Renée Stout Born 1958, Junction City, Kansas Root Chart # 1, 2006 Graphite on Tracing Vellum Museum Purchase: Letha Churchill Walker Fund, 2008.0329
+ + Israhel van Meckenem the younger (1440 or 1445–1503) born Meckenheim, Holy Roman Empire (present-day Germany); died Bocholt, Holy Roman Empire (present-day Germany) after Master of the Housebook (circa 1470–1500) The Lovers, late 1400s engraving Gift of the Max Kade Foundation, 1969.0122 In the 15th century, gardens often inspired connotations of courtly love in chivalric medieval romances, poetry, and art. Sometimes referred to as gardens of love or pleasure gardens, these relatively private spaces offered respite from the very public arenas of court. Courtiers would use these gardens to sit, read, play games, roam the walkways, and have discreet meetings. Plants often contributed to the architecture of courtly gardens. Here, the suggestion of a grove sets the tone for the intimate activities of the couple. The smells of flowers and herbs, the colors of blooms and leaves, the sounds of birds, and of the running water of fountains all added to the sensuality of medieval pleasure gardens. + + + + Esaias van Hulsen (circa 1585–1624) born Middelburg, Dutch Republic (present-day Netherlands); died Stuttgart, Duchy of Württemberg (present-day Germany) Console of scrolling foliate forms with flowers and two birds, and a hunter shooting rabbits, circa 1610s engraving Museum purchase: Letha Churchill Walker Memorial Art Fund, 2013.0204 In this engraving van Hulsen carries on the longstanding ornament print tradition of imagining complex, elegant botanical structures. Ornament prints encourage viewers to search through the depicted foliage for partially hidden figures and forms. In this artwork viewers can find insects and birds. Van Hulsen adds a relatively orthodox landscape populated by a rabbit hunter, his dog, and their quarry to this fantastic realm of plants and animals.
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