSOn r. Gerdts 176. Ouprill f>ublic:uion.s. 1972) 16. Amy Fine Collins,J\mericaulmprt •.s:~i Dornit8 . " Shiff 64. Acl:.tm\il.n164 and 165. Michael Ma.rlaisandM arianne Ooe1.ema.Americar1s1111d Paris(Maioe : Colby CollegeM useum of Art. 1990) 8. Gerdts85. Hoopes 8. " JamcsAckcnnan, Ana,u/Arr;.lu,e()/Ql{y(EnglewoodClifL~.NJ: Prentice u. Marlais10 . " Hall. 1963) 176. " AllenS . Weller.Fre,lerick Frieseke 1874 • /9J9(Ncw York:Hirschi :ind " l\11:i.rlais9 and Ooezema 36, Adkr Galleries.Inc ., 1966) I. " E. A. Taylor, ··The Pain1ings of F. C. Friese.kc."lntemmio11al Studio 53 n Gerdts 174. no. 2 12 ( 19 14): 256. N Weller. 1$74-19J92. andGerdlS 172 . u Marlais9. 72 ,. ., Domit 29. ,. Hoopes 17. " Weller.1874 ,/939 2. Domi111. Weller, Opi11io11.s161. " Weller. Opi11lo11s163. " MacChesney./tuer ,·iew 1. Sam Humcr, Americ<111An of rlle Twl'mietl1Cemury (New Yort: Hru'r)• " N. Abrams. lnc.• 1972)40, Hoopes 17. >, Oomit 12. " Hoopes 122. ,. Hoopes 17. Weller, Opi11i ., Weller, Opi,iio,u 163. ., We.lJer. Opinions 164. .. Weller, Opini()11s164 . ., Oomit 12. " Weller. Opi11io11s164. .. l)omil 12 and 13. " Char1esH . Otffin. "Some New American Painters in Paris.'" Harpt r'5 New Mtmtl,ly Magazi11e 118.704 (1909): 264. ., Domil 12. " KennethJ. Gergen.Th~ Sat,mttttl Stlf (New Yori:.:Basi c Books. 1991) • Donlit 12. 109. Figure 2. James McNeill Wh.istkr. n,e littl e Figure I. FrederickC. Pricsekc, Jea,me, reproduced in Whitt Girl: Symphony in \1/Jilte.No. 2. 1864. /ntenwti()nal Smdi<>,\'. 53, no. 212. oil on can\'3S. 29 718" x 20 1/4"'. 'Inc Tntc Gallery. London. 73 Figure 3. FredertekC. Fricsckc. Tom Lingerie. l915. oil on can\'as..51 1/4" x 51 3/4", St. Louis An Museum purch:ise. figure 4. PredcrickC. Frieseke. 011the Rfrer. c-.1911. oil on canvas, 26" x 32". Private Collec:liOO. Courtesy8al'T)'•Hill OaUcrics,New York. N.Y. 74 ~igurc 5. Claude Monet The 8001 (ti Gfremy. c. 18&7.o iJ on canvas, Muse6 d'~y. Paris. France. Cow1esy Gir.\udo1\/An ~csource. New York. Figure 6. Frederick C. F'rie.\C-kc. The Yellow Room. 1902(?).o iJ on canvas. 32 J/4" x 32 1/4 ... Bequest orJohn T. Spaulding. Courtesy Museum or F'ineArts, 80~1on. 75 Figure 7. Prc 76 Figure 8. Frederick C. Pricscke, Ou th~ B,mk. c. 1915. oil on can\'as. 102.9 x 146.1 cm. TI,e Art lnstj1u1cof Chicago. 0 All righ1s reserved. Figure 9. Frederick C. Frieseke.i\pp/e 8/ossq,ns. 1924, oil on can\'aS. 26"' x 32". Courtesy Nicholas Kilmer. 77 Picasso's Influence on Jackson Pollock's Late Black and White Paintings Verlo11Ca1y Jackson Pollock's reorganization of Picasso's motifs and This paper will address the influence of Picasso found in compositions in such paintings as Male a11dFemale. Magic several of Pollock's late black and white figurative paintings. Mirror, Birth. G11ardia11sof the Secret and White Angel has Through a comparisonof some of Pollock's late worksto works beencritical I y analyzedprimarily from a J ungianpoi nt of view.' by Picasso illustrated in the 1940 MOMA catalog Picasso, This criticism, along with Pollock's early sketch books, pro• Forty Years ofHisArt' and a formalanalysisofcomposi tion and vides a r.nn foundation for establishinga relationship between motif found in. amongothers. such paintings as Shadows,Echo, Pollock's early figurativewo rk of 1938to 1946an d the work of and Number 32, I will explore Pollock's continued interest in Picasso from this point of view.' Critical analysis which used a Pica.~so, even after the 1947-51dr ip paintings which Pollock pictorial model in place of the psychological one, favored by claimed werecreate d in order to refute Picasso's claim that high Elizabeth Langhorne and Jonathan Welch, to explain the an could not be made without figuration.• strength of Pollock's early anistic dependence on Picasso Following the media-celebrity which accompanied his found expression in the writing of both William Rubin and initial anistic breakthrough with the drip paintings, Pollock. Jonathan Weinberg.' Rubin, in a compositional analysis and facing a creative impa.~se,searched for a direction that would comparison of the dog figures found in Pollock's Guardiansof lead 10 his next and last major anistic step, the black and white the Secret and Picasso's Three M11sicia11sof 1921, offered paintings in which he would once more 'unveil the image.' Pollock's explanation of his dog figure, "the dog is a father consequently producing ultimate proof of his abilities as a figure inhibiting access to the 'secret.' " This clog, Rubin as• draftsman both to the critics and himself, and conclusively, sened, symbolized Picasso. Rubin, in the same 1967 anicle dispelling from his own mind his long-held 'guilty secret' of which appeared in Art i11America, again pointed to Pollock's being a painter incapable of producing 'good' drawing.' In the 'Oedipal struggle' against Picasso, illustrated by Pollock's fre winter of 1951 Pollock, noted the staining effects of poured ink quent depiction of Picasso's Minotaur motifs which were on successive pages of rice paper and used this method to published in issuesof the Cahiersd'Arr and Mi11ota11rduringthe produce black ink drawings on paper that were later translated, late 1930san d early 1940s, as well as Pollock'suse of figurative enlarged in scale, to canvas. These works he called, "drawing references to the studio such as chairs. palettes. tables and on canvas in black." 