DOCSLIB.ORG

Through the Talking Glass: Translucence and Translation in the Condé Museum’S Psyche Gallery

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Through the Talking Glass: Translucence and Translation in the Condé Museum’S Psyche Gallery University of Nebraska - Lincoln DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln Faculty Publications - Modern Languages and Modern Languages and Literatures, Department Literatures of June 2002 Through the Talking Glass: Translucence and Translation in the Condé Museum’s Psyche Gallery Russell J. Ganim University of Nebraska-Lincoln, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/modlangfacpub Part of the Modern Languages Commons Ganim, Russell J., "Through the Talking Glass: Translucence and Translation in the Condé Museum’s Psyche Gallery" (2002). Faculty Publications - Modern Languages and Literatures. 14. https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/modlangfacpub/14 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Modern Languages and Literatures, Department of at DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. It has been accepted for inclusion in Faculty Publications - Modern Languages and Literatures by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. Published in Th e Shape of Change: Essays in Early Modern Literature and Th rough the Talking Glass: La Fontaine in Honor of David Lee Rubin, edited by Anne L. Birberick and Russell Ganim. Rodopi: Amsterdam & New York, 2002. Pp. 53–89. Translucence and Translation Copyright © 2002 Editions Rodopi B.V. Used by permission. in the Condé Museum’s Psyche Gallery Russell Ganim Th e forty-four stained-glass windows (dating from 1540–44) that re- count the mythological tale of Psyche in Chantilly’s Condé Museum pres- ent a unique semeiological challenge to scholars. Accompanied by lyric inscriptions of either four or eight lines, the panels reveal an image/text combination that represents a literal example of the Renaissance notion of ut pictura poesis.1 Th ese seldom-discussed panels merit inquiry because they refl ect certain historic, artistic, and literary trends that illustrate fac- tional and intellectual movements crucial to understanding France of the early to mid-sixteenth century. In its examination of these issues, this es- say asks three questions: 1) What is the political signifi cance of the gallery? 2) Why are the panels important in terms of Renaissance aesthetics, and how do they enhance the viewer’s knowledge of image-text interaction? And 3) What examples can be given of how pictura and poesis, as they are uniquely presented in the gallery, enrich the narrative process depicted in these windows? In answering the fi rst question, I will argue that the win- dows represent a political allegory that alludes to the disgrace and exile of their patron, Anne de Montmorency (1493–1567), Francis I’s “Consta- ble of France.” Montmorency’s choice of Psyche lies in the desire to illus- trate his struggle via a character who will elicit sympathy in a profound, but discreet manner. Like Psyche, who incurs the wrath and envy of Ve- nus, the Constable falls prey to a powerful woman, specifi cally, Francis’s mistress, Madame d’Etampes, whose jealousy forces Montmorency’s de- parture from the court. With the political statement comes aesthetic com- mentary as well. Specifi cally, the Psyche windows illustrate from a struc- tural perspec tive the Renaissance idea that art deemed “religious” in nature may be considered not merely as a “receptacle of the holy” but as a work of independent, discriminating merit (Belting, Likeness and Presence 458). 54 Russell Ganim Th rough the Talking Glass 55 Within this new mentality, a “religious form” such as stained glass, need and ending with Francis’s death in 1547.2 To under stand the political nar- not necessarily depict a theme one would traditionally fi nd in a church or rative conveyed by the panels, certain facets of Montmorency’s life war- cathedral. Changes in aesthetics and religion went hand in hand during rant highlighting. Descending from an Ile-de-France clan whose nobil- this time, as Protestant, especially Calvinist, emphasis on the ‘“Word” ity had been certifi ed since the end of the tenth century, Montmorency of God over His “Image” indirectly gave rise to a heightened presence of (named for his godmother Anne de Bretagne) defi ned himself through the word in art throughout the early to mid-sixteenth century. Th e pres- wealth, power, and association with the monarchy. A childhood compan- ence of the lyric inscriptions in the Chantilly windows can be attribut- ion of Francis, Montmor ency earned the king’s respect in battle, fi ghting ed at least in part to the emergence of the word in artistic expression at in several of Francis’s Italian campaigns against Charles V in the 1520s, this time. and helping negotiate the monarch’s release from prison as part of the To understand the relationship between verba and imago as it exists Treaty of Madrid in 1525. Th e following year, Montmorency was named in the panels themselves, this essay will draw on the literary criticism of governor of the Languedoc and “Grand Maître de France,” which meant W. J. T. Mitchell, the historical