Rolin Madonna" and the Late-Medieval Devotional Portrait Author(S): Laura D

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Surrogate Selves: The "Rolin Madonna" and the Late-Medieval Devotional Portrait Author(s): Laura D. Gelfand and Walter S. Gibson Source: Simiolus: Netherlands Quarterly for the History of Art, Vol. 29, No. 3/4 (2002), pp. 119-138 Published by: Stichting voor Nederlandse Kunsthistorische Publicaties Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3780931 . Accessed: 17/09/2014 15:52

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Surrogateselves: the Rolin Madonna and the late-medieval devotionalportrait*

LauraD. Gel/andand Walter S. Gibson

TheMadonna of Chancellor Rolin (fig. i), paintedby Jan vanEyck omitted in thefinal painting, for what reason van Eyckabout I435, has longattracted great interest, we can onlyspeculate.3 Hence, it has been generally notonly for its spellbinding realism and glowingcolor, supposedthat Rolin's pious demeanor, his prayer book, butalso for the chancellor's apparent temerity in having and his audiencewith the Queen of Heaven and her himselfdepicted as prominentlyas the Virginand Child representlittle more than an elaborateeffort at Child,kneeling in their presence unaccompanied by the self-promotiondesigned to counter the negative reputa- usualpatron saint. Indeed, Georg van der Paele, a canon tionhe hadacquired at court.4 ofSt Donationin Bruges,was depicted kneeling before This readingof the picture was advanced long ago by the Virginwith Sts Georgeand Donatianin Janvan JohanHuizinga, who asked rhetorically: "are we to sus- Eyck's paintingOf 1436(fig. 2). Addingto Rolin'ssup- pect the presenceof a hypocriticalnature behind the posed effronteryis his apparentlack of spirituality.A countenanceof the donor of La vierge,Chancellor contemporary,Jacques du Clerque,said of him that he Rolin?"5And later writers have occasionally voiced sim- was "reputedto be one of thewisest men in theking- ilaropinions. Craig Harbison, for example, has suggest- dom,to speak temporally; with respect to the spiritual, I ed thatRolin is shownin theact of confessinghis sins shall remain silent."' The Burgundianchronicler (whoseparticulars are symbolizedby variousdetails in GeorgesChastellain said thathe "alwaysharvested on the painting);however, although "other patrons were earthas thoughearth was to be hisabode for ever."2 For portrayedreceiving priestly forgiveness, Rolin feels modernviewers, the chancellor'sreputation has not powerfulenough to receiveabsolution directly from beenimproved by thediscovery that he originallyhad Christ."6The ChristChild indeed raises his right hand attachedto his belt a fatpurse trimmed with gold, which in benediction,a gesture, as CraigHarbison notes, ren-

* Someof the material in thisstudy was presented by Walter Gibson Deutungund Datierungder Rolin-Madonnades Jan van Eyck," at theSixteenth Century Studies Conference in Cleveland,November Stddeljahrbuch,N.F. I (i967), pp. 73-95, esp. p. 74. 20oo, andin a seminarconducted by John Onians at theUniversity of 3 A goodillustration in Harbison,op. cit.(note 2), p. 109, fig.75. East Angliain April2001. We are indebtedto thestudents and col- For Dhanens,the purse perhaps recalls Rolin's function as moneylen- leaguespresent on theseoccasions for their valuable comments and derto the dukes of Burgundy, and she compares it with the large purse suggestionsand, not least, for their encouragement. We wouldalso like carriedby Dino Rapondiin his sculpted effigy in the Church of Notre- to thankCharity Cannon Willard, Corine Schleif, Gregory T. Clark Dame, Dijon; see E. Dhanens,Hubert and Jan van Eyck,New York andWilliam W. Clarkfor their thoughtful critiques of earlier versions n.d.,p. 279 andfig. 174. John Ward notes that Rolin carries his purse in ofthis article. otherportraits of him; see J.L. Ward,"Disguised symbolism as enac- I The originaltext quoted by H. Pirenne,"Nicolas Rolin," in Bio- tivesymbolism in Van Eyck's paintings," Artibus et Historiae 29 (1994), graphieNationale de Belgique, Brussels I907, p. i9, col. 838,an English pp. 9-53,esp. p. 37. However,he is withoutit in his portraiton the translationinB. Rothstein,"On devotionas socialornament in Jan van BeauneLast Judgment byRogier van der Weyden. Eyck'sVirgin and Child with Chancellor Nicolas Ro/in," Dutch Crossing 4 For recentliterature on thispainting see H. Mundand C. Stroo, 24 (2000), pp. 96-132, esp.p. 107. The mostrecent biography of Rolin EarlyNetherlandish painting (1400-1500): a bibliography(i984-i998), is F. Pridat,Nicolas Rolin, Chancelier de Bourgogne, Dijon i996. Brussels i998, pp. 244-46. 2 Quotedin C. Harbison,Jan van Eyck: the play of realism, London 5 J.Huizinga, The autumn of the middle ages, trans. R.J. Payton and i99i, p. ii8. Chastellainseems to havedisliked Rolin not only for his U. Mammitzsch,Chicago i996, p. 357. worldlygreed but also forhis lowly social origins; see E. Kieser,"Zur 6 Harbison, op. cit. (note 2), pp. ioo-i8.

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iJanvan Eyck, Madonna of Chancellor Rolin. Paris, Mus&e du Louvre

2 Ja va Eyc,Mdonn ofanonGeoge vn drPale,1436 BrgesGroningrnueur

2 Janvan Eyck, Madonna of Canon George van der Paele, 1436. Bruges,Groeningemuseum

deredmore prominently in the final painting; originally piety,"one that"allows Rolin more or less publiclyto thehand had beenin a lowerposition.7 Elizabeth Dha- verifyan intangible-andfor his contemporaries, ques- nenssuggests that while the inscriptions on theVirgin's tionablepiety."9 robe(of which more later) contain honorific words and Noneof these proposals is implausible,and Chancel- phrasesusually applied to her,"it is possiblethat here lor Rolinmay indeed have been a proudand worldly thepower and elevationof Chancellor Rolin is intend- man.Nevertheless, any attempt to discernthe motives ed...,here is a strongimplication that the man kneeling thatled to his commissionof theRolin Madonna must beforethe Virgin has just read these texts and is awareof takeinto account more fully than hitherto the tradition his own importancein the schemeof things."8In a ofdevotional portraiture that developed in thelate mid- wide-ranginganalysis of the painting,Bret Rothstein dle ages.From the fourteenth century on, peoplewho considersit to be "a carefullyorchestrated display of commissionedreligious images increasingly had them-

7 Ibid., pp. I i6, 117, fig.76. 9 Rothstein,op. cit.(note i), quotedon pp. 105and 96 (in theab- 8 Dhanens, op. cit. (note 3), pp. 266-8i, quotationon p. 274. stractpreceding the article), respectively.

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3 Rogiervan der Weyden, Crucifixion altarpiece.Vienna, KunsthistorischesMuseum

selvesdepicted in close proximityto holypersonages waysin which these "surrogate selves" functioned with- andsacred narratives. The prominenceof their portraits in late medievalsystems established to negotiatethe variedfrom what has been called "minimallyintru- perilousroad in the hereafter.We hope to showthat sive,''1?to somethingcloser to Rolin'spanel, in which ratherthan seeing Rolin's portrait exclusively as a mani- thedevotional figure occupied equal pictorial space with festationof his hypocrisyor his vainglory,we might thesacred personages. Such devotionalportraits occur morecorrectly understand it as an activeand engaged in severalforms," I of which two basic types are immedi- surrogateworking efficaciously toward his soul's salva- atelyrelevant to our understanding ofthe Rolin Madon- tion. na. These arethe donor portraits that occur in so many In thecase of altarpiecesand otherworks intended altarpieces,and theowner portraits that were included forpublic view (figs. 3, 4), donorportraits served vari- in booksof hours.'2This essayconsiders some of the ous purposessimultaneously. Several of these functions

io See J. Naughton,"A minimally-intrusivepresence: portraits in I2 Anotherimportant group of devotional portraits occurs in the so- illustrationsfor prayers of the Virgin," in M.M. Manionand Bj. Muir calleddevotional diptychs, treated comprehensively byL.D. Gelfand, (eds.), Medieval textsand images:studies of manuscriptsfrom the middle Fifteenth-centuryNetherlandish devotional portrait diptychs: origins and ages,Chur etc. I999, pp. I I I-26. function(diss.), Case WesternReserve University 1994. The present i i For thedevotional portrait in generalsee B.G. Lane, Thedevel- articlewill, we hope,cast light on theirfunction, but this is a complex opmentof the medieval devotionalfigure (diss.), Universityof Pennsylva- subjectthat must be deferredto another occasion. nia 1970.