10 ladders.' Also noting Pollock's "struggle with Picasso through• Lee Krasner later published Pollock's statement concern out his work,"We inberg lists the Picassomotifs of masks,bulls, ing the black and white paintings of 1951 and linked the I 951 horses and masks found fragmented in much of Pollock's early paintings to the work of the early to mid-1940s, whose motifs work. learned fromthe manyPicas so exhibits held in New York critics have previously shown were derived from Picasso. She during the I 930sincludi ng the 1939MOMA exh ibitionPicasso: stated. "They come out of the same subconscious. the same Forty Years of His Art. No doubt. Picasso's application of man'seroticism ,joy, pain ....PoUock chose not 10 veil the image animal and primitive imagery to the enunciations of 'high an,' in the black and whites."" first introduced to Pollock by Lee Krasner and John Graham, While most critics felt that Pollock's return 10 the figure resonated with Pollock's personal youthful westernexpe riences represented a step backward, Clement Greenberg, who, early and providedhim with the visual languagenecessary to express on, had championed Pollock's an, wrote: the contemporary anistic interest in primitivism founda lso in all Like someo lder masters of our time he devel• of the work of Pollock's abstract expressionist friends.' How• ops according to a double rhythm in which ever, scant attention has been paid to the possibility of a similar each beat barks back 10 the one before the relationshipexisting between Picasso's work and the figurative last. The anatomical motifs and composi• paintings of Pollock's last years. Two scholars, Rubin and tional schemes sketched out in his first and Weinberg, have suggested that such a connection may exist. less abstract phase are in this third one clari• Rubinsaw the expressionisticqualiti es of Picasso manifested in fied and reali7.ed." Pollock's paintings up to 1946 and to a lesser extent thereafter, As Greenberg suggests, Pollock's career may be properly while Weinberg found Picasso to be a possible source for divided into three main phases: figuration, abstraction and in Pollock's 1953 Portrait of a Dream in a comparison between the final phase, an attempt to fuse these two earlier concerns. that paintingand Picasso'sPai111 er wi1ha Mot/el Knitting.6 Thus, the movement of ritualistic dance, the basis of composi• 79 lion for lhe drip paintings as sugges1edby Robe,1Mo1he rwell. dis1u rbing degrees of intensity, ccstatically energizing the pow continued 10be a 1hema1icconcern pursued by Pollock in some erful image in an almost hypno1ieway ."" of his la1eblack and while figura1ive work. Allhough ii has been Number Twemy-Seve11,1951, is divided into two clearly no1ed1ha1 Polloc k sough1i nspiration for !his lasl phase of his demarcated zones against a white ground. On the left a large career in 1hepen and ink drawings on paper1ba1were executed seated figure tha1i s fragmentedin gestural strokes is balanced during the winter of 1951, the works C11t-O111,1949, and by two slacked shapes on the right. One, a double-portrait.a Shadows, 1949(F igure I). show Pollock to have begun his last well-known Picasso motif. appears on the bottom while above figurativeexp loratjonstwo yearsearlie r. Cut-Out containsa is a head. In its ferocity, flattened planes and pose, Picasso's figure defined by actually cutting out a section of the painted Seared Bather, 1929, exhibited in lhe 1939 MOMA Picasso web to reveal the board-groundand bears a marked similarity in show, suggestsa Iikel y inspirationalsou rce for the sealed figure. compositjonto Picasso's,also single-figured, The Swimmer, The double-ponrail mo1ifin the lower right is one which 1929. Picasso often used, in, for example, The Girl Before a Mirror. Figures in Shadows, composedof basic signs and gesture, a work which had inspired Pollock in the earlier phases of his are created of 0a1 areas of poured black paint set againsl a web work, having been seen by Pollock in the 1939MOMA exhibi 1ha1is similar 10 that found in C111-O11t,though less dense. and. tion. along with the small Picasso etching of a double-portrait