analysis of Hans Belting, and the trans- that Montmorency oversaw the royal household, setting the king’s sched- lation theory of George Steiner, Roman Jakobson, and André Lefevere. ule and regulating his visits. He became one of the king’s chief domes- What these theories have in common is the notion that a certain fl uidity tic and foreign advisers, and played a major role in concluding the Peace exists between sets of signs. In the case of the Psyche gallery, the “herme- of Cambrai in 1529, and then in defeating the Emperor in northern It- neutic motion” (Steiner 296) that exists between word and picture allows aly and Provence in 1536. After engineering the Peace of Aigues-Mortes for a dynamic exchange between the two principal narrative elements of with the Hapsburgs in 1538, Francis bestowed the tide of “Connétable the panel. Yet, the symmetry between word and image is often only par- de France” upon Montmorency. His reputation as Francis’s emissary led tial, since these modes of discourse sometimes diverge as much as they to associations with a host of European rulers, among them Charles V, converge. Th e poems and win dows translate each other, but often only in the Pope, and Henry VIII of England. Now bearing the rank of “Con- translucent, semi-trans parent ways. Consequently, the meaning word and stable,” Montmorency became the head of all royal armies, and was the image convey together is problematic and ambiguous almost as frequently king’s chief diplo mat. Th e Constable’s acquisition of political and military as it is reciprocal. Accordingly, the viewer is required to mediate between power was matched by his ravenous desire to increase his personal wealth. pictura and poesis, rendering his/her role more active in determining the Th rough various land acquisitions, Montmorency’s already vast reve nues signifi cance of the panels, and in shaping the critical debate over the in- multiplied nine times between 1521 and 1561. Even by the time of his teraction between these means of expression. However, the narrative re- fi rst disgrace in 1541, Montmorency had amassed an enormous fortune, lated by the verba/imago relationship within the panels themselves cannot making him one of the richest men in Europe, and the second most pow- be fully appreciated without a more global under standing of the historical erful man in France.3 and critical circumstances in which the windows were created. Th ese gen- Accumulation of fi nancial, military, and political power begat Montmo- eral conditions comprise a narrative of their own. rency numerous enemies and led to his downfall. As Francis’s health began to fail in the late 1530s, the infl uence of his favorite, Anne de Pisseleu (the Genesis and Political Allegory Duchess of Etampes), grew to the point where the historian Robert Knecht It is not coincidental that Montmorency’s commission of the lyric in- characterizes her as the court’s “supreme dispenser of favours and disfa- scriptions and stained-glass images between 1540 and 1544 over lapped vours” (557). Madame d’Etampes’s reasons for trying to remove the Con- greatly with his fi rst “disgrace” from court, offi cially beginning in 1541, stable were many. First, in her eff ort to consolidate power with her circle 56 Russell Ganim Th rough the Talking Glass 57 that included Cardinals Tournon, du Bellay, and the “Chancellor of following the king’s example, drew the parallel between art and authority. In France” Guillaume Poyet, Montmorency presented a direct obstacle. Sec- his many projects, the Constable engaged the services of French School spe- ondly, the Constable gained the support of Francis’s second wife, queen cialists such as Palissy, Goujon, Limousin, and the Clouet brothers, as well Eleanor, the Emperor’s sister. Madame d’Etampes despised the Haps- as Fontainebleau School artists, among them Cellini, Rosso, d’Oggiono, and burgs, and had even planned to capture Charles V during an offi cial state Durantino, whose masterpieces adorn Montmorency’s chateaux at Ecouen visit. More dangerous to the Duchess, however, was Montmorency’s ex- and Chantilly (the Psyche panels were originally designed for Ecouen, then tremely close association with the Dauphin Henri and his (and Fran- moved to Chantilly in the nineteenth century), his Parisian residences, and cis’s ex-) mistress Diane de Poitiers, whom she suspected of conspiring to the collegial church at Montmorency. As one can imagine, the paintings and seize the monarchy from Francis. Th e rift between the Constable and the sculptures in the castles consisted mainly of family portraits and representa- clique centered around the Duchess became so great as to prompt the vis- tions of the Constable’s battles. With respect to stained glass, Montmorency’s itor Mary of Hungary to describe the situation in the following manner: taste for the religious form of the medium found expression at the church of Ecouen, as well as the collégiale at Montmorency, where members of his fam- As for the government of the court, Madame d’Etampes has more credit than ever.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • The Role of the French Maîtresse En Titre: How Royal Mistresses Utilized Liminal Space to Gain Power and Access by Marine Elia