4 Rogiervan der Weyden, Last Judgment altarpiece, outer wings. Beaune, H6tel Dieu havebeen studied by a numberof scholars, most notably their"naam ende faam,"to use theold Netherlandish BarbaraLane andTruus van Bueren, but a briefreview expression,'3no less thantheir generosity. In thisre- oftheir conclusions is necessaryfor us to approachthe spect,they resemble the epitaph, which a sixteenth-cen- RolinMadonna in accordancewith the donor'sinten- turyEnglish writer defines as "a memorialto showthe tions.First, donor portraits identify the person, family life,with the acts, of a nobleman."'4 And even when, af- orconfraternity responsible for the altarpiece (and often tera generationor so, thefaithful could no longeriden- forthe chapel or churchin whichit wassituated); such tifythe donors from firsthand knowledge, identification portraitsproclaim their wealth and social position- wasassured through inscriptions, coats of arms, and the

13 For examplesof thisexpression see E. Verwijsand J. Verdam, I 4 "A hundredmerry tales" and other English jestbooks of the fifteenth Middelnederlandschwoordenboek, i i vols., The Hague i885-1941, vOl. and sixteenthcenturies, ed. P.M. Zall, Lincoln (Neb.) i963, p. 336, nr. 4, col. 2i62, art.4; and Woordenboekder Nederlandsche taal, 29 vols., io, fromMerie tales newly imprinted & madeby Master Skelton, Poet The Hague i882-I998, vol. 9, col. I368, section 1,2. Laureat, London I567.

This content downloaded from 146.201.208.22 on Wed, 17 Sep 2014 15:52:43 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 124 LAURA D. GELFAND AND WALTER S. GIBSON like,that had been placed on theframe of the altarpiece duringhis lifetime,20it ultimatelyended up in his oron thewall nearby.'5 church,for which it was probablyintended from the This practiceis unmistakablyevident in thepatron- start,and thusjoined a numberof other donations that ageof Nicolas Rolin.'6 His twobest-known foundations, clearlyidentify the man who gave them, providing a vi- the hospiceat Beaune and the collegiatechurch of sual testamentof his piousgenerosity.' This mayalso Notre-Damedu Chatelin Autun, ensured that the iden- be trueof the elaborate crown that van Eyck suspended titiesand beneficence of Rolin and his wife would not be abovethe Virgin. While the crown was a traditionalat- forgottenby future generations. Not onlydo theirpor- tributeof the Queen ofHeaven,22 Dhanens has plausi- traits,together with their patron saints Sebastian and blysuggested that it also alludesto thegem-encrusted Anthony,'7appear prominently on theouter wings of crownof gold thatRolin gave to theNotre-Dame du Rogiervan der Weyden's LastJudgment triptych (fig. 4), Chaitel,and thatthe angel thus offers the crown on the whichwas placed in thehospice chapel, but their coats partof the donor.23 ofarms and other identifying devices decorate the foun- However,the desire for family glory and posthumous dation'sfloor tiles and otherparts of the building,as famedid notconstitute the only motive for Rolin and well as some of its furnishings.'8Rolin's practiceof hiscontemporaries, nor even the most important one.24 markingdonations in this way is alsofound in his family In a carvedinscription listing his contributionsto his churchat Autun,Notre-Dame du Chatel,which began parishchurch, the EnglishmanJohn Clopton insisted as a smallparish church and, thanks to thechancellor's that"may Christ be mywitness, this is displayednot to donations,became a collegiatechurch of greatlyen- earnpraise but that the soul may be remembered."25As largeddimensions and increasedimportance within the CliveBurgess has wellexpressed it, "properlyshriven city.'9The chapelof St Sebastianin thischurch origi- andpenitent, the Christian might rest assured that he or nallyhoused Jan van Eyck's Madonna with Rolin's por- shecould not be damned.26 Butthe average Christian, traitin prayer.Even if Rolinkept the panelwith him whowas notentirely good but not entirely bad, as me-

15 This pointis madeby Truus van Bueren in, T. vanBueren, ex- or staticplacement." Dhanens, op. cit. (note 3), p. 269, notes thatlocal hib.cat. Levenna de dood:gedenken in de latemiddeleeuwen, Utrecht traditionreports that the picture was given to the church by Rolin's (MuseumCatharijneconvent) & Turnhout i999, p. 9i. widow, and she plausibly suggeststhat Rolin kept it forpersonal use i 6 Fora detailedstudy of the various foundations endowed by Rolin duringhis life,bequeathing it to the churchafter his death. to ensureMasses and prayersafter his deathsee H. Kamp,Memoria 2i B. Maurice-Chabard, "L'Eglise Notre-Dame du Chitel," in ex- undSelbstdarstellung: die Stiftungen des burgundischen Kanzler Rolin, hib. cat. La bonneitoile des Rolin: mncinatet eJflorescenceartistique dans Sigmaringen1993. la Bourgognedu XVe siele, Autun (Musee Rolin) 1994, pp. I9-22. 17 Ibid.p. I50. WhileAnthony was a patronof the hospice, Sebast- 22 But see C. HasenmuellerMcCorkel, "The role of the suspended ianwas personally venerated by Rolin, who, as wewill see, dedicated a crown in Jan van Eyck's Madonna and ChancellorRolin," Art Bulletin chapelto him in the church at Autun. 58 (1976), pp. 5i6-20, who suggeststhat the crown is not the Virgin's I8 For Rogier'saltarpiece and itscommission see S. NelsenBlum, triumphalcrown but the coronavitae, or crown of life,alluding to her EarlyNetherlandish triptychs: a study in patronage, Berkeley & Los An- "meritof salvation." geles i969, pp. 37-48, esp. pp. 44-45, whichdeal withthe armsand de- 23 Dhanens, op. cit. (note 3), pp. 276-77. vicesof Rolin and his wife within the building and its furnishings. The 24 S.K. Cohn, Jr, The cultof remembranceand theBlack Death: six greathall of the hospital also served as thefunerary chapel of the Rolin Renaissancecities in centralItaly, Baltimore& London 1992, acknowl- family,and was theburial site for Guigone de Salins,wife of Nicolas edges that the desire for salvation inspired the founding of family Rolin, see Blum, p. 45. Kamp, op. cit. (note i6), pp. i67-86, discusses chapels and charitablebequests, but stressesfamily and dynasticinter- thehospice and the iconography ofthe triptych. ests as primemotives. I9 One ofthe best sources for a descriptionof Rolin's alterations to 25 E. Duffy,The stripping of the altars: traditionalreligion in England Notre-Damedu Chitel is in H. de Fontenay,"Notre-Dame; eglise c. I400-c. I58o, New Haven & London I992, p. 302. This statement paroisiale et collegiale," Memoiresde la Societi Eduenne8 (I879), pp. occurs at the end of an inscriptionrequesting prayers for the souls of 396-98.See also L.D. Gelfand,"Reading the architecture inJan van Clopton and his family.Duffy notes thatthere are similarinscriptions Eyck'sRolin Madonna," in L.S. Dixon (ed.), In detail:new studies of elsewhere. northernRenaissance art in honorof Walter S. Gibson,Turnhout i998, 26 C. Burgess, "'Longing to be prayedfor': death and commemora- pp- I5-25. tionin an English parishin the latermiddle ages," in B. Gordon and P. 20 Rothstein,op. cit.(note I), p. 121, note6, observesthat the re- Marshall (eds.), Theplace ofthe dead: deathand remembrancein late me- verseof the Rolin Madonna is marbled,"suggesting a rather less fixed dieval and earlymodern Europe, Cambridge 2000, pp. 44-65, esp. p. 49.

This content downloaded from 146.201.208.22 on Wed, 17 Sep 2014 15:52:43 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions Surrogateselves: the Rolin Madonna and the late-medieval devotional portrait I25 dievalwriters put it, faced a stintin Purgatory, a painful or vicarie. Netherlandishtestaments often stipulated placethat had much in commonwith Hell exceptdura- thatMasses be said forthe deceased"ten eeuwigen tion,until their souls were purified of the stain of sin.27 dage,"that is, "to all eternity."30The wealthiestpeople Bythe later middle ages, it was understood that the time mightestablish monasteries devoted primarily to this servedin Purgatorycould be effectivelyshortened by purpose,for "in the soul's salvation nothing suffices like the actionsof the living,chiefly through Masses and theprayers of pious monks," as we learnin thecharter suffrages,or prayersfor the departed by family, friends by whichDuke Philipthe Bold of Burgundyfounded and thefaithful in general.How Massesand prayersal- theCarthusian monastery of Champmol in I385.3' Sim- leviatedthe suffering of the Poor Souls in Purgatoryis ilarly,Nicolas Rolin showed his concernfor amassing vividlydepicted in an altarpiecepainted in Regensburg numerousprayers and Masses throughthe restructur- around1480 (figs.5, 6). The leftpanel shows the activ- ingof liturgical services that was made when the church itiesthat mitigate the sufferings of thePoor Souls,in- ofNotre-Dame du Chatelwas raisedto collegialstatus cludingthe Masses and prayers.On theright, the Poor in 1450. He personallysupplied the funding for ii Souls arecomforted by angels, and in severalcases res- canonsto sayMass everyday, with a fullMass forthe cuedfrom their torments and taken to Heaven. deadperformed every Sunday. Another daily Mass was As forMasses, the altarpiece was oftenpart of a gift tobe saidin thenew chapel of the Virgin after the com- thatendowed one or morepriests to sayMasses for the pletionof the Mass conductedin thechoir. And simul- soul ofthe donor. In England,such endowments were taneouslywith the Mass held at the highaltar of the knownas perpetualchantries, so-called because the church,a dailyMass was to be said at thealtar of the Masseswere sung or chanted, and they were intended to chapelof St Sebastian.32Jan's painting was hung in this be chantedfor the donor in perpetuity.29The establish- chapelso thatRolin kneels in prayer facing the actual al- mentof chantries was a widespreadpractice, and in the tar of the chapel.In the foundingdocuments, Rolin Netherlandsa chantry of this type was called a kapelanie specificallystated that the Masses he orderedwere to be

