Unraveling Christ's Passion
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
UNRAVELING CHRIST’S PASSION: ARCHBISHOP DALMAU DE MUR, PATRON AND COLLECTOR, AND FRANCO-FLEMISH TAPESTRIES IN FIFTEENTH-CENTURY SPAIN by Katherine M. Dimitroff BA, University of California, San Diego, 1996 MA, University of Pittsburgh, 1999 Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Arts & Sciences in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of Pittsburgh 2008 UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH FACULTY OF ARTS & SCIENCES This dissertation was presented by Katherine M. Dimitroff It was defended on March 28, 2008 and approved by David Wilkins, Professor Emeritus, History of Art & Architecture Ann Sutherland Harris, Professor, History of Art & Architecture Bruce L. Venarde, Associate Professor, History Dissertation Advisor: M. Alison Stones, Professor, History of Art & Architecture ii Copyright © by Katherine M. Dimitroff 2008 iii UNRAVELING CHRIST’S PASSION: ARCHBISHOP DALMAU DE MUR, PATRON AND COLLECTOR, AND FRANCO-FLEMISH TAPESTRIES IN FIFTEENTH-CENTURY SPAIN Katherine M. Dimitroff, PhD University of Pittsburgh, 2008 This dissertation considers the artistic patronage of Dalmau de Mur i de Cervelló (1376– 1456), a high-ranking Catalan prelate little known outside Spain. As Bishop of Girona (1416– 1419), Archbishop of Tarragona (1419–1431) and Archbishop of Zaragoza (1431–1456), Dalmau de Mur commissioned and acquired of works of art, including illuminated manuscripts, panel paintings, sculpted altarpieces, metalwork and tapestries. Many of these objects survive, including two remarkable tapestries depicting the Passion of Christ that he bequeathed to Zaragoza Cathedral upon his death in 1456. Surviving primary documents, particularly Dalmau de Mur’s testament and the Cathedral inventory of 1521, show that his collection was still more significant. A major part of the dissertation is a study of the style and iconography of the Passion of Christ tapestries at Zaragoza Cathedral. They were woven in the French northern counties of Flanders or Artois in the early fifteenth century. Technically, they are among the earliest surviving examples of tapestry that comprise silk, silver and gold threads. Furthermore, they are the only surviving Franco-Flemish tapestries to have been imported into an ecclesiastical collection in Spain. Dalmau de Mur’s acquisition marks the beginning of an important phase of the artistic exchange between northern and southern Europe that would culminate in the patronage of the “Catholic Kings” later in the fifteenth century. iv The Zaragoza tapestries are also the oldest extant tapestries that represent the Passion of Christ. Consequently, they provide a rare insight into the treatment of Passion iconography in the rich and expensive medium of luxury tapestry during the early fifteenth century. An extensive iconographic survey reveals that the designers of the Zaragoza Passion tapestries were influenced by a select group of objects owned by the leading patrons of art in France—King Charles V and his brothers, the Dukes of Berry, Burgundy and Anjou. Stylistic criteria confirm that the designers of the Zaragoza tapestries were French or Flemish artists who either worked for the French royal court or knew the objects produced by French court artists. v TABLE OF CONTENTS PREFACE8 .................................................................................................................................... xii NOTE9 TO READER.................................................................................................................. xvi 1.0 INTRODUCTION: ARCHBISHOP DALMAU DE MUR AND ARTISTIC PATRONAGE IN MEDIEVAL SPAIN...................................................................................... 1 1.1 SCHOLARSHIP AND HISTORIOGRAPHY .................................................. 9 1.2 CHAPTERS, METHODOLOGY AND FINDINGS ...................................... 18 1.3 WEAVING VISUAL CAPITAL: THE FRANCO-FLEMISH TAPESTRY INDUSTRY AROUND 1400 .............................................................................................. 23 1.3.1 The Passion in Medieval Tapestries .......................................................... 26 1.3.2 Tapestry Patronage in Medieval France................................................... 27 1.3.3 Tapestry Patronage in Medieval Spain ..................................................... 31 2.0 THE STATE OF AFFAIRS IN THE KINGDOM OF ARAGÓN: AN INTRODUCTION TO THE FAMILY OF DALMAU DE MUR AND SIGNIFICANT RELIGIOUS AND HISTORICAL EVENTS ........................................................................... 36 2.1 THE KINGDOM OF ARAGÓN ...................................................................... 37 2.2 THE DE MUR FAMILY ................................................................................... 