    The Role of the French Maîtresse en titre: How Royal Mistresses Utilized Liminal Space to Gain Power and Access By Marine Elia Senior Honors Thesis Romance Studies University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill 4/19/2021 Approved: Jessica Tanner, Thesis Advisor Valérie Pruvost, Reader Dorothea Heitsch, Reader 2 Table of Contents Introduction…Page 3 Chapter 1: The Liminal Space of the Maîtresse-en-titre…Page 15 Cahpter 2: Fashioning Power…Page 24 Chapter 3: Mistresses and Celebrity…Page 36 Conclusion…Page 52 Bibliography…Page 54 Acknowledgments…Page 58 3 Introduction Beginning in the mid-fifteenth century, during the reign of Charles VII (1422- 1461), the “royal favorite” (favorite royale) became a quasi-official position within the French royal court (Wellman 37). The royal favorite was an open secret of French courtly life, an approved, and sometimes encouraged, scandal that helped to define the period of a king's reign. Boldly defying Catholic tenants of marriage, the position was a highly public transgression of religious mores. Shaped during the Renaissance by powerful figures such as Diane de Poitiers and Agnès Sorel, the role of the royal mistress evolved through the centuries as each woman contributed their own traditions, further developing the expectations of the title. Some used their influence to become powerful political actors, often surpassing that of the king’s ministers, while other women used their title to patronize the arts. Using the liminal space of their métier, royal mistresses created opportunities for themselves using the limited spaces available to women in Ancien Régime France. Historians and writers have been captivated by the role of the royal mistress for centuries, studying their lives and publishing both academic and non-academic biographies of individual mistresses.
    [Show full text]
  • Henri II. Renaissance À Saint-Germain-En-Laye 31 Mars - 14 Juillet 2019 1 Sommaire
    Renaissance à HENRI II Saint-Germain-en-Laye Exposition du 31 mars au 14 juillet 2019 SAINT-GERMAIN-EN-LAYE Musée Crozatier © Luc Olivier © Luc Crozatier Musée « La magnificence et la galanterie n’ont jamais paru en France avec tant d’éclat que dans les dernières années du règne de Henri second. » Madame de La Fayette, La Princesse de Clèves Contacts presse : Fabien DURAND [email protected] 01.39.10.13.18 Louise COMELLI [email protected] 01.39.10.21.38 Toute l’actualité du musée d’Archéologie nationale sur le site internet : www.musee-archeologienationale.fr Et sur les réseaux sociaux : @Archeonationale #Henri2StGermain #Renaissance500 Henri II. Renaissance à Saint-Germain-en-Laye 31 mars - 14 juillet 2019 1 Sommaire Éditorial .................................................................5 2019 en résonance avec « Renaissance » ..............................7 Renaissance à Saint-Germain-en-Laye ................................9 Henri II, roi de France ..................................................11 L’exposition ............................................................17 Les chapitres de l’exposition ..........................................21 Les œuvres exposées ................................................. 29 Les partenaires .......................................................49 Autour de l’exposition ................................................ 53 Le musée d’Archéologie nationale - Domaine national de Saint-Germain-en-Laye ........................................... 59 Informations
    [Show full text]
  • Kings and Courtesans: a Study of the Pictorial Representation of French Royal Mistresses
    University of Montana ScholarWorks at University of Montana Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers Graduate School 2008 Kings and Courtesans: A Study of the Pictorial Representation of French Royal Mistresses Shandy April Lemperle The University of Montana Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd Let us know how access to this document benefits ou.y Recommended Citation Lemperle, Shandy April, "Kings and Courtesans: A Study of the Pictorial Representation of French Royal Mistresses" (2008). Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers. 1258. https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd/1258 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at ScholarWorks at University of Montana. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks at University of Montana. For more information, please contact [email protected]. KINGS AND COURTESANS: A STUDY OF THE PICTORIAL REPRESENTATION OF FRENCH ROYAL MISTRESSES By Shandy April Lemperlé B.A. The American University of Paris, Paris, France, 2006 Thesis presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Fine Arts, Art History Option The University of Montana Missoula, MT Spring 2008 Approved by: Dr. David A. Strobel, Dean Graduate School H. Rafael Chacón, Ph.D., Committee Chair Department of Art Valerie Hedquist, Ph.D., Committee Member Department of Art Ione Crummy, Ph.D., Committee Member Department of Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures Lemperlé, Shandy, M.A., Spring 2008 Art History Kings and Courtesans: A Study of the Pictorial Representation of French Royal Mistresses Chairperson: H.