27 The recentliterature on Purgatory is toovast to summarize here, hib.cat., Martin Luther und die Reformation inDeutschland, Nuremberg buta goodstarting place is theclassic study by J. Le Goff,The birth of (GermanischesNationalmuseum) & Frankfurt i983, pp. 44-45,cat. nr. Purgatory,trans. A. Goldhammer,Chicago 1984. For criticaldiscus- 4'. sionsof Le Goff'sbook see R. Southernin theTimes Literary Supple- 29 On chantriessee P. Binski,Medieval death: ritual and representa- ment,i8 Junei982, pp. 651-52; G.R. Edwards,"Purgatory: birth or tion,Ithaca I996, pp. II5-22. Manystories circulated in themiddle evolution,"_JournalofEcclesiastical History 36 (October1985), pp. 634- agesof the dead returningto complainto theliving (generally family 46; A. Gurevich,"Popular and scholarlymedieval cultural traditions: membersor fellowmonks) that they are still in Purgatorybecause the notesin themargin of Jacques Le Goffs book,"_Journal of Medieval propernumber of Masses had not been said; see J.C.Schmitt, Ghosts in History9 (1983), pp. 71-90. Variousaspects of Purgatory and itsde- themiddle ages: the living and the dead in the middle ages in medieval soci- scriptionsin medieval literature are discussed in S. Greenblatt,Hamlet ety,trans. T. LavenderFagan, Chicago & Londoni998. inPurgatory, Princeton & Oxford200I. The conceptof souls who were 30 For theterms kapelanie and vicarie see vanBueren, op. cit.(note nottoo good but not too bad, and hence capable of achieving salvation I5), p. 25,and p. 37 forthe expression "ten eeuwigen dage." Just what afterpenance, can be tracedback to Augustinein hisCity of God, and donorsexpected in returnfor their generosity can also be seenin the wastaken up bylater writers; see Le Goff,pp. 69, 144, 147, 148. How charterdrawn up byBoudewijn van Zwieten for the convent he estab- Purgatorywas visualized in themiddle ages has been little studied, ex- lishedat Marienpoelnear Leiden in 143I. It stipulatesthe number of ceptfor van Bueren, op. cit.(note 15), and thediscussion by Green- Massesto be said forhim and his family,as wellas theprayers to be blatt,pp. 49-6i. Good examplesof laterPurgatory imagery can be saidby the nuns; see ibid., nr. 9I, pp. 24I-42. found in C. Gottler, Die Kunst des Fegefeuersnach der Reformation: 31 0. Cartellieri,The court of Burgundy,New York I972, p. 29. KirchlicheSchenkungen, Ablass undAlmosen in Antwerpenund Bologna Monksare themost efficacious, the charter continues, because they um16oo, Mainzi996. Gottleris currentlyworking on a comprehensive "forlove of God, of their free will choose poverty and shun all thevan- surveyof Purgatory imagery from the middle ages on. itiesof the world." 28 Suffragesand other elements of the reciprocal system developed 32 Maurice-Chabard,op. cit.(note 2I), pp. 19-20. Rolinmade simi- toaid the souls in Purgatory are concisely discussed in Burgess, op. cit. lararrangements for Masses and prayers on hisbehalf at thehospice at (note26), pp. 48-50,together with further references. For thealtar Beaune;see B.G. Lane, "'Requiemaeternam dona eis': the Beaune wingillustrated here, and the related panel depicting the Damned and LastJudgment and the Mass ofthe Dead," SimiolusI9 (I989), pp. I66- theBlessed, see P.M. Halm,"lkonographische Studien zum Armen- 8o. seelen-Kultus,"Jahrbuch Miinchen 12 (I922), pp. 4-7; K. Locher,ex-

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1 1

5 Regensburg,ca. I480, Suffrages,altar wing, recto. Regensburg, 6 Regensburg,ca. 1480, Soulsin Purgatory, altar wing, verso. Regens- Museumder Stadt Regensburg burg,Museum der Stadt Regensburg said in perpetuity"pro remedioet saluteanime sue," longafter the death of those represented.34 Donor por- thatis, forthe healing and salvationof his soul, and for traitsalso reminded the faithful to includethe departed thesouls of his family and friends.33 in theirprayers. In thisway they functioned much like The presenceof donor portraits, like Rolin's near the tombs,which could include effigies or other representa- altar,thus reminded chantry priests of their obligations tionsand coatsof armsintended not onlyto identify

33 P. Lorenz,"Nouveaux reperes chronologiques pour 'La Vierge sue" inKamp's transcriptions. du chancelierRolin' deJan van Eyck," Revue du Louvreet des Musies de 34 For a discussionof this practice in Englandsee A. McGee Mor- France49 (1992), doc. i. See alsoKamp, op. cit.(note i6), pp. 330-37, ganstern,"The tombas prompterfor the chantry: four examples from doc.6: forthe phrase quoted here see p. 331; fora similarphrase, see p. latemedieval England," in E. Valdezdes Alamo and C. StamatisPren- 325,doc. 4. Our thanksto SamuelEdgerton for reminding us thatin dergast(eds.), Memory and the medieval tomb, Aldershot & Brookfield properLatin, the phrase should end "animrnsuxe," but it is "anime 2000, pp. 81-97.

This content downloaded from 146.201.208.22 on Wed, 17 Sep 2014 15:52:43 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions Surrogateselves: the Rolin Madonna and the late-medieval devotional portrait I27 their occupantsand often their social status and achievementsin life,but also to elicitprayers from the priestand lay faithful alike for the comfort of their souls in death.This wasone of the reasons that the wealthiest and mostimportant patrons strove to havetheir tombs locatedas closeto thehigh altar as possible.The desire forsuch a burialplace and thereasons for it are often statedexplicitly in theinstructions that medieval men andwomen left for their executors. One Frenchecclesi- astic,Cardinal Guillaume de Chanac(d. I384), stipulated thathe wantedhis tomb placed before the altar in the choirof Siena Cathedral,specifying further in his will: r "I wishand orderthat an honorablealabaster tomb be builtfor my remains and... that my statue, my arms, and othernecessary ornaments be placedupon it, so thatmy relativesand friendsand thosewhom I have known, whenpassing by it, will remember me and will take care toimplore the Most High on behalf of my soul."35 Me- dievaltombstones and tomb slabs, even the simplest, al- mostinvariably entreat the viewer to "ora pro nobis,"

35 Quoted in G.A. Johnson,"Activating the effigy:Donatello's PecciTomb in Siena Cathedral,"in Valdezdes Alamoand Prender- gast,op. cit.(note 34), pp. 99-I27, esp.p. I09.

7 JeannedEvreux kneelingin prayer before the Annunciation, ca. 1325-28, fol.i6r in the Hours ofjeanne d'Evreux.New York, The MetropolitanMuseum of Art, The Cloisters

T ! T X 2 , 8 Margaretof Cleves kneeling T ~~~~~~~~~i beforethe Virgin, ca. 1400, fols. 7 19Ad in theHours ofMargaret a; IOv-20r ofCleves. Lisbon, Museu CalousteGulbenkian, Ms. L. A. 148

This content downloaded from 146.201.208.22 on Wed, 17 Sep 2014 15:52:43 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions I28 LAURA D. GELFAND AND WALTER S. GIBSON thatis, to "prayfor us."36 Similarly,the foundation charter,which survives, of the Hotel Dieu atBeaune ex- presslyinstructs those who workedin the hospice,as wellas thepoor who received help, to prayfor the soul ofthe founder.37 In his chapel in Notre-Dame du Chaitel in Autun,Rolin's tomb slab, above whichJan van Eyck'spainting hung, carefully documented his pious donationsand askedviewers to prayfor him and his wife.38As vanBueren has suggested,such inscriptions musthave been thought efficacious, at leastin partbe- causethe viewer in effectrecites the prayer in thevery actof reading it.39 The mannerin whichRolin shares the same space withthe Virgin, without benefit of a saintlyintercessor, findsparallels in manydevotional portraits in booksof hours.Owners of such volumes liked to have themselves depictedkeeling in prayerat one or anotherstrategic place,sometimes before a patronsaint, less frequently beforeChrist or a sceneof sacred narrative.40 Most ownerportraits, however, occur at oneof two places. One of theseis at thebeginning of Matins for the Hours of the Virgin,also known as the Little Office(Officium parvum)of theBlessed Virgin (figs. 7, 8). The textfor Matins opens with the words "Domine, labia mea aperies"-"O Lord, open my lips," and goes on to