illustrate Pollock's struggle to generale new development in his entitled \Vamtm, 1922-3. Picasso produced this etching forthe art by auempting to unile the figure, ground and web-abstrac first fifty-six copies of a book by Zerovs enti1Jcd Pict1sso. tion. In Shadows, the webbed ground creates a sense of atmo Oeuvre 1920-6. Pollockcou ld have seen 1hiswork in a copy of sphere behind 1he ri1ualisticdance-like action of 1hesefigu res Cahierd'Art of 1926,andalso,inthe 1939New Yorks how.The whose feminini1y is deno1edby their small triangular shaped third shape. the one in the upperrigh1of Numl,erTwe11ry-Seve11, heads. This triangular motif was used previously by Pollock in is similar 10P icasso's Portrait of a Womanof 1938. also in the such paintings as \VhiteAngel and Sleeping Woma11IO deno1ea same exhibition. Pollock has repeated in gesture 1he overall female figure. It is part of Pollock's pictorial vocabulary derived triangular shape of lhe figure and its profile. Through the from Picasso's 71,e Dream a11dLie of Fra11co,1937, and also juxtaposition of lhese three feminine motifs, Pollock seems 10 from An Anatomy of 1933." From the standpoint of theme, be once more exploring the theme of primeval woman. composition and motif, one finds in Shadows a strong resem Pollockcontinued toexp lore the archaic theme of primitive blance 10 Picasso's Three Dtmcers, 1925. (Figure 2) which was woman in Black a11dWhite Number Pive, 1952. Here. he exhibited in the 1939 MOMA Picasso retrospective. In Three created a monumental seated nude framed by a vertical band of Dancers. three figures are positioned frontally across the pic small ovoid shapes on the right and a shorter band on the left. ture plane and connected by a diagonal of extended anns behind This figure is clearly related in lhe sense of fragmentation. the cenrral figure. Pollock implies 1be diagonal in his similarly curve•linearshapes,pose and comrnand of thefonnat to a series arranged grouping. of sealed nudes by Picasso which presenlSa similarthemc. This Both paintings share the Iheme of ritualistic dance. How series,shown in the exhibitionPicasso, Forry Yetzrsof His Ari, ever, in the Pollock, the title of which may come from 1he included Woma11ill tm Annchair, 1929.Figure in a Red Chair, shadowof a manwho is presentedon thel eft in '17,reeDan cers, 1932, Da11cerof 1907-8,and his Demoiselles Sketches. cubist language has been employed in an even more abstract Pollock's Black and \V/,ite Paimi11g,I 951, depicts a fonna1 way. While each anis1has used primitive geome1ric shapes to filled wilh a commanding ligure posed as an orant. Three createtheir dancers. Picas so locates his dancerswith in a con- Picasso paintings can be cited which conlain siJnjlarfigures, all 1emporary interior. In Pollock's Shadows, not only can the part of the same Picasso 1939New York exhibition: Crucifix painting be read as a 'shadow' of some long forgouen ritual, but ion, 1930; Guemica, 1937;and Da11se11sen egree. 1907. Simi also.as a 'shadow' castby theea rlier PicassoDance . lar figures based on studies of Picasso have been found in Number Thirry-1ivo, I 950, by Pollock, represents an al Pollock's sketch books. Picasso's Bullfight of 1933, included tempt to combine the pure action of lhe earlier drip paintings in 1he 1939 New York exhibition of his work is reflecled in 1he with figures again involved in a primi1iveritua l dance. More similar, !hough fragmented, motifs, movement and line of sucees.~ful in merging figure and ground than Shadows was, Pollock's Number Fourtee11of I 951 and Number Eight of Number Thirty-Two not only recalls Picasso'sDanc e. but aJso 1952 Matisse's Dance of 1909. In Number Thi11y-Two, Pollock has Echo, 1951, has been recognized as one of Pollock's most expanded lhe format to include numerous figures swirling successful late black and white figurative paintings. Its unifica acros.~1hecanv as. Linesdelineatingactionand figure havebeen tion ofligureand ground is nearly complete in an easy exchange incorporatedin such a way that allows the line and the figure to of line and shape, still allowing the figures to maintain their func1ion in a dual capacity while retaining formal abstract sense of in1egrity. On the right stands a male artist facing a qualities. Herc Pollock displays his unique ability to create line standing female on the left. His ann is extended to a rectangle that is simultaneouslyvolumetric and caJUgraphic. Singled out in the center.The samecomposition was used in Picasso's The by 1hecritic Robert Goodnough, writing in Art News, Number Studio, 1928. Pollock has used an ovoid shape to indicate lhc Thirty-Two is praised for its "open black rhythms... dance in male's head similar 10t he artis1in The Swdio. 