    [Show full text]
  • 1 Word Versus Honour: the Case of Françoise De Rohan Vs. Jacques De
    Word versus Honour: the case of Françoise de Rohan vs. Jacques de Savoie Una McIlvenna University of Sydney Abstract This paper examines one of the most notorious scandals of sixteenth-century France. In 1557, Françoise de Rohan, a lady-in-waiting to Catherine de Medici, launched a legal battle to get the duke of Nemours, Jacques de Savoie, to recognise their orally-agreed marriage contract and formally recognise the child whom he had fathered with her. Central to Rohan’s case were not only the love-letters Nemours had written to her but also the eye-witness testimonies of her servants, who had overheard their marriage vows and had witnessed their love-making. Nemours’s only defence was his word of honour as a gentleman that no marriage had taken place. This paper situates the case of Rohan vs. Nemours within a transitory period in French society as oral and literate cultures competed for precedence, and asks what happens to the concept of honour when the spoken word is no longer to be trusted. Keywords France, court, gossip, rumour, clandestine marriage, Françoise de Rohan, Jacques de Savoie, Catherine de Medici Introduction Upon the fifth of May the obscene, withered, Putrid, worn-out harlot again seeks men for her marriage bed. Likewise he who marries her is wicked, treacherous, lawless, Bankrupt, adulterous, accursed, disloyal and worthy of torture.1 These charming lines were written in 1566 to commemorate the wedding of Anne d’Este, duchess of Guise, grand-daughter of Louis XII of France and lady-in-waiting to the queen mother Catherine de Medici, and her new husband, Jacques de Savoie, duke of Nemours, the hero of the French campaigns in Italy.
    [Show full text]
  • Brigitte Miriam Bedos-Rezak Rank
    CURRICULUM VITAE May 2018 Name: Brigitte Miriam Bedos-Rezak Rank: Professor Institution: Department of History New York University (NYU) 53 Washington Square South New York, NY 10012-1098 Tel.: 212 998 8607 Fax: 212 995 4017 Email: [email protected] Education 1977 Archiviste-Paléographe (PhD) Ecole nationale des chartes (Paris, Sorbonne), Medieval History. Diss.: La châtellenie de Montmorency des origines à 1368. Advisor: Professor Robert-Henri Bautier 1977 License-ès-Lettres Université de Paris-Sorbonne - Paris IV, Classics, and History 1970 B.A., Baccalauréat Maison d’Education de la Légion d’Honneur, Classics Language Skills Bi-lingual: French and English Working knowledge of classical Latin, Greek, and medieval Romance languages Paleography: medieval French, Latin, Provençal Modest familiarity with Hebrew, Italian, and German ACADEMIC APPOINTMENTS 2013-Present Affiliate Professor, NYU Institute of Fine Arts (IFA) 2013-Spring Research Fellow and Visiting Professor, Universität Zürich, Nationale Forschungsschwerpunkte, Medienwandel - Medienwechsel - Medienwissen. Historische Perspektiven (NCCR – Mediality) 2011-Present Affiliate Professor NYU Institute for the Study of the Ancient World (ISAW) 2002-present Professor of History, New York University (NYU) January 2001 Visiting Professor, Ecole nationale des chartes (Paris, Sorbonne) Spring 2000 Visiting Professor, Department of History, The Johns Hopkins University Spring 2000 Visiting Professor, Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies, UCLA 1996-1997 Member of the School of Historical
    [Show full text]
  • Catherine De' Medici: a Woman Before Her Time by Sara Grace