9 Bruges,ca. I450, Patronkneeling before the Virgin at the"Obsecro." Baltimore,Walters Art Gallery, Ms. 220, fol.138

36 This pleaoccurs innumerable times, for example, in thesurviv- himself(fol. 127v); seevan Bueren, op. cit.(note I5), cat. nr. 17, p. 146, inginscriptions on the422 gravestonesinventoried inB. vanden Berg, and fig.3. For ownersportrayed with other subjects in booksof hours De PieterskerkinLeiden, Utrecht I992, pp. 59-76. seealso L. FreemanSandler, "The Wiltondiptych and images of devo- 37 Thisdocument is transcribedinT.H. Feder,Rogier van der Wey- tionin illuminatedmanuscripts," in D. Gordon,L. Monnasand C. den and thealtarpiece of the "Last judgement"at Beaune (diss.), Florida Elam(eds.), Theregal image of Richard II andthe Wilton diptych, Lon- StateUniversity 1975, p. 96. don I997, pp. I37-54, 3i8-20. In somebooks, the owner is depictedre- 38 The completeinscription reads: CY GISENT NOBLES PERSONNES peatedlythroughout the volume; two instances are discussedby R.S. MESSIRE\ NICOLAS ROLIN CHEVALIER SEIGNEUR DAUTHUMES\ ET Wieck,"The SavoyHours and its impact onjean, Duc de Berry,"Yale DAME GUIGONNE DE SALINS SA FEMME\ PATRONS DE LEGLISE DE UniversityLibrary Gazette 66, Supplement(i99i), pp. 159-80. Even CAENS ET LESQUELS\ Y ONT FONDE LES SEPT HEURES CANONIAUX\ morelavishly marked is theHours of Marguerite of Angouleime (Paris, MESSES ET AUTRE DIVINS OFFICES ET\ TRESPASSERENT ASSAVOIR BibliothequeNationale de France,MS nouv.acq. lat.83), executed ca. LEDIT MESSIRE\ NICOLAS LE XVIII IOUR DE IANVIER MIL\ QUATRE 1522-24, in whichMarguerite appears in everyillumination, armed CENT SOIXANTE ET UNG ET LADITE DAME GUIGONNE LE.... IOUR DU eachtime with her prayer inscribed on a banderole(and, in oneminia- MOIS DE\ ..... LAN MIL CCCC ET LXX.... PRIES DIEU\ POUR EUX. The ture,importuning even the dying Saint Martin!), for a totalof 22 times. inscriptionis reproduced along with others found in the church of We aregrateful to Myra Orth for letting us readher catalogue entry on Notre-Dame du Chatel in H. de Fontenay, Autun et ses monuments, thismanuscript before its publication.In theHours of Veronikavon Marseille I982, (ed. princ. Autun I889), p. 27. Rolin was buried be- Neidegg,done sometime after I 500, the volumeopens not withan neaththis slab in the chapel of St Sebastian,as hehad wished. ownerportrait, but with a prayerto St Veronica,beginning "Ich Vero- 39 VanBueren, op. cit.(note I5), p. 104. niadein arme creatur" ("I Veronia,your poor creature") and then goes 40 We aregrateful to MargaretGoehring for pointing out some of on toaddress God; seeU.M. Schwob,"Formen der Laienfrommigkeit thevarious places where owners of books of hours had themselves de- imSpatmittelalterlichen Brixen," in P. Dinzelbacherand H.-D. Muck picted.An interestingvariant occurs in the Hoursof Gysbrechtvan (eds.), Volkskulturenin dem europaischenSpatmittelalter, Stuttgart Brederode,where a prayerto St Peteris accompaniedby a sceneof the I987, pp. I59-75, esp. p. i68. ownerkneeling before the gate of Heaven under the patronage of Peter

This content downloaded from 146.201.208.22 on Wed, 17 Sep 2014 15:52:43 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions Surrogateselves: the Rolin Madonna and the late-medieval devotional portrait 129 praiseChrist and the Virgin, interspersed with pleas for an earlyinstance occurs in theHours of jeanne d'Evreux thelatter's intercession with Christ.4' executedabout 1325-28 (fig.7). Veryfrequently, how- Ownerportraits may also appear in conjunctionwith ever,he orshe shares the same space with the Virgin. In the prayer"Obsecro te," or "I beseechthee," placed theselocations, the owner often appears alone at a prie- sometimesbefore an Annunciationscene, but more usu- dieu bearinga book,presumably a bookof hours,and allybefore an imageof theVirgin and Child.It was a frequentlywithout the mediation of a saint(fig. 9). In verypopular prayer, often occurring just before Matins thecase of theHours of Margaret of Cleves(fig. 8), as of theLittle Office (fig. 9).42 The Virginappropriately James Marrow has observed,Margaret's portrait com- illustratesthis prayer, which is addressedto her,prais- binesthese two traditions,suggesting both separation ingher at lengthand concludingwith the plea that"at and conjunction.44The sameis trueof thefirst owner theend of my life [you] show me your face and reveal to portraitin the Hours of Catherine of Cleves (fig. i i). me theday and hourof mydeath. Please hear and re- Suchowner portraits may well have directly inspired ceive thishumble prayer and grantme eternallife." thegeneral figural composition of the Rolin Madonna.45 Sometimesthis is followedby a secondprayer, "O inte- Indeed,the phrases from the text of Matins of the Little merata"("O immaculateVirgin"), which follows much Officeare present in thepainting, embroidered in gold thesame path as the"Obsecro te," and similarly ends in aroundthe hem of the Virgin's robe, and in theopened a plea forher intercession after death.43 In bothMatins bookon thechancellor's prie-dieu, which shows an or- ofthe Little Office and the "Obsecro te," the owner may namentaland highly legible letter "D", thebeginning of be placedin the margin outside the image of the Virgin; "Dominelabia mea aperies."46It is evident,thus, that

4I For theLatin text of Matins and an Englishtranslation see C. J. esp.pp. 34-35- Purtle,The Marian paintings ofJan van Eyck, Princeton i982, pp. I77- 44 J.H. Marrow, As Horas de Margarida de Cleves / The Hours of 79. For the contentsof this text,see R.S. Wieck, Timesanctified: the Margaretof Cleves, Lisbon 1995, pp. 28-29. bookof hours in medievalart and life,New York i988, pp. 159-60; R.S. 45 BothPanofsky and Meiss havenoted the similarity in composi- Wieck, Paintedprayers: the book of hours in medievaland Renaissanceart, tionbetween the Rolin Madonna and a miniaturein a bookof hours New York 1997, pp. 5 I-54, 138-39. fromthe workshop of the Boucicaut Master (Paris, Bibliotheque Na- 42 For some owner portraitsassociated with the "Obsecro te" and tionalde France,lat. I i6i, fol.290), depictinga donatrix presented by the "O intemerata"see Wieck,Paintedprayers, cit. (note 4I), pp. 94-95; an angelto theVirgin and Child enthroned;see E. Panofsky,Early Wieck, op. cit. (note 40), pp. 113-14. This subject will be treatedat Netherlandishpainting: its originsand character,2 vols., Cambridge greaterlength in our studyin progresson the surrogateselves. (Mass.) 1953, vol. I, p. 192, andfig. 78; andM. Meiss,French painting 43 For these prayersand theirimportance in late medieval pietysee in thetime ofj7ean de Berry,3 vols., London & New York i967-74, vol. Wieck, Time,cit. (note 41), pp. 94-96, i63-64; idem, Paintedprayers, 2, p. 72 and figs.204, 493.We arenot informed what text it accompa- cit. (note 41), pp. 86-9o; and Duffy,op. cit. (note 25), pp. 263-65. Cf. nies,but judging from its placement in thevolume it is mostlikely not Chaucer, who in an extendedprayer to the Virgin,asks her "Help that theLittle Office. Even the chancellor's"unfocused gaze," often re- my Fader be not wrothwith me. Spek thou, forI ne dar not him ysee,/ markedupon, finds counterparts inthe devotional portraits in books of So have I doon in erthe,allas the while,/That certes,but ifthou myso- hours.See Naughton,op. cit.(note io), p. II 5, butsimilar contempla- cour bee,/ To stinketerne he wole my gost exile;" see "An ABC," in tivegazes also occur in donor portraits in altarpieces. The RiversideChaucer, ed. F.N. Robinson, Cambridge 1933, lines 52- 46 W.H.J.Weale first recognized the lines of Matins along the hem 56. When the "O intemerata"occurs elsewhere in a book of hours, it ofthe Virgin's dress in Hubert andjohn van Eyck,London i908, p. I 86. may be illustratedwith a scene of the Lamentation. Similar in intentis See also H. Roosen-Runge,Die Rolin-MadonnadesJan van Eyck: Form a prayerin the Hours ofjeanne ofNavarre. The owner is portrayedat undInhalt, Wiesbaden 1972, pp. 26-32. The identificationofthe letter numerous points in the volume; in one tellinginstance she kneels be- D on Rolin'sbook was first suggested by Purtle, op. cit.(note 41), pp. fore the Virgin and Child in "A very special prayerin honor of Our 67-68.Rothstein, op. cit.(note 2), p. 125, note35, observesthat the Lady," whichgoes: "I beg you, 0 Lady, most holyMary, motherof the bookis openedtoward the middle of the volume rather than the begin- Lord Jesus Christ,most full of pity,daughter of the most high king, ning,where the Little Office was usually placed, but that may be artis- most gloriousmother, mother of orphans,consolation of the desolate... ticlicense on vanEyck's part. Also, as Wardobserves, every open book thatyou intercedefor me yourhandmaid, Jeanne of Navarre,queen, in depictedby van Eyck is opennear the center; see Ward,op. cit.(note the sightof your son so that throughhis blessed mercyand your holy 3), p. 49, note6i. BothPurtle, op. cit.(note 45), pp. 69-72, andKamp, intercessionhe will grantme thatbefore the timeof my death I may be op. cit. (note i6), pp. i6o-6i, suggestthat the Matins textinspired var- cleansed of my sins throughconfession and true penitenceand thataf- ious detailsin thepainting, including the landscape. Lorenz, op. cit. terdeath I may have eternallife and restwith his saintsand elect." See (note33), p. 45, doc.4, publishesa papaldispensation granted to Rolin M.M. Manion, "Women, art and devotion: three French fourteenth- in 1434, allowinghim to hearMatins before daybreak, thus circum- centuryroyal prayerbooks," in M.M. Manion and B.J. Muir (eds.), ventingthe canonical rule that forbade the practice. It is likelythat with The art ofthe book: itsplace in medievalworship, Exeter I998, pp. 2I-66, hisbusy schedule, the chancellor needed to sayMatins and hear Mass