80 P(Jrtrait of a Dream, 1953, is a transiLional painting for developed more fully through the black and white paintings, Pollock that reintroduces color into his late work and marks an with Picasso's graphic solutions, Pollock found the means 10 end to his black and white figure explorations. As Weinberg his earlier work, solve compositionalprob lems, fragment the pointedou t, thispa inlingcon tainsobviousreferences to Picasso's figure and incorporate gestural line with the ground. This is Paimer with a Model Knilfing , I 927. Similarities between the seen most successfully in EchtJ and Number Thirty-Two. As two paintingsare found in the shared compositions, the Picasso- Lee Krasner stated, these black and white paintingscame from 1ikc mask in the Pollock, the shape of the heads seen in both the same source as Pollock's earlier work. paintings. and the shared gestural abstractions,one depicted on By incorporatingtraditional artistic themes and his interest the easel in the Picasso and the other filling the left half oftbe in primitivism with the figure, Pollock's late black and white Pollock. Weinbergsun11ised,correc tly, that Pollock's choiceof paintings, like his famousdrip paintings, whose relationship 10 composition and motif for Portrait of a Dream indicated traditional European an was pointed out by William Rubin, are Pollock's desire to solve his problems of artistic growth and also placed directly in line with traditional European an. With contentas a workingart ist. the exception of Echo, the number title.~of these paintings after This same desire on Pollock's part is reflected in his use of 1951sugges t that Pollockconsidered them 10 be a series of early long-worked and thoroughly assimilated Picasso motifs in h.is experiments which synthesize the two dimensional surface and late black and white paintings reviewed here. In his returnto Lhc fragmcntaLion of Abstract Expressionism and the figurationof figure, Pollock also returned to the lessons learned from Cubism. In what direction he might have developedthese ideas, Picasso'slate cubisLfigurative solutions, choosing images first one can only guess. Even though Pollock's death in 1956 derived by Pollock in his early career from Picasso's late cubist prematurelyended his career, these black and white paintings phase. By incorporating his new staining painting method, proved to be a long noted major influence on later color-field express primitive themes in an even more abstract way than in painters. Virginia CommonwealthUniversity Andrew Kagan, "Improvisations: Noteson Jookson Po11ock and the Part I 14•22. William Rubin."Jac kson Pollockand the ModemTradi• 81.tekConuibution 10 American High Cul lure,· Ar1&Maga1.,ine 3 ( 1979 ): lion, Partn ,"Artforwn 3 (1967}: 28-37. ..Part 111 : 4 (1967): 18-31."Pan 96-9. E,li,-.abt...1.hL. La nghomc," Jack!;OnPollock'~ The Moon \Voma11 IV." 5 (1967): 28-33. Weinberg 48. Cws the Ci~lt:,"'Arts Magat.ir1e 3 ( 1979): 123-37."' Pollock,Picasso and the Primilive,"'Ari His1ory .3 (1983): 66•92. JonathanWeinberg. Alfred H. Barr, Jr., ed., Picasso, Forty Y1wrsof His Art (Museumof "'Pollockand Picas.,;o:1llC ~ivalry and the "Escape."Arts MagaVm! 61 Modem Art, N.Y. 1939), (1987): 6·10. JonathanWel ch, ..Jackson PoUock's Th e While Angel and lhe Origir1s of Alchemy,•Arts Mug,11,,i'ne3 (1979):138.43. Weinberg47. Weinbergdea l.sonly with Pollock:sPortra;, of a Dream Stephen Pulcari," Jackson Pollock and Thomas Han Benion/ Ans • Stephen Naifoh andGregory Whi te Smith, Jackso11Pollock . An Ameri Magm.i,ie3 (1979): 123. Pulcari 1m1es Pollock's absorption of ca,rSaga . (New Yock: HarperCollins, 1989) 667-8. Pica.11soidfonn. derived from Girl with a Cock and Us Dttmoise/les d'Av;g,1011,into Pollock·s 8irlh of 1938-41. Naifeh and Smith 664. David Rubin. • A casefor Content Jackson " Pollock·sS ubject wast he AutomaticGest ure,"Ans Magaz,ine3 (1979): William Rubin. "Pollock a.11J ungian Jllustrator: The UmiL1; of 103-9. Psychologic-.alCriticism," Ari in Amuia, l I ( 1979): I04-23. Weinberg 42-8. " ~ubin, A Case for Conte,11103. Rubin 110. " [r\•ing SandJer,The Triumph of Americ011Pai'nti,rg. A lhstoryof A.bstract £xpression;sm(Ne w York: Harpera nd Row, 1970) 117. DoreAshton, John 0. Graham."Prim itive Aft and Picas.o,o."'Magazine of Art 4 (1937): ..Jackson Pollock' s Arabesque:Arts !tfaga 1.i,te 3 (1979): 142•3. Ashton 236·9. 