    Catherine de' Medici: A Woman Before her Time by Sara Grace Ericsson Thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Bachelor of Arts with Honours in History Acadia University April, 2014 © Copyright by Sara G. Ericsson, 2014 This thesis by Sara Grace Ericsson is accepted in its present form by the Department of History as satisfying the thesis requirements for the degree of Bachelor of Arts with Honours Approved by the Thesis Supervisor __________________________ ____________________ Dr. Leigh Whaley Date Approved by the Head of the Department __________________________ ____________________ Dr. Paul Doerr Date Approved by the Honours Committee __________________________ ____________________ Dr. Matthew Lukeman Date ii I, Sara Ericsson, grant permission to the University Librarian at Acadia University to reproduce, loan or distribute copies of my thesis in microform, paper or electronic formats on a non-profit basis. I, however, retain the copyright in my thesis. _________________________ Signature of Author __________________________ Date iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Throughout this long, difficult, frustrating, but ultimately rewarding process, there are several people who have served to inspire me. To my mum, whose reassurance I depend on daily; To my aunt, whose gift was inspiring; To my sister, whose interest in a topic she knew nothing about was insatiable; To my brother, whose patience knows no bounds; To my dad, whose faith is appreciated; To my nana, whose wry sense of humour is always refreshing; To my grampie, whose quiet yet constant love I could never do without; And finally, to my supervisor Dr. Whaley, whose ongoing advice and encouragement were the main reasons I was able to complete this project.
    [Show full text]
  • Displays of Medici Wealth and Authority: the Acts of the Apostles and Valois Fêtes Tapestry Cycles
    University of Central Florida STARS Honors Undergraduate Theses UCF Theses and Dissertations 2019 Displays of Medici Wealth and Authority: The Acts of the Apostles and Valois Fêtes Tapestry Cycles Madison L. Clyburn University of Central Florida Part of the Classical Archaeology and Art History Commons Find similar works at: https://stars.library.ucf.edu/honorstheses University of Central Florida Libraries http://library.ucf.edu This Open Access is brought to you for free and open access by the UCF Theses and Dissertations at STARS. It has been accepted for inclusion in Honors Undergraduate Theses by an authorized administrator of STARS. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Recommended Citation Clyburn, Madison L., "Displays of Medici Wealth and Authority: The Acts of the Apostles and Valois Fêtes Tapestry Cycles" (2019). Honors Undergraduate Theses. 523. https://stars.library.ucf.edu/honorstheses/523 DISPLAYS OF MEDICI WEALTH AND AUTHORITY: THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES AND VALOIS FÊTES TAPESTRY CYCLES by MADISON LAYNE CLYBURN A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Honors in the Major Program in Art History in the College of Arts & Humanities and in the Burnett Honors College at the University of Central Florida Orlando, Florida Spring Term, 2019 Thesis Chair: Margaret Ann Zaho, Ph.D. © 2019 Madison Layne Clyburn ii ABSTRACT The objective of my research is to explore Medici extravagance, power, and wealth through the multifaceted artistic form of tapestries vis-à-vis two particular tapestry cycles; the Acts of the Apostles and the Valois Fêtes. The cycles were commissioned by Pope Leo X (1475- 1521), the first Medici pope, and Catherine de’ Medici (1519-1589), queen, queen regent, and queen mother of France.