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Rolin was particularlydevoted to the Virgin,a circum- have had a particularsignificance in Matins of the Little stanceremarked on by Louis xi when he visitedRolin's Office.For one thing,it maywell have been theone text churchat Autun, and this Marian devotionis reflected in a book of hours thatits ownerread or reciteddaily.53 in the various prayersand Masses Rolin endowed at This may also explain why so many owners had their bothBeaune and Autun.47 portraitsincluded in this location,it was the one seen Roger Wieck tellsus thatif the book of hours "can be most frequently.Further, we suggestthat the surrogate comparedto a Gothic Cathedral,the Hours of the Vir- self often present at the phrase "Domine labia mea gin would be its high altar,placed at the centerof the aperies" was intendedto functionas a perpetual'stand- choir,"48 and its most importanttext, it seems,may well in' for the owner, a surrogatewho "opens his or her have been Matins of the Little Office.49The frequency lips," repeatingan endlessplea to theVirgin and Child. withwhich the owners of books ofhours had themselves The same is mostlikely true of the "Obsecro te," par- portrayedkneeling before the Virgin, whether at Matins ticularlyas it seems to have gainedefficacy through dai- of the Little Officeor at the "Obsecro te," testifies,of ly repetition.54In some printedbooks of hours,at least, course,to theVirgin's traditional role as themajor inter- the "Obsecro te" is prefacedby a rubricthat tells us that cessor between the sinner and Christ at the time of forthose in a state of grace who said the prayerevery death. This is acknowledged in at least one book of day,the Virgin, as we read in an earlysixteenth-century hours, in which the Matins textof the Little Officeis printedEnglish hours, "wyll shewe them her blessyd prefacedby a deathbed scene.50Thus, given the chan- visageand warnethem the daye [and] theowre of dethe, cellor'sspecial devotionto theVirgin, it should occasion [and] in theyrlaste ende theaungelles of God shall yelde no surprisethat he chose her as his only intercessorin theyrsowles to heven."55This is no innovationof an en- the RolinMadonna.5' terprisingpublisher, for similarrubrics appear before The phrase "Domine labia mea aperies" is a formula thisprayer in French manuscripthours of the fifteenth occurringelsewhere in the book of hours,52but it must and early sixteenthcenturies, and might explain why

beforeeight in the morningand such dispensationswere awarded to Beaufort,suggest that both read the Matins sectionof the Hours of the other nobles of the time; see E. van Ottenthal,Regulae cancellariae Virginevery morning; see A. Taylor, "Into his secretchamber: reading apostolical:die pdpstlichenKanzleiregeln von Johannes XXII. bis Nico- and privacyin late medieval England," in J. Raven, H. Small and N. laus V, Innsbrucki888, p. 25i, note 95. For reasons thatare not clear, Tadmor (eds.), The practiceand representationof readingin England, Lorenz connectsthis papal dispensationwith the lines of Matins found Cambridge i996, pp. 41-6i, esp. pp. 46-47. Even the frivolousand in the painting. pleasure-lovingwife of Reynaud de Trie, Admiralof France at the turn 47 See Kamp, op. cit. (note i6), pp. I53-54. of the fifteenthcentury, went everymorning with her ladies-in-wait- 48 Wieck, Time,cit. (note 41), p. 62. ing, each with her book of hours, into a grove where they said their 49 Several Netherlandish paintings,Campin's MWrodeAnnuncia- prayers,and, one assumes, read the Matins textsof the Hours of the tion, Rogier van der Weyden's Annunciationin Paris (Louvre) and Virgin; see G. Diaz de Gamez, El Victorial,the unconquered knight: a Quinten Massys's Moneychangerand hiswife (Paris, Louvre), show vol- chronicleofthe deeds ofDon Pere Nifio,Count of Buelena, trans. J. Evans, umes, presumablybooks of hours, open at pages markedby a promi- London 1928, pp. I34-38. nent "D". It is temptingto suppose thatthey are opened to Matins of 54 It is well known that certain images, including those of St the Little Office,although this must remainspeculation. Christopher,the Holy Face of Christ and the Wound of Christ, if 50 V. Reinburg, Popular prayersin late medievaland Reformation viewed daily,were thoughtto protectone duringthat day fromsudden France (diss.), Princeton University i985, p. 124, and fig. I5; van death or some other evil, or in the case of death, to guaranteedivine Bueren, op. cit. (note I5), cat. nr. 50. protectionfrom the pains of Hell. Less familiarare the variousprayers 5i See Kamp, op. cit. (note i6), p. i63, who also notes thatthe Vir- and other textsthat possessed a similarapotropaic function.One was gin is referredto as the "tresorierde grace" ("the treasurerof grace") in the prayer"Deus propiciusesto," supposedlygiven to St Augustineby a documentof Louis xi dated 1480. the Holy Ghost; see Duffy,op. cit. (note 25), pp. 272, 269-70. Another 52 For the repetition of this formula, sometimes shortened to compriseda group of eight verses fromthe Psalms thatSt Bernard of "Domine labia mea," see F. Gorissen, Das Stundenbuchder Katharina Clairvaux, so it was claimed, had obtained fromthe Devil himself,a von Kleve: Analyse und Kommentar,Berlin I973, pp. 72, 88, 95, 102, storythat often introduced these verses in books of hours; see Thomas io6, i io. More 'sprayerbook: afacsimilereproduction of the annotated pages, ed. L. 53 There is littleinformation on which texts in the book of hours Martz and R. Sylvester,New Haven i969, p. xxvii. were read most frequently,but the accounts of the lives of two particu- 55 Duffy,op. cit. (note 25), p. 262. larly devout women, Cicely, Duchess of York, and Lady Margaret

the "Obsecro te" was so oftenfavored for owner por- demned throughthe centuriesby Christiantheologians, traits.56Another prayer of this type is thePaternoster, or a similarunderstanding, even ifunspoken, underlies the Lord's Prayer.A fourteenth-centurytext, for example, traditionalveneration of relicsand of cult images of the claims thatwhoever wore Christ's name on his person, Virginand saints.6' RobertScribner has aptlydescribed and reciteda Paternosterdaily for God's honor,"would such images: "first,they were believed to be potent,to be treatedkindly by God, who would give him graceon have some kind of sacred power or 'virtue' contained his finaljourney."57 The Paternoster,incidentally, oc- withinthem. Second, theywere participatory, they en- curs in many textsin the book of hours, includingthe teredinto a relationshipwith the viewer,usually in the First Nocturne of Matins in the Hours of the Virgin.58 formof a responseto devotionoffered by a pious devo- In thisconnection, it is significantthat the scrollheld by tee. Third, they could have an indwellingpersonality, Margaret of Cleves (fig. 8) carries part of this prayer: they could manifestthe sacred person they represent- "Our Father,thy kingdom come."59 In view of this im- ed."6' Scholars have begun to appreciatethe basic and portanceattached to the repetitionof prayersand other vitalrole thatsuch beliefshad in medievaldevotion. But religious texts, we must consider the possibilitythat that the faithful,in turn,could communicatewith the Margaret's portrait,and by extensionother devotional divinethrough their own likenesses,and continueto do portraitsin books of hours,were understoodto engage so even afterdeath, is a subject that,to our knowledge, in endless prayer,even when the people theyrepresent- has not been investigatedin depth,although it has been ed were unable to do so. frequentlysuggested in passing.Both BarbaraLane and It is an age-old belieffound in manysocieties that im- Truus van Bueren have proposedthat, by means of their ages of the gods are inhabitedin some mannerby their portraitsand coats ofarms, the deceased werepresent to divine prototypes,who thus interactwith the faithful. receivethe benefitsof Masses, prayersand the power of Although this use of pagan idols was vigorouslycon- relics.62Lucy Sandler Freeman has writtenthat the