260. William Rubin, "JacksonPollock a nd 1heModem Tradition. points to references1 0 1938-41 \'OCabularyof bulls. horses,Piea.11soid Pan , ... Artfor111n2 (1967): 14•22. Pollock also considered Albert dis1011ion.and \'Ct1icalco nfiguralion.c;as referencesto the sentinel-like PinkhamRyder. Miro. Orozro. Sequerias and Reveria impo11an1 to the figurespainted in lhe e.vty1940s seen in the 1951exhibition of Pollock's dcvelop-mentof his an. It is nolable !hat the mo1ifs which PoUock blacli::and white paintings held a1Bell) ' Pan.on'sgallery. retainedthrough out his pa.iming careerand wh ich appearedin bothh is firstand lastperiods were the primitiverefere nce.;;u sed by bo(h Oro1.co " Welch 139. Welch notesthatPieasso'sAJ1A11a1omywasreproduced in and Picasso. the firs1 issue of Minotaure in 1933. Rubin.Pollock as J1111gian11/usrrator 104•23. Rubin, Modem Tradition " Naifeh and Smith 657. 81 Figutc I. Jackson Pollock, Shadows. 1949, oil. 32" x 26". Private Collection. New York. 82 F'igurc 2. Pablo Picasso. 11,ru Dancers. 1925. oil. 84 5/8- x 56 1/4". Tate Gallery. L.ondon. 83 The Art of Bessie Harvey: Her Gift of the Spirit Ditma McC/imock "Zibula makuta wa mambu: with open ears hear their leaveand not leave a gift. So would you give me a gift matters of Lhe spirit."' This Kongo phrase, quOLed in another to leave Lhe earth? [11/ 17191] context by Roberi Farris Thompson, provides wise advice for Her "gift" is !heart which God directs her to produce. According viewers confronted with the complex and evocative wood and LOH arvey, "God creates the pieces Lhrough nature.... And He found object sculptures of Tennessee ar1is1B essie Harvey. Her give me the vision 10 see... and I add 10,to bring ou1what nature work hasbeen charac1erized as " rool spirit arl," and compared has already done in the wood. And He is the artist."[ 11/ 17191) to Yoroba cosmology, because of stylistic similariti0-sw ith Hers is an augmentativeprocess , enhancingand revealingher West African root sculpture and the undeniable power or eidetic fonns without challenging God's role as ultimate creator. presence which her sculptures seem to exude. Remarkably, the Harvey believes that her art has the potential 10 change people's sexagenarian ani s1had never seen African sculpture until after a11imdes,an d to reach into people's heaits and convey the she began making her an in 1974. The tendency among art message of God. Her "gift" has enabled her 10 rise above historians and critics 10 associate Harvey's work with West poverty and racial disc,imination in ordcrto spread God's word African an on the basis of fonnal affinities obscures the more and prophesies for1he future of mankind. Aspects of her an fit immediate and fundamental con1cx1 from which the art of within black American folk traditions; other aspccL~can be Bessie Harvey emerges: the cullure and spirituality of Afro- understood in the tennsof Afro-Baptist traditions which include America. elements of both white Christianity and black spirituality. Bessie Harvey was born in Dalin.,,Georg ia, in 1928. Her Broadly speaking, Hai·vey's art can be understood in the father died when she was very young, leaving her mother alone con1extof African-Americancu llure, a crcoliwd culture which to raise nine children. Her mother's strength of character en is a separate but nonetheless integral part of American cullure. abled her 10 overcomeobs tacles including extremepove1ty and Judith McWi llie has cogently analyzed the retention of African her status as a female member of a minority, as Harvey has aesthetic and spiritual elemenlS in the work of African-Ameri explained: "shewas a goodwo man,a nd a verysmart won'lao ... can artists: and she wasn't jusl a hand-mc-down."2 Harvey marTieda t Today the assimilation of African aesthetic and spiri fourteen and moved 10 Alcoa, Tennessee, a small town in the tual resourcesin the South is across-cullural phenom foothills of the Smoky Mountains, where she almost single enon that continues 10 mold the consciousness of handedly raised eleven children. The ar1is1co nsiders her large, African-Americans and Euro-Americans, alike .... healthy family. which now includes thirty-two grandchildren Crcolization develops spontaneously, on a communal and four great-grandchildren. as a blessed gift from God. level, acrossseveral gcncra Lions,in cultu ..resc harac1er Providing for her growing family, however,was a struggle i1..edby a plurality of traditions. asin 1heAmericas... lhc which consumed all of her creative and intellectt1al powers, as crcolizing processrecai ns and compoundi;lhe mean she explained 10S hari Cavin Morris: ing of its sources since there is first-handexpe rience of I really didn't become truly human until my youngest 1hcm:' was half grown. I was a liltle better than an animal Harvey's over-lifesized, double-sided sculpture of Adam a11d trying to scrape together food and sheller for them. Eve (Figure 2) embodies the mixture of African and Euro Later. that's when I began 10 develop my mind and American traditions characteristicof African-Americanspiritu ques1ion the spiritual nature of my life.' al ii)' and cullure. Exhausted