39 2.2.1 Dalmau de Mur (1376–1456)...................................................................... 52 2.3 THE PAPAL SCHISM (1378–1417) ................................................................ 56 vi 3.0 CONSTRUCTING A LEGACY: DALMAU DE MUR’S ARTISTIC PATRONAGE (1415–1456) ....................................................................................................... 64 3.1 BISHOP OF GIRONA ...................................................................................... 67 3.1.1 Girona Cathedral ........................................................................................ 68 3.2 ARCHBISHOP OF TARRAGONA (1419–1431) ........................................... 78 3.2.1 Tarragona Cathedral .................................................................................. 81 3.2.1.1 Main Altarpiece ................................................................................... 84 3.2.2 Manuscripts ................................................................................................. 87 3.2.2.1 Girona Bible ......................................................................................... 88 3.2.2.2 Bible of Dalmau de Mur ...................................................................... 96 3.2.2.3 Policraticus ........................................................................................... 98 3.3 ARCHBISHOP OF ZARAGOZA (1431–1456) ............................................ 102 3.3.1 Valderrobres Castle .................................................................................. 105 3.3.2 Zaragoza Cathedral .................................................................................. 108 3.3.2.1 Main Altarpiece ................................................................................. 111 3.3.2.2 Choir and Dalmau de Mur’s Tomb ................................................. 112 3.3.3 Archbishop’s Palace.................................................................................. 120 3.3.3.1 Archbishop’s Palace Altarpiece ....................................................... 122 3.3.4 Panel Paintings .......................................................................................... 124 3.3.5 Manuscripts ............................................................................................... 128 3.3.6 Metalwork and Liturgical Vestments ..................................................... 131 3.3.7 Summary .................................................................................................... 134 4.0 SACRED SPACE: THE ZARAGOZA PASSION TAPESTRIES ...................... 135 vii 4.1 COLLECTING OF TAPESTRIES AT ZARAGOZA CATHEDRAL ....... 135 4.2 CREATING SACRED SPACE AT ZARAGOZA CATHEDRAL ............. 141 4.3 THE FUNCTION OF RELIGIOUS TAPESTRIES IN THE MIDDLE AGES……………. ............................................................................................................ 147 5.0 FINDING THREADS IN FRANCE AND FLANDERS: VISUAL AND LITERARY SOURCES OF THE ZARAGOZA PASSION TAPESTRIES ........................ 156 5.1 STYLE .............................................................................................................. 157 5.2 COMPOSITION AND SPACE ...................................................................... 164 5.3 ICONOGRAPHY: FIRST TAPESTRY ........................................................ 185 5.3.1 Christ’s Entry into Jerusalem .................................................................. 185 5.3.2 Christ Praying in the Garden .................................................................. 188 5.3.3 The Betrayal of Christ: The Kiss of Judas and Peter Cutting off Malchus’ Ear ............................................................................................................ 191 5.3.4 Christ Led through a Passageway ........................................................... 195 5.3.5 Christ before Caiaphas or Annas ............................................................ 196 5.3.6 Christ before Heord .................................................................................. 199 5.3.7 Christ before Pilate ................................................................................... 202 5.3.8 The Flagellation ......................................................................................... 217 5.3.9 The Mocking of Christ.............................................................................. 219 5.3.10 The Making of the Cross .......................................................................... 222 5.4 ICONOGRAPHY: SECOND TAPESTRY ................................................... 226 5.4.1 Christ Carrying the Cross ........................................................................ 226 5.4.2 The Crucifixion