    [Show full text]
  • Letters from the Queen of Navarre with an Ample Declaration
    JEANNE D’ALBRET Letters from the Queen of Navarre with an Ample Declaration • Edited and translated by KATHLEEN M. LLEWELLYN, EMILY E. THOMPSON, AND COLETTE H. WINN Iter Academic Press Toronto, Ontario Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies Tempe, Arizona 2016 Iter Academic Press Tel: 416/978–7074 Email: [email protected] Fax: 416/978–1668 Web: www.itergateway.org Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies Tel: 480/965–5900 Email: [email protected] Fax: 480/965–1681 Web: acmrs.org © 2016 Iter, Inc. and the Arizona Board of Regents for Arizona State University. All rights reserved. Printed in Canada. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Jeanne d’Albret, Queen of Navarre, 1528–1572, author. | Llewellyn, Kathleen M., editor and translator. | Thompson, Emily E., editor and translator. | Winn, Colette H., editor and translator. | Jeanne d’Albret, Queen of Navarre, 1528–1572. Ample déclaration. Title: Jeanne d’Albret : letters from the Queen of Navarre with an ample declaration / edited and translated by Kathleen M. Llewellyn, Emily E. Thompson, and Collette H. Winn. Other titles: Correspondence. English. | Ample déclaration. Description: Tempe, Arizona : Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies ; Toronto, Ontario : Iter Academic Press, [2016] | Series: The other voice in early modern Europe ; 43 | Series: Medieval and renaissance texts and studies ; volume 490 | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2015042129 (print) | LCCN 2015047111 (ebook) | ISBN 9780866985451 (pbk. : alk. paper) | ISBN 9780866987172 () Subjects: LCSH: Jeanne d’Albret, Queen of Navarre, 1528–1572.--Correspondence | Queens--France-- Correspondence. | France--Kings and rulers--Correspondence. | France--History--Charles IX, 1560-1574--Sources.
    [Show full text]
  • H-France Review Vol. 13 (July 2013), No. 89 Matthew Vester
    H-France Review Volume 13 (2013) Page 1 H-France Review Vol. 13 (July 2013), No. 89 Matthew Vester, Renaissance Dynasticism and Apanage Politics: Jacques de Savoie-Nemours, 1531-1585. Early Modern Studies 9. Kirksville, Mo.: Truman State University Press, 2012. xiii + 290 pp. Maps, genealogies, figures, notes, bibliography, index. $49.95 U.S. (pb). ISBN 978-1-61248-071-8. Review by Brian Sandberg, Northern Illinois University. Over the past decade, a new history of early modern nobles has emerged. Previous scholarship on European elites in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries had relied heavily on the sociological theories of Norbert Elias and Max Weber to analyze nobles’ patron-client ties, modes of sociability, and roles in state development.[1] During the 1980s and 1990s, historians such as Arlette Jouanna, Jean-Marie Constant, Ellery Schalk, Jonathan Dewald, Sharon Kettering, William Beik, Robert Harding, Mack P. Holt, James Collins, and Kristin Neuschel forged social and cultural interpretations of early modern French nobles that destroyed older caricatures of the frivolous royal court and models of the “nobility in crisis.”[2] Building on this groundbreaking work, a new wave of historians of nobility have now begun to explore French archives with new anthropological and cultural methods to consider dynasticism[3], political culture[4], and noble violence.[5] Matthew Vester’s recent monograph, Renaissance Dynasticism and Apanage Politics: Jacques de Savoie- Nemours, 1531-1585, offers a biographical study of Jacques de Savoie, duc de Nemours (1531-1585), a cadet of the ruling Savoie dynasty who served as a military leader and courtier in France during the Habsburg-Valois Wars and the French Wars of Religion.
    [Show full text]
  • Politics, Profit and Reform
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by University of Essex Research Repository Jnl of Ecclesiastical History, Vol. , No. , October . # Cambridge University Press DOI: .\SX Printed in the United Kingdom The Montmorencys and the Abbey of Sainte TriniteT, Caen: Politics, Profit and Reform by JOAN DAVIES Female religious, especially holders of benefices, made significant contributions to aristocratic family strategy and fortune in early modern France. This study of members of the wider Montmorency family in the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries demonstrates the financial and political benefits derived from female benefice holding. Abbey stewards and surintendants of aristocratic households collaborated in the administration of religious revenues. Montmorency control of Sainte TriniteT, the Abbaye aux Dames, Caen, for over a century was associated with attempts to assert political influence in Normandy. Conflict ostensibly over religious reform could have a political dimension. Yet reform could be pursued vigorously by those originally cloistered for mercenary or political reasons. ecent studies of early modern nuns have emphasised the importance of family strategy in their experience. Dynasticism Rwithin convents and enforced monachisation of women to preserve family inheritances are two aspects of this strategy evident in early modern Italy, particularly Tuscany; in sixteenth-century France, the importance of female networks centred on abbeys has been noted as a significant dimension of aristocratic patronage. Such phenomena were not incompatible with reform in female religious orders which, in the context of early modern France, embraces both the impact of Protestan- " tism and renewal of Catholic devotion. This survey of nuns from the extended Montmorency family in the sixteenth and early seventeenth AMC, L l Archives du Muse! e Conde! Chantilly, series L; AN l Archives nationales; BN, Fr.