after a long day of caring for her family, in the Adam a11dEve presents a rather unorthodox reinterpreta evenings she would speak to God in quiet meditation. In 1974, tion of the first man and woman, in which the bright scarlet flash the year 1ha1 her mother died, Harvey explains that "1he an of 1he forbidden froit figures prominently as female genitalia came... a nd it'sj ust a thing that was planned for me since before against the dark ebony stained wood of the figure's tronk, and the foundation of the world:" Adam'spen is assumes the form of the slippery tonguedserpent There was a lime 1ha1I fell 1ha1I wasn't nobody. and I which winds upwardto whisperiL(; deception into Eve's ear felt forlornedand lost for His love in 1heea r1h, because (Figure 3). Despite the traditional account of Adam and Eve of my life. And.I talked 10God,and I said 10God,Isaid found in Genesis, with which Harveyis thoroughly familiar, the I don't want to live in your earth, all these yems, and burden of guilt forthe Fall of Mankind rests with Adam as much 85 as (if not more than) with Eve. Harvey has further 1wis1ed, or penis shifts the blame for the Fallof Man to the lirst man himself. "troped"the tradilional story of Adam and Eve by representing revealing another manifestation of visual critical significa~ them as black Africans, as she explains: tion.11 The lirs1 man He made was an African man ...We ll For Adam and Eve, Harvey arranged the natural materials then, who was the fi.rs1man in the earth'? Who was the revealed by God wilh a ccnain amount ofi ntentionality. One of man in thegarden?.. :n,enwe[theblackrace)sho uldn't Harvey's largest and more intricate pieces, The Cross-Bearers continue to look down! We should dance every day, of 1988 (Figures4-6), reveals conscious manipulation of forms all day before our God! He loves us so very much,and and materials 10 a greater extent than in her previous work. The we have let the world and mankind poison us against base is fonned by 1hebulky slump of a tree cloaked in a naturally our heritage. [11/9/91) woven mantle of thick, dried vines. Several large pieces of Aware 1hat the earliestkn own archaeological remainsof a trunks and branches have been assembled on IOpof the vine human were found in Africa, Harveyassens that Adam and Eve covered base, over which fantastic creatures, composed of were Africans. God, by extension, is black, because according painted and omamenied sections of branches and bark, tumble to scripture He made Adam in his own image. and intertwine in the continuous flux of nature's forces. The Harvey's interpretive freedom with the biblical text can be summit unfolds into the form of a phoenix which spreads its compared to the "improvisational dynamics" of black music white-tipped wings as if preparing to soar heavenward. and preaching which has been identified by Thee Smith of According to the artist, the vines covering the base repre Emory University. According to Smith, black preachers tradi sent chains in which unbelievers arc bound without hope. The tionallyhave interpreted Biblical scripture with greater frcedom central, rounded opening in the upper trunk section (Figure 6), and creativity than white Christian fundamentalists. This ten which has been painted blood red and adorned with a gold cross dency towards iri1provisation can also be identified in African composed of costume jewelry, represents the hean. Harvey Americanmusical perfo nnancc~.) Smiths tates: explains 1ha1 the nail in the center of the cross Crucial for Black spiri1uality in its aesthetic manifes represents the pain of the believer...because of the llltions is this 'will to transformation.' IL~intentional unbeliever... And the bird in the lop represents the character consists in an extreme reluctance to pas freedom of being a believer, because if you are a sively transmitprev iously receivedinstnnneots. arti believer, you will be lifted up, because you have hope facts, cultural practices or cognitive materials.• that there will be a better day. And if you don't have The "transformation" Smith refers to involves a rhetorical hope, you are doomed. [ 11/9/91] strategy known as "signifying," whichClaudia Mitchell-Kernan Unlike previous work, in which Harveyused painI a.ndaddi1ions has identified as a mode of speech employed in many black of gliuer, fabric, beads, shells, and other materials 10 enhance communities: "Signifying ...r efcrs to a way of encoding mes the forms which God was said to reveal to her, for 17,eCros s sagesor meaningswhich invo lves,in mostcases. an e lementof Bearers Harvey has deliberately sought out specific configura indirection." 