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Proyecto Final “Master Renaissance Studies” El Programa Iconográfico

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Proyecto Final “Master Renaissance Studies” El Programa Iconográfico Proyecto final “Master Renaissance Studies” El programa iconográfico de las tapas armónicas en los Clavecines Ruckers. Docente: Ghislain Kieft Verónica Estevez 0266779 Utrecht, 08-2006 Índice Introducción……………………………………………………………………… Pag. 2 La Familia Ruckers, sus raíces y su arraigo………………………………….. Pag. 7 Amberes en el tiempo del los Ruckers……………………………………...... Pag. 9 El gremio de San Lucas…………………………………………………………. Pag. 10 El ambiente artístico en Amberes……………………………………………... Pag. 12 Los instrumentos y sus decoraciones…………………………………………. Pag. 14 El motivo azul……………………………………………………………………. Pag. 18 El color y la técnica……………………………………………………………… Pag. 21 Las flores de la tapa armónica…………………………………………………. Pag. 23 El programa decorativo en las tapas armónicas……………………………... Pag. 29 María, Reina del cielo y la tierra………………………………………………. Pag. 32 La Virgen y el azul………………………………………………………………. Pag. 48 Virginal…………………………………………………………………………… Pag. 51 Hortus omnium deliciarum……………………………………………………. Pag. 54 El jardín de las delicias…………………………………………………………. Pag. 56 Bibliografía………………………………………………………………………. Pag. 57 Lista de Ilustraciones…………………………………………………………… Pag. 59 1 Introducción a iconografía sobre instrumentos musicales está ligada históricamente a la representación de instrumentos en pinturas. En mi ensayo, voy a referirme Lmás específicamente a lo representado en los instrumentos e intentando un acercamiento iconográfico desde otro punto de vista. Para expresarme más claramente, mi idea no es hacer un racconto de cuantos clavecines se encuentran representados en la historia del arte, sino que intrigada por las decoraciones que presentan estos instrumentos, he decidido profundizar en la simbología, la tradición visual y la práctica pictórica que confluyeron en este tipo de ornamentación. El tema es claramente específico y de carácter casi hermético. No se trata de una de las grandes incógnitas de la historia del arte sino solo de una respuesta a un porqué casi personal. Siendo la decoración de clavecines mi trabajo habitual, es lógico y casi diría evidente, naturalmente sensato el preguntarse: ¿qué significa todo esto que estoy pintando? Pues bien, es así como esta pregunta adviene generada por la práctica de la pintura, más precisamente, por la decoración que se encuentra en las tapas armónicas de los clavecines Ruckers. Los clavecines de Andreas Ruckers, constructor afincado en Amberes (contemporáneo y amigo de Peter Paul Rubens) contienen decoraciones tanto internas como externas. Fig. 1 Decoración externa de un clavecín, A. Ruckers (copia de S. Núñez, 1996) vista lateral con las tapas cerradas. Fig. 2 Clavecín abierto, se observa la tapa superior decorada internamente. 2 La decoración externa, es casi siempre producto del gusto personal de quién encarga el instrumento. Los factores que juegan un rol en la decoración externa de un clavecín, tienen que ver con modas locales o con la decoración del interior de una casa en la que este instrumento iba situarse, etc., etc. No son menos intrigantes, pero sí es mucho más lo que se ha investigado en este terreno. Un clavecín fue y es un mueble más en una casa, pero un mueble de lujo, una gran caja de música, que se corresponde con su entorno decorativo y forma así parte de un todo mobiliario. La variedad decorativa resulta entonces muy extensa. De esta manera encontramos desde imitaciones de mármol hasta chinoiserie. Fig. 3 Mármol Fig. 4 Chinoiserie Pero no es este tipo de decoración la que me atrajo, sino justamente la que no se ve a simple vista, aquella que queda escondida al ojo del espectador y que está prácticamente reservada al que toca el instrumento: las tapas armónicas. Si luego de un concierto nos acercamos a apreciar el interior de uno de estos instrumentos, vemos que estos se encuentran poblados de flora y fauna. Casi impensable, inesperadamente encontramos ante nosotros un mundo natural, que no está dedicado a quién escucha, sino a quién ejecuta. 3 He aquí lo que vemos: Fig. 5 Decoración de la tapa armónica de un clavecín A. Ruckers, copia de S. Núñez, decoración V. Estevez 2004. A diferencia de los instrumentos italianos que generalmente no poseen decoración en la tapa armónica (curioso detalle siendo Italia la madre de la decoración y el disegno) los clavecines flamencos están ricamente decorados. Fig. 6 Clavecín Italiano. 