    [Show full text]
  • The Missing Miniatures of the Hours of Louis Quarré
    Volume 10, Issue 1 (Winter 2018) The Missing Miniatures of the Hours of Louis Quarré Anne Margreet W. As-Vijvers [email protected] Recommended Citation: Anne Margreet W. As-Vijvers, “The Missing Miniatures of the Hours of Louis Quarré,” Journal of Historians of Netherlandish Art 10:1 (Winter 2018) DOI: 10.5092/jhna.2018.10.1.2 Available at https://jhna.org/articles/missing-miniatures-hours-louis-quarre/ Published by Historians of Netherlandish Art: https://hnanews.org/ Republication Guidelines: https://jhna.org/republication-guidelines/ Notes: This PDF is provided for reference purposes only and may not contain all the functionality or features of the original, online publication. This PDF provides paragraph numbers as well as page numbers for citation purposes. ISSN: 1949-9833 The Missing Miniatures of the Hours of Louis Quarré Anne Margreet W. As-Vijvers Several dispersed miniatures are here identified as belonging to the Hours of Louis Quarré (Oxford, Bodleian Library, Ms Douce 311). The original decorative program of the Quarré Hours is analyzed and the cuttings traced thus far are reintegrated into the manuscript. The Quarré Hours, which was probably produced in two stages, is situated in the oeuvre of the Master of the First Prayer Book of Maximilian. The provenances of the parent manuscript and cuttings are reconstructed in an attempt to determine when the Quarré Hours lost its miniatures. 1 On April 5, 1832, the antiquary and collector Francis Douce (1757–1834) attained a “beautiful horae at Hurd’s sale,” as he described the newest acquisition in his “Collecta” (notebooks).1 The price he paid for the volume, which is currently known as the Hours of Louis Quarré, was the highest that Douce is recorded as having spent on a manuscript.
    [Show full text]
  • Large Print Guide
    The Waddesdon Bequest Funded by The Rothschild Foundation Contents Section 1 5 Section 2 9 Section 3a 13 Section 3b 27 Section 4a 43 Section 4b 61 Section 5a 75 Section 5b 91 Section 6a 101 Section 6b 103 Section 6c 107 Section 6d 113 Section 6e 119 Section 6f 123 Section 6g 129 Section 6h 135 Section 7a 141 Section 7b 145 Section 7c 149 Section 7d 151 Section 7e 153 Section 7f 157 Section 7g 163 Section 7h 169 Section 7i 173 Section 7j 179 Section 8 187 Entrance 8 2 3a 7j 1 7i 7h 3b 6a 7g 4a 6b 7f 6c 7e 6d 7d 4b 6e 7c 5a 6f 7b 6g 7a 6h 5b 4 Section 1 Entrance 8 2 3a 7j 1 7i 7h 3b 6a 7g 4a 6b 7f 6c 7e 6d 7d 4b 6e 7c 5a 6f 7b 6g 7a 6h 5b 5 The Waddesdon Bequest is a collection of outstanding quality generously bequeathed to the British Museum in 1898 by Baron Ferdinand Rothschild MP (1839–1898). It is a family collection, formed by a father and son: Baron Anselm von Rothschild (1803–1874) of Frankfurt and Vienna, and Baron Ferdinand, who became a British citizen in 1860, and a Trustee of the British Museum in 1896. Named after Baron Ferdinand’s Renaissance-style château, Waddesdon Manor in Buckinghamshire, the Bequest is a 19th-century recreation of a princely Kunstkammer or ‘art chamber’ of the Renaissance. The collection demonstrates how, within two generations, the Rothschilds expanded from Frankfurt to become Europe’s leading banking dynasty.
    [Show full text]