7 Th.ispractice, derived from the Signifying Mon tions of wood and vines to best conveyher vision of God's word. key tales of black folklore (which have their origin in West The disbelievers, who "just live for today and ...d on'1 have any African tradition), involves the reversal, or troping of conven hope fortomorrow," are ruining the world created by God. The tional meanings,and the implication of meanings which are non-specific figures which seem to emerge from the flux of never made explicit.' Smith assens that "in black social figura natural forms on the upper section of the sculpture are, in tion we find a use of biblical texts that serves to respond to, Harvey's words, "the cross-bearers,meaning tbat they do be reverse, and 'trope' the conventional 'texis' and structures of lieve the story of Jesus." [ 11/9/92). The believers arc shedding racial domination operating in American culture.'~ tears, because 1hey realize the truth of Harvey's prophesy: if Viewing Harvey's reinterpretation of the Biblical text in people don't believe, then there will be no hope for a belier day these 1enns allows her work to be placed not only in the context ("and if you don't have hope, you arc already doomed!"). of the Afro-Baptist church, bul more generally within the Although The Cross-8etirersd isplays a conscious ma cultural context of African-American spirituality and folklore nipulation of forms and a degree of intentionality which may at traditions. By making the first man and woman- and by impli first seem contradictory 10 her claim 1ha1 God is the true artist, cation, God's self- black, Harvey isestablishing the black 'race' recent works such a., this arc consistent with Han•ey's self as God's chosen people. This affords acenain status 1othe black proclaimed role a.,a "prophet"simil ar 10 the prophetSin the Old people which is unobtainable by the dominant class of whites, Tes1amen1.Throug h the making of her art, Harveybecomes th e and symbolically inverts the power structure of American conveyor of God's message to mankind and the facilitator of society. Like the animal trickster tales wh.ichwere firsI told by God's work, as suggested in the following episode which she black slaves, the weaker character (or group) achieves a more recountedconcerning a clay model of a large wooden sculpture desirable position with regards to its adversary.This symbolic titled Tribal Spirits, 1988 (Figure 7): inversion of power has been identified as a central feature of ...and this young womansaw ii, and she wasjus t drawn black consciousnessan d culture since the early days of slavery to it ...and she said 10 me 'you know, my first baby died, 1 in the Americas. • Harvey's portrayal of the Serpent as Adam's and I've had five miscarriages.'... but she kept talldng 86 about how she was drawn into this little clay Tribal Spiri1s, and she carried it home.... And she's got a Harvey cites the book of Psalms in the Bible for the origin beautiful liulegirl now, strong and heallhy.... Shesaid of her view that "trees is soul people ... I have watched the trees that, you know, like the piece just kind of give her a when they pray and I've watched them shout and sometimes peace of mind, and she could just pick up the pieces of they give thanks slowly and quietly. ..."" Although not found in her life and go on again. She just stopped worrying Psalms, a passage from Isaiah 55: 12 applies 10 Harvey's use of about it. And then she conceived and gave birth 10 this trees in her work: "The mountainsan d the hills will break forth littlegirl. [11/9/91] into shouis of joy before you, and all the trees of the field will This description suggests that the clay sculpture which Mrs. clap 1/Jeirhands." The sacred tree has also been a central image Harvey created possessed a miraculous, even magical power in Christian tradition from its earliest days. Accordingt o Peter which was able to both physically and spirituallyh eal the young McKenzie,"[t )he cult of the tree influenced Christianityat many woman. Such healing properties recall the black folk tradition pointsand even furnishedi t wilh its centraland characteristic of conjuration, in which natural and physical objects become symbol of the wooden cross."'' In addition to the "Tree of conveyors of magical effects, although in the case of conjuring Knowledge" from the Book of Genesis and the trees of "Life" the object is usually created with specific healing properties in and "Tnnh" found throughout the Old Testament, McKenzie mind." Albert J. Rabotcau has noted that "Christian tradition notes references 10th e spirits of trees in the Hebrew Scriptures. itself has always been attuned to special gifts (charisms)of the The tree of the cross on which Christ was crucified becan1ea Spirit as they arc manifested in prophesy, healing, and significant symbol in Christian sacred history in