4 En las tapas armónicas vemos no solo un tipo de técnica diferente del resto de la decoración del instrumento, ya que tanto por fuera como por dentro de la tapa externa superior del instrumento se utilizaba pintura al óleo (técnica que los flamencos dominaban ya por el 1430, un siglo antes) sino que también estética y temáticamente estas decoraciones de la tapa armónica, difieren del resto de lo representado. De por sí, esta sección interna del clavecín es realmente una zona no solo difícil de decorar sino que además queda delimitada por los puentes en partes desiguales, donde luego se colocan las cuerdas, que se tensan sobre la superficie previamente decorada, de modo que la visión queda casi obstaculizada. A esto se añade que lo que se planee ilustrar en la tapa armónica, no se puede llevar a cabo en pintura al óleo. Las tapas armónicas son el alma del clave, son las que transmiten el sonido al aire y la madera no va laqueada o barnizada y se mantiene libre de cualquier tipo de terminación (más tarde me explayaré en este tema ya que los opiniones al respecto están divididas) y por consiguiente la técnica pictórica que se aplique en una madera sin preparación debe ser de naturaleza acuosa, por obvias razones: el aceite arruina las cualidades sonoras de la sutil tapa armónica, se dispersa en las vetas y en lo que se refiere a las decoraciones, lo que se obtiene es una mancha de pigmento oscura y resbaladiza difícil, por no decir imposible, de gobernar con el pincel. Me resulta por esto casi imposible de imaginar que con todo este tipo de restricciones decorativas, más otras cuestiones de otra índole como el hecho de que desde afuera no se ve nada de lo que con tanto esmero y dedicación se pintó en el interior, más el hecho de además se debe buscar y pagar a un artista que domine la técnica de pintar sin óleo, solo al agua, que no es realmente fácil y además no corresponde con el estilo de lo pintado en el resto del clave, etc., etc., reitero por consiguiente: me niego a pensar que tanta dedicación es solo un mero hecho decorativo, sin más objetivo que el de hacer algo más agradable a la vista. Como ya lo he dicho, se trata de una parte del clavecín difícil de pintar, de ver, de apreciar y de decorar. ¿Por qué tanto empeño si ni siquiera existía como tradición decorativa de este orden en este tipo de instrumentos? Yendo a la síntesis de mi propuesta de investigación para este ensayo y como ya lo he expuesto al comienzo de esta corta introducción, es mi idea profundizar en el tipo de decoración aplicada a las tapas armónicas, buscar el trazo que conduzca la línea de la tradición visual aplicada a estas decoraciones y en lo posible investigar acerca de los valores simbólicos representados o lo que comúnmente se da a llamar en la historia del arte “programa decorativo o iconográfico”. Procuro entonces ofrecer una idea global de la situación en Amberes en tiempos de la familia Ruckers, el círculo social y artístico que esta circundaba, las condiciones de la producción de clavecines, para luego dirigir mi atención a las decoraciones, en especial a la de las tapas armónicas, dado a que lo escrito hasta el momento acerca de este tema es llamativamente escaso. La literatura que he encontrado sobre clavecines flamencos, trata por lo general aspectos musicológicos y otros tales como construcción, venta, distribución, etc. Ninguno de los autores presenta una conclusión acerca de las decoraciones internas en su aspecto simbólico. El tema de las pinturas en las tapas armónicas se aborda 5 comúnmente desde lo técnico y no desde lo iconográfico. Creo, y estoy convencida de esto, que detrás de cada aparato o sistema decorativo hay un porqué, una idea básica que quizá con el tiempo puede haberse desdibujado. Me atrevo entonces a arriesgar una opinión acerca de la idea subyacente de este programa decorativo en cuestión, utilizando como argumento en primer lugar el material visual y en segundo lugar las fuentes literarias que avalan esta idea. 6 La Familia Ruckers, sus raíces y su arraigo. “[…] The Ruckers family is to the clavecimbel as Stradivarius is to the violin”1. s con estas palabras como el escritor Grant O’Brien en su libro “Ruckers, A harpsichord and virginal building Tradition” nos enlaza directamente con la importancia y la influencia de esta familia de luthiers residentes en Amberes E 2 alrededor del 1575 . Los orígenes de la familia son todavía algo nebulosos. O‘Brien aventura una hipótesis realmente tentadora sobre el origen de la familia, según la cual, la estirpe de los Ruckers puede llegar a tener su origen en Selingestadt, en las cercanías de Frankfurt. Lo atractivo de esta idea, es que Albrecht Dürer en su viaje a Amberes en 1520, pinta a un tal Maestro Arnold de Selingestadt, que posiblemente había trabajado en el atelier de Mathias Grünewald en Aschaffenburg en el tallado de madera. Arnold de Selingestadt o Arnold Rucker, según la teoría de O’Brien3 era conocido como constructor de órganos, tanto en su lugar natal como en los alrededores y dado al parecido en los nombres y a que la familia Ruckers hacía el mantenimiento de los órganos de las iglesias de Amberes, no es raro imaginar un nexo familiar entre ambas familias. De cualquier manera, esta es solo una conjetura de valor anecdótico, nada está probado realmente ni posee argumentación escrita que lo avale, pero que tiene ese sabor a pequeña-gran coincidencia que los historiadores del arte tanto festejamos. El apellido Ruckers, Ruckaert o Ryckaert, es de origen cristiano (Richard, Ricardo, etc.) y proviene del patronímico Ryckaertszoon, habiendo sido más tarde abreviado y resultando en Ruckers4.
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