56 Reinburg, op. cit. (note 50), p. 124, who observes that some inscribedwith protectiveprayers are common. In Byzantium,people rubrics for this prayer include an indulgence: "Pope Innocent and wore ringswith protectiveprayers; one is inscribed"Theotokos, pro- Pope Boniface grantto all those who say this prayer300 days of par- tect your servantGiora;" see A. van Dijk, "The angelic salutationin don," a promise repeated in a slightlydifferent form in the English earlyByzantine and medieval Annunciationimagery," Art Bulletin8i printedhours cited by Duffy,op. cit. (note 25). In many respects,the (1999), pp. 420-69, esp. p. 429. In 15o6, Willibald Pirckheimer'ssister "Obsecro te" has much in common withthe typeof prayerthat Jeffrey sent him an excerptfrom the Gospel of St John wrapped in a nutshell Hamburger has aptly characterizedas "prayer formulasreiterated so as a charmagainst dangers and demons of all kinds. She apologizes, but oftenthat the words took on the characterof an incantation,"see J.F. begs him not to despise her gift.The document is still preserved.See Hamburger, Nuns as artists:the visual cultureof a medievalconvent, Hamburger,op. cit. (note 56), p. 197. Berkeley,Los Angeles & London I997. A comparableexample appears 58 Purtle,op. cit. (note 41), p. I83. in the Hours of Veronikavon Neidegg,executed about I500, in which 59 For the textsee Marrow, op. cit. (note 44), p. 29. one prayer to "unserlieben frouwen" on fol. ioa promises "we das 6o On this subject in generalsee E. Kris and 0. Kurz, Legend,myth sprichtalle tag mit andacht der wirtvon ir gewertalle gepet was van and magicin theimage ofthe artist: a historicalexperiment, New Haven & ihre y[e] begeret" ("who speaks this prayerevery day with devotion London 1979, pp. 7I-8I; and D. Freedberg, Thepower ofimages: stud- will receive all that is prayed for"); see Schwob, op. cit. (note 40), p. ies in thehistory and theoryof response, Chicago & London i989, pp. 27- i68. Similar assurances of divine assistance, incidentally,were occa- 54. For similarobservations concerning Christian images specifically sionally offeredby the books of hours themselves: some contain a see H. Belting,Likeness and presence:a historyof the image before the era rubricasserting that if the volume is alwaysborne on his or her person, ofart, trans. E. Jephcott,Chicago & London I994, pp. 59, 6i, 68. it will protectthe owner fromdisaster; see P. Saenger, "Books of hours 6i R. Scribner, "Popular piety and modes of visual perception in and the reading habits of the later middle ages," in R. Chartier(ed.), late-medievaland ReformationGermany," Journal of Religious History The cultureof print: power and theuses of print in early modernEurope, 15 (December i989), pp. 448-69, esp. p. 457. Concerning the "in- trans. L.G. Cochrane, Princeton i989, pp. I4I-73, esp. p. 156, with dwellingpersonality" of medieval images, Scribner goes on to say that some examples cited in note i i 8. "there was no notion of a 'spirit' inherentin the matterof the image; 57 Quoted in J.F. Hamburger, The visual and thevisionary: art and rather,it was as thoughthe sacred person could at will inhabitthe im- female spiritualityin late-medievalGermany, New York i998, p. 266. age representinghim or her in the profaneworld." Our thanksto Erin This claim was made by Elsbeth Stagel, a followerof Heinrich Suso, Websterfor this reference. who sewed the name of Christin red silk on a small piece of cloth. She 62 Lane, op. cit. (note II), pp. 21, 25, 34-37; and van Bueren, op. made and distributedmany of these items. In a manuscriptof Suso's cit. (note s5), p. 126, cat. nr. 32, p. i64, cat. nr. 4I, p. 174, cat. nr. 43, p. works, a fourteenth-centuryreader added a marginalnote repeating 176, cat. nr. 44, p. I78. the instructionsand then the Paternosteritself (ibid., p. 268). Objects

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Wiltondiptych served, among other things, to "re-enact ed thatJan van Eyck was employedin this capacityby his[Richard's] own devotion whether he waspresent or Duke Philip the Good.66Furthermore, wills oftenstip- not."63These perceptiveobservations introduce us to a ulated thatafter the testator'sdeath, people be engaged veryimportant function of donorand ownerportraits in his or hername to go as pilgrimsto Santiago de Com- thatparallels the commonuse of surrogatesin other postella,Rome or the Holy Land.67 It was understood typesof pious activity. that,whether living or dead, the person payingfor the Pilgrimages,especially, provided many opportunities substitutereceived the indulgencesnormally dispensed forvicarious journeys and substitute pilgrims. Medieval at pilgrimagesites. Thus, forexample, a bull ofJulius ii writersoften condemned pilgrimages not only for the promulgatedin I 506 forbadewomen to go to the Grand dangersinvolved, especially travel to distantlands, but Chartreuse in Dijon on pilgrimage,but they could also fortheir expense (the money spent on pilgrimages, nonethelessearn the indulgencesoffered there by send- theyargued, was betteremployed for almsgiving) and ing intermediaries.68 the opportunitiesthey afforded for sinful behavior.64 Under certaincircumstances, people could also en- Devoutindividuals, however, could achieve the equiva- gage othersto performtheir penance forthem.69 This lentof a pilgrimageby tracingthe route of a cathedral practiceinforms several exemplary stories of the middle labyrinthon theirknees, or by readingpilgrim guides ages. In one tale, a son does penance forhis mother,in and imaginingthemselves praying at thevarious sacred another,a monk dies before completinghis penance, places.65 Conversely,people could hire others to make but is saved when his brothersfulfill the rest of it.7] pilgrimagesin theirplace. It has recentlybeen suggest- Even the wish to performsome pious act occasionally

63 Sandler,op. cit.(note 40), p. 154. By inference,this would also certainlyhoped for an heir. includethe owner portraits in booksof hours,to whichshe devotes 67 On surrogatepilgrims see J. Sumption,Pilgrimage: an imageof considerablediscussion. Similarly, Corine Schleif also suggeststhat medievalreligion, Totowa I975, pp. 298-99.Nor did thispractice end donorimage portraits in effect "allowed the faithful the unique oppor- withthe middle ages. In I556 FelixPlatter encountered Caspar Fry, a tunityto continue in devotion,striving for divine benevolence even af- professionalpilgrim from the Swiss canton of Zug (whoseinhabitants terdeath!" See C. Schleif,"Hands that appoint, anoint and ally:late werestill Catholic) who had already made I5 roundtrips to Santiago de medievaldonor strategiesfor appropriatingapprobation through Compostellafor people who paid him to take their place; see E. Le Roy painting,"Art History i6 (March 1993), pp. 1-32, esp. p. 2; cf. C. Ladurie,The beggar and theprofessor: a sixteenth-century family saga, Schleif, Donatio et memoria:Stifter, Stiftungen und Motivationenan trans.A. Goldhammer,Chicago & London1997, p. 2I7. Beispielenaus derLorenzkirche in Niirnberg,Munich 1990, p. 235. Con- 68 C. Monget,La Chartreusede Dijon, d'apresles documentsdes versely,Wieck, op. cit.(note 40), p. I72, seesthe repetition of owner archivesde Bourgogne,3 vols.,Montreuil-sur-Mer i898-i905, vol. I, p. portraitsinboth the Savoy Hours,executed in the 1330s, andthe Petites 204. Heuresand TrisBelles Heures of Jean de Berryas examplesof "self-ag- 69 See M. McLaughlin,Consorting with saints: prayerfor the dead in grandizement." earlymedieval France, Ithaca & London1994, pp. 220-22, forvicarious 64 See G. Constable,"Opposition to pilgrimagesin the middle penancefor both the living and thedead, and pp. 22I-22 forpenance ages," in S. Kuttner and A.M. Stickler,Milanges G. Fransen(Studia forthe dead. See alsoA. Gurevich,Medieval popular culture: problems Gratiana, vol. i9), Rome I976, pp. 126-46; W. Williams,Pilgrimage ofbelief and perception, trans. J.M. Bak and P.A. Hollingsworth,Cam- and narrativein theFrench Renaissance: "The undiscoveredcountry ", Ox- bridge& Paris1990, pp. 28-29. Gurevichnotes that in earlypeniten- ford& New York 1998, pp. 94-13 i. As earlyas thefourth century, tials,a sinnercould hire a manto fast for him; the surrogate was called a Gregoryof Nyssa urged against pilgrimages to theHoly Land, arguing justas.See alsoibid., p. 23i, note66: a killerhad to finishhis victim's that"change of place does not effect any drawing nearer unto God, but penance,above and beyond his own penance for homicide. whereverthou mayest be, God willcome to thee, if the chambers of thy 7o F.C. Tubach,Index exemplorum: a handbook of medieval religious soulbe foundof such a sortthat He candwell in thee and walk in thee"; tales,Helsinki i969, nrs.3667 and 3668 respectively. See alsonr. 3666 see Williams,p. 98. fora storyabout a manwho agrees to do partof a longpenance for a 65 See E. Rickert,Chaucer's world, ed. C. Olsonand M. Crow,New monk,but dies before it is completedand is tormentedin theafterlife, York1948, pp. 267-68. notfor his own sins, but for the unfinished penance. Jeffrey Burton re- 66 P. HowellJolly, "Jan van Eyck's Italian pilgrimage: a miraculous portsthe charming old folktale, without giving a source,about a faith- Florentine Annunciationand the Ghent altarpiece," Zeitschriftfur fulwife who agreed to do herhusband's penance in hisstead, but he Kunstgeschichte6i (1998), pp. 369-94, esp. pp. 384-88. In I426Jan was brokethe bargain when he discovered that she was going to Heaven in- paid to makea "certainpilgrimage" for the duke, and Jolly suggests steadof him; see J.R. Burton, A historyof Heaven: the singing silence, thaton this or some other occasion, Jan visited the fresco of the Annun- PrincetonI997, pp. 12-I3. St Bridgetrecounts how she was informed ciationin the Church of SS. Annunziata,to be discussedlater, an image byChrist himself that penance could be performedon behalfof those whosemiracle-working powers included successful conception and whohad died in a stateof grace, see Saint Bride and her book: Birgitta of childbirth.The dukeat this time was negotiating for his third wife, and Sweden'srevelations, trans. J. Bolton Holloway, Newburgport 1992, p. 62.