the same way miracles."" The early black AmericanBaptist church accepted that the sacred fig-tree under which tl1e Buddha received en and emphasized folk prophesy and healing as spirit gifts. In the Iightenmcnt pl ayed a significantro le in the subsequent spread of episode involving her clay model of Tribal Spiri1s, Mrs. Buddhism." Harvey's attribution of magical healing propertiesto her sculp In Yoruba tradition, Thompson has noted that some trees ture is consistent with this Baptist church tradition, and empha are thought to be the incarnation of ashe, defined as "spirittml sizes her role as facilitatorof God's work throughthe makingof command, the power-to-make-things-happen,God's own en her sculpture. In this context, her intentional manipulation of abling light renderedaccessib le to men and women."'' Certainly forms and materials in The Cross-Bearersand in other recent the trees which Harvey has used in her sculpture possess a work docs not contradict her earlier assertion that God is the spiritual powersimilarto ashe. Through her sculpture, Harvey artist who directs her to reveal his message through the natural has been able to communicatethe message which she receives forms of his creation. It also reveals a degree of personal from God, in spite of and because of significant obstacles empowerment which Harvey hasauained through the making of including her marginalized status in American society due 10 her art. race, gender and social class. Although Harvey's art is not Harvey's sculpture bas been associated with root-work, or Yoruban, it possesses a.5/Je; although her wood sculptures do with West-African derived mi11kisi charms, defined by Roben not move, they convey the hand-clapping shouts of joy of the Farris Thompson as "strategic object[s] in black Atlantic art, trees referred to above in the quotationfrom Isaiah in the Bible. said to effect healing and other phenomena."" Although such Tocompletely deny the Africanismsin Harvey's workwould be labeling of Harvey's work may be over-emphasized in such a the san1eas denying the history of her African-Americanheri way as to obscureits more fundamental contex1wilhin Afro tage. To ignore the traditions of black Christian spirituality Christian trndition, the identification of "Africanisms .. in her would obscure the fundamental context inwhicb Harvey's work sculpture can contribute to a more complete understanding of must be understood: the creolizcd culture of Afro-America. her art. An examination of Harvey's conception of the signifi Only in this way can we truly open our ears, to hear her "maue111 cance of trees, the source of her principal material, will illustrate of the spirit." the value of identifying both African continuities and African Americantraditions in Harvey'sscu lpture. Emory Unive111i1y RobertFa rrisThompson ''The C ircle and the Branch: RcnascemK ongo. 8ladA tla11tic:Smtth (New York:INTARLatinAmcrica nGallery,1988) AmericanArt. Anmlt~rFace of 1heDlam()nd: Pathway s 11,roughthe S-8. 8/ac-kAtlmuit&,u th (New VOit.:I NTARLatin American Gallery. 1988) 27. TheeSmith , "TheSpirilualily of Afro.AmericanTraditio ns," Cluistim1 Spiri111ality:P ost-Reformation011d /tf Qtlem.edited by LouisDupre ,11,d Unless otherwiseir,dica1ed . ::ill dircc1quo1.a 1ions arc laken from tape• Don E. Sa.liers in collabor.uionwilh John MeyendOrff(New YOJk: rccordc..-dint erviews with the anist al her studio on I J/9191. over the Crossroad.1989) 390. Secalso Hcnr)' Mitchell. BlackPr1w clli11g(New telephone on 11/17/91. OC'from ooces wriuen d uringa visi1t o her studio Yori<: Harper& Row, 1979) 113, 198. 515192. • Smith 391. Shari Cavin Morris. "Bessie Ha.rvey: The Spiril in lhe Wood: 17,e Cl,m'o,i12 (Spring/Summer. 1987): 44. ClaudiaMitcheU -Kema.n." Signifying,• Mother IVit: From th~1.Augh ing &,rrel: Rttul1'1igsfo tJ1eb1t e111retatitmof African-America,1Folk• JudithM cWillie . J\1101herFu ceo/11,eDltm1 Figure I. Bessie Harvey in her siucHo. Augu:s:1 5. 1992. Alcoa. Tennessee. 88 Figure 2. lupixr leftl Ressie Harvey.Adam and 81,·t·. 1991. wood a.nd mixed media. heigh1 c. 6'. Priva1c Collcc1Km. Figure 3. l1wwr righ1) Bessie Han·cy. Admn. and£~ ·,· (detail of Adam). 1991. wood a.od mixed media, height c. 6'. Priviue Collect ion. Figure 4. llower riglltl Bess ie Han·cy. 771eCrtMS•Bearen. 1988. mi.,ed media. 74" x 6r x 28", Blue Spirol Gallery. Asheville. Nonh Carolina. 89 Figure 5. Bessie Harvey. delail of 1111'Cros.f•&nrers . Figure 6 . .Bessie Harvey, detail of The Cmu- Beorers. 90 Figure 7. Ressie Har\'cy, 1'ribal Spiri ts, 1988, mixed media. 4S" x 26" x 20". Dallas Museum or An. Oall.u, Tc-xas. 91 ATHANOR xn FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY DEPARTMENT OF ART HISTORY A PROJECT OF TllE ML'SECM OF FINE ,\RTS PRFSS