This content downloaded from 146.201.208.22 on Wed, 17 Sep 2014 15:52:43 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions Surrogateselves: the Rolin Madonna and the late-medieval devotional portrait 133 servedas an efficacioussubstitute for the actual deed. addressesGod in thefirst person: "Out of thedepths The Englishmystic Margery Kempe, for example, tells haveI criedunto thee, 0 Lord. Lord,hear my voice: let us, concerningher rosary, that Christ assured her that thineears be attentiveto thevoice of my supplications" "as manybeads you would wish to say, I willcount them (Psalm l29:I-2; emphasesadded). The nunsin effect as said,"because, as he tellsher elsewhere, "I takeevery actedas hissurrogates.76 goodintention as ifit hadbeen acted upon."7' Margery WhileGertrude and thechancellor employed other mayhave been eccentric, but she was notalone in this personsas theirproxies in prayer,other people em- belief.The fourteenth-centuryboy-cardinal Peter of ployedeffigies of themselves for the same ends. Charles Luxembourg,who died at theage of I7, wantedto per- vi ofFrance, during an illnessin 1389, hada waxbust of ishas a martyrfor the peace of the church. His earliest himselfplaced in the presence of an imageof St Peterof biographersays that this desire had earnedhim a mar- Luxembourg,presumably to entreat his intercession for tyr'scrown, just as ifhe had actuallybeen martyred.72 divine aid.77Better known is the case of Lorenzo Rolin,incidentally, was probably familiar with this sto- de' Medici. Afterhe had been woundedin the Pazzi ry,since Peter was one ofthe saints whom he specially conspiracyof 1478, hisfriends and family had effigies of venerated.73Good intentions,it seems,could pave the him, one garbedin the clotheshe had wornwhen wayto Heaven no lessthan to Hell. wounded,placed in severalchurches to renderto God One couldeven pray by proxy. Surrogates, for exam- thethanks that he couldnot offer in person.One effigy ple,could be hiredto saythe rosary for those who, we wasdispatched to the church of S. Mariadegli Angeli in maysuppose, were too busy to sayit forthemselves-a Assisi;it was believed that whoever visited the shrine in practicecondoned by Marcusvan Weida in his rosary thelower church would receive an indulgencepardon- manualpublished in I5I5 .74 The thirteenth-centurying him or her of all sinscommitted up to thatmoment. nunGertrude of Helfta, not having access to a crucifix As Hugovan der Velden observes, "thus Lorenzo's sub- in a certainpart of theconvent, had someonepray for stitutesgave substanceto the fictionaltruth that he her,requesting a mystical experience that was ultimate- wouldforever abide in thepresence of his holy patrons ly granted.75Similarly, Rolin instructedthe nuns at and worshipthem, and thathe would remainunder Beauneto saythe "De profundis"in hisname; since it theirprotection, safe and sound."78

71 M. Kempe,The book of Margery Kempe, trans. J. Skinner,New 77 Meiss, op. cit. (note 45), vol. I, pt. I, p. 74; see also vol. 3, pt. I, YorkI998, p. 293 (ch. 88) and p. 288 (ch. 86) respectively.Christ also pp. I, 267,for other examples of the practice. Wax seems to have been a grantsMargery's request that he giveMaster Robert, probably her favoritematerial for votives. While these were often in theshape of the confessor,half of her tears, prayers, pilgrimages, and other good works, partof the body healed, they sometimes represented the complete fig- "justas ifhe himself had done these things;" see ibid., p. 43 (ch.8). ure of the person cured; see G. Verhoeven,Devotie en negotie:Delft als 72 R. Kieckhefer,Unquiet souls: fourteenth-century saintsand their bedevaartplaatsin de late middeleeuwen,Amsterdam i992, pp. 142-43. religiousmilieu, Chicago & Londoni984, p. 67. Occasionallythe gift consisted of a quantityof wax weighing as much 73 Kamp,op. cit.(note i6), pp. 15I-52, whonotes that Rolin en- as theperson seeking divine aid; MargaretPaston wrote, probably in doweda sidechapel in the Celestine cloisters at Avignon, the site of Pe- I443, to herhusband John, at thattime lying sick in London,that her ter'sgrave. mother"hat bestyd a-nodyr ymmage of wax of theweytte of you to 74 M. von Weida, Der Spiegel hochloblicherBruderschaft des OyurLady ofWalsyngham," where she plannedto go herselfon pil- RosenkrantzMarie, Leipzig15I5; see A. Winston-Allen,Stories of the grimageto pray for him. It is unclearwhether the "image" represents a rose:the making of the rosary in the middle ages, University Park 1997, p. portrait,however stylized, of John Paston. See N. Davis (ed.), Paston I 3I andnote 94. lettersand papersof the fifteenth century, 2 vols.,Oxford 1971-76, vol. i, 75 The surrogate'sprayer was as follows:"By your wounded heart, p. 2i8. mostloving Lord, pierce her heart with the arrow of your love." See 78 H. vander Velden, "Medici votive images and the scope and lim- Hamburger,op. cit.(note 56), pp. 102-03; seealso pp. I25-27. Another itof likeness," in N. Mannand L. Syson(eds.), The image ofthe individ- exampleoccurs in the I ithtale of the Cent nouvelles nouvelles, in which ual: portraitsin theRenaissance, London i998, pp. i26-36, 221-27; the a man,jealous of his wife, sends a servantto say prayers and make offer- quotation is on p. 133. The account is given in Vasari's lifeof Verroc- ingsin hisplace to cure his jealousy; see Theone hundred new tales (Les chio,who made these wax images; see GiorgioVasari, The lives of the centnouvelles nouvelles), trans. J. Bruskin Diner, New York & London painters,sculptors & architects,trans. A.B. Hinds,4 vols.,London & 1990, p. 455. Toronto1927, vol.2, p. ioi; theoriginal text in GiorgioVasari, Le vite 76 See Kamp,op. cit.(note i6), p. i67. This is one of theSeven de'pid eccellentipittori, scultori ed achitettori,ed. G. Milanesi, 9 vols., PenitentialPsalms. Florence i878-85, vOl.3, pp. 373-75.

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This distributionof life-sizedeffigies of Lorenzoto The use of life-sized, three dimensional and fully variouschurches was notunique, but reflects a custom clothedeffigies suggests that likeness the closestsimi- oflong standing. Some of the churches of Florence were laritybetween the effigyand the person represented- filledwith full-scale portraits of her citizens in wax,ter- was particularlyimportant in the 'substitution'of image racotta,and papier-mache79Many effigieswere con- forbeseecher."83 structedwith a wooden frameworkcovered with a Lorenzo's effigieswere votiveimages, offered chiefly waxedcloth, the head and handsmodeled carefully in in thanksfor help given in the past, but also forfuture waxand paintedin lifelikecolors. Their startling real- benefitsin the case of theimage sentto Assisi. Offerings ismwas oftenenhanced with real hair and, like one of and petitionscould thus involvepleas forthe futureas Lorenzo'simages, sometimes dressed in theirowners' well as thanksfor favors granted in thepast. That surro- clothes.The Churchof SS. Annunziata,in particular, gateselves offertheir mute but urgentprayers on behalf attractedhundreds of these images, given in veneration of those theyrepresent is suggestedby the testamentof of its famousmiraculous fresco of theAnnunciation.8o Andrea Pellegrini,which describesin detail the funer- Nor was thispractice unique to Florence.Wax effigies arymonument that he wantedin the churchof S. Anas- weresent to S. Mariadegli Angeli in Assisi,as we have tasia in Verona,made by Michele dei Firenze ca. 1335- seen;and they were placed by the faithful in theCathe- 36. It includesthe sculptedeffigy of Pellegrinikneeling dralof NotreDame in Paris,and otherchurches and in prayer,facing the altarin his familychapel. Accord- shrinesacross Europe.8' Few ofthese images have sur- ing to his will, "I order thatmy body be buried in the vived,but some idea of their original appearance can be church of S. Anastasia... there where my fatheris gainedfrom the wax figures still preserved in S. Maria buried.... I order that aftermy death... forthree years delleGrazie in Mantua.82Like thedevotional portraits continuouslythe Mass of St Gregoryshall be said for in northernaltarpieces and epitaphs,these surrogate mysoul... I wantto be sculpted...in thischapel... kneel- selvespreserved the physical likeness of their donors for ing [and] praying....I wantthis to be done and complet- latergenerations. But their most important function has ed withinthree years of my death." GeraldineJohnson beenwell expressed by Rupert Shepherd in hisdiscus- remarks,and we thinkcorrectly, that the timesequence sion of anotherfamous cult image, the Madonna delle stipulatedin thewill implies that Pellegrini intended the Careeriin Prato,which also attractedeffigies of the Masses of St Gregory,considered particularly effective faithful:"I wouldpropose that just as miraculousim- in freeingthe soul fromPurgatory, to be said continu- ages seem to have embodiedsomething of the figures ously until his praying effigycould take over, after theyrepresent, so theseeffigies were also believedin whichthe Masses would no longerbe needed.84Hence, some way physicallyto embodythose they depicted. accordingto Johnson, his effigyrepresented "a cost free

79 A. Warburg, "The art of portraitureand the Florentine bour- nephew had wax effigiesplaced at Notre Dame, wherethey still were in geoisie. Dominico Ghirlandaio in Santa Trinita: the portraits of the sixteenthcentury; see von Schlosser,pp. 210-I I. Lorenzo de' Medici and his household," in A. Warburg,The renewalof 82 For two good illustrationsof the interiorof Santa Maria delle pagan antiquity:contributions to thecultural history of theEuropean Re- Grazie see von Schlosser,op. cit. (note 8i), pp. 208-og. naissance,trans. D. Britt,Los Angeles i999, pp. i85-22i, esp. pp. 204- 83 R. Shepherd, "Art and life in Renaissance Italy: a blurringof o8, forsome documentsof the period describingsuch wax figures.See identities?"in M. Rogers (ed.), Fashioningidentities in Renaissanceart, also S.T. Strocchia,Death and ritualin RenaissanceFlorence, Baltimore London, Aldershot& Burlington2000, pp. 63-73, esp. pp. 67-68. For a & London 1992, pp. 46-47. general discussion of such images see H. van der Velden, The donors 8o For a fullaccount of SS. Annunziata,its miraculousimage of the image: GerardLoyet and thevotive portraits of Charlesthe Bold, Turn- Annunciationand the cult that it inspired,see L.M. Bulman, Artistic hout 2000, pp. 191-285. Van der Velden argues (pp. 223-45) that the patronageat SS. Annunziata I440-c.1520 (diss.), London University proximityof the effigyto the miracle-workingimage was more impor- 1971, Pt.Iv, on wax images,pp. 1-40. tant than its verisimilitude,but the attentionso oftenpaid to realistic 8i For a good surveyof the use of wax ex-votossince antiquityseeJ. detail suggeststhat the lattercould be an importantfactor as well. von Schlosser, "Geschichte der Portratbildnereiin Wachs," Jahrbuch 84 Quoted in G.A. Johnson, "Activating the effigy:Donatello's der kunsthistorischenSammlungen des AllerhschstenKaiserhauses 29 Pecci tomb in Siena Cathedral," Art Bulletin77 (1995), pp. 445-59; (19I0-sI), pp. I7I-258, esp. pp. 207-21. F. Lemre,Traie de statues, reprintedin Valdez des Alamo and Prendergast,op. cit. (note 34), pp. Paris i688, p. 57, records that Pope Innocent ix (1227-41) and his 99-127, withthe quotationon pp. I I I-12.

This content downloaded from 146.201.208.22 on Wed, 17 Sep 2014 15:52:43 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions Surrogateselves: the Rolin Madonna and the late-medieval devotional portrait I35 meansof ensuringthat prayers would be said forhis soulin perpetuity."85 It is in thiscontext that we can appreciatethe tomb thatwas orderedin the I430s by Alvarode Luna (d. I453), firstminister under King John ii ofCastile. In- stalledin the familychapel in Toledo Cathedral,the tombincluded the lifesize bronze effigies of Luna and his wife,Juana Pimentel, Countess of Montalbain.Al- thoughit was destroyedin a riotagainst Luna in I44I, we knowfrom a laterdescription that this remarkable monumentfeatured a mechanismthat facilitated the raisingand lowering of the bronze figures into positions of prayerdirected toward the Mass at thehigh altar.86 Hereagain is strongevidence for the belief that kneeling effigiesplaced in significantlocations were understood to functionas surrogateselves, repeatedly in attendance at Mass or prayingfor the men and womenwho had commissionedthem. And what was true of sculpted ef- figieswas surely true of the painted variety, as well,that appearson altarpiecesand epitaphs.This is suggested bythe occasional inscription that has survived on panels showingdevotional figures, such as a Netherlandish panel of about 1455 (fig. io). Here, GeertruiHaeck kneelsbefore St Agnes,and theinscription on theban- derole,"Sancta Agneta, ora pro me"-"St Agnes,pray forme"-asks forher intercession with the Virgin and io DordrechtSchool, ca. I455, GeertrulHaeck kneeling before St Agnes.Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum Christ.87 Sometimes,too, as in theRolin Madonna, the suppli- cantreceives assurance that his or her prayers have been heardand willbe granted.In theHours of Margaret of Cleves,for example, in responseto Margaret'sprayer,

85 Johnson,op. cit.(note 84), p. I 12. The GregorianMasses was a 87 Amsterdam,Rijksmuseum, inv. nr. SK A3926. See van Bueren, Masscycle of 30 days,hence also called Trentals, whose efficacy for the op. cit.(note 15), cat.nr. 93, pp. 243-44, heredated ca. I450-60. Van deadhad been revealed to St Gregoryby an angel;see J. Root Hulbert, Buerensuggests that the panelmay have been done afterGeetrui's "The sourcesof St. Erkenwaldand theTrental of St. Gregory,"Mod- death.She also notesthat images showing donors praying to a patron ernPhilology i6 (i9I8-i9), pp. 149-57; C.M.N. Eire,From Madrid to saintwere relatively rare at thistime, but she cites two church murals Purgatory:the art and craftof dyingin sixteenth-centurySpain, Cam- showingthis subject (ibid., figs. 4, 98). In a mid-fifteenthcentury bridgeI995, p. 225, withfurther references. In Chaucer'sSummoner's FrenchMass ofSt Gregory,the unidentified man kneeling at theleft tale,the summoner tells us that"Trentals... deliveren fro penaunce/ holdsa banderolethat says "Jesu Christe, filii Dei vivi,misere me" Hir freednessoules, as welolde as yonge;"see TheRiverside Chaucer, ("JesusChrist, Son of the livingGod, havemercy on me"). See J. cit.(note 43), p. I I3, lines1724-25 (fragmentIII); quotedin Greenblatt, Dupont,"La Messe de SaintGregoire," Gazette des Beaux-Arts 6e. op. cit. (note 27), p. 267, note 26. per.,6 (November193I), pp. 284-88,who identifiesit as schoolof 86 For a descriptionof this fascinating tomb project and thetomb Amiens, ca. I44o; G. Ring, A centuryof Frenchpainting, 1400-1500, thatwas finally erected see P. Leneghan,"Commemorating a real bas- LondonI949, p. 219, cat.nr. i67 (no ill.),concurs in theattribution, tard:the chapel of Alvaro de Luna,"in Valdez des Alamo and Prender- but dates it "not before1450." There is a colorillustration in C. gast,op. cit.(note 34), pp. 129-30. Jacques[C. Sterling],Lespeintures du moyendge, Paris 1941, p1.CXXXIII.

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l~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

i i Catherineof C/eves kneeling before the Virgin,fol. iv in the Hours of I2 Catherineof Cleves kneeling before the crucified Christ, with God the Catherineof C/eves. New York, Pierpont Morgan Library, Ms. 945 Father,the Virgin and a patronsaint. P. i 6o inthe Hours of Catherine of Cleves.New York, Pierpont Morgan Library, Ms. M. 917

"Our Father,thy kingdom come" (fig.8), the Christ erremember me"). The ChristChild dips a peninto the Childwrites on a scroll,adding hisfiat, or "so be it."88 ink-bottleheld by the Virgin to compose his answer, but The firstowner portrait in the Hoursof Catherineof hisscroll is tooabraded to makeout his response; how- Cleves (fig.ii), executedabout I435, showsCatherine ever,it was mostlikely favorable.89 A ratherdifferent kneelingbefore the Virgin and Child at the beginning of situationoccurs in Catherine'ssecond portrait, placed Matinsof the Little Office. The banderolehovering be- in thiscase at the beginningof the SaturdayVotive foreher is inscribed"O matermemento me" ("O Moth- Mass of theVirgin (fig. I2).9o As we read in theban-

88 See Marrow,op. cit.(note 44), p. 29. Thereare otherillustra- Stuart(Cambridge, Fitzwilliam Museum, MS 62, fol.20), executedca. tionsof the Christ Child writing "fiat" on scrollscontaining formulaic 14i8-20, thesame prayer is inscribedon theowner's banderole, as she prayers,as ifrecording his approval of the petition. See Marrow,op. kneelsbefore the Virgin and Child at the "Obsecro te." The Childdoes cit.,p. 82, note6b; andGorissen, op. cit.(note 52), pp. 252-53. notreply in kind, but grasps the other end of the banderole in a gesture 89 For thewriting Christ Child in generalsee C.P. Parkhurst,Jr, thatsuggests that he is grantingher petition; see Naughton,op. cit. "The Madonnaof thewriting Christ Child," Art Bulletin 23 (194I), (noteio), p. I I3, andpI. 3; a largerill. in J. Harthan, Books of hours and pp. 292-306; J. Squilbeck,"La Viergea l'encrierou a l'enfant theirowners, London 1977, ill. on p. I 14. 6crivant,"Revue Belge 19 (1950), pp. 127-40. In theHours of Isabella go For theSaturday Mass ofthe Virgin, its frequency in booksof

This content downloaded from 146.201.208.22 on Wed, 17 Sep 2014 15:52:43 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions Surrogateselves: the Rolin Madonna and the late-medieval devotional portrait I37 deroles,Catherine's prayer for redemption is relayed fromthe Virginthrough the crucifiedChrist to God himself,who in turnresponds: "Son, yourrequest is heard."9'In somecases, however, the Christ Child sig- nifieshis grantingof thesupplicant's prayer by raising hishand in blessing,such as we see in theillumination precedingMatins of the LittleOffice in the Carew- Poyntz Hours, an Englishmanuscript of ca. I390 (fig. I3).92 Anotherexample is the "Obsecro te" miniaturein theFlemish book of hours of ca. I450 mentionedabove (fig.9).93 Donors receivesimilar divine assurance in hours,and the typesof illustrationsaccompanying it, see B. Lane, "The symbolicCrucifixion in theHours of Catherine of Cleves," Oud Holland87 (1973), pp. 4-26, esp. pp. 6-io. The traditionalassociation of Saturdaywith the Virginhas frequentlybeen noted,but to our knowledgenever really explained. It mayhave originated in thebelief thaton theSabbath (Holy Saturday) after the Crucifixion and burial of Christ,only his mother had faith in his resurrection. See I. Ragusaand R. Green,Meditations on the life of Christ, Princeton i96i, p. 349.This beliefwas repeated in varioustexts inspired by the Meditations. It was alsoon Saturdaythat the Virgin often intervened on behalf of the souls in Purgatory,a subject that we hopeto address in thefuture, although itshould be notedhere that Rolin ordained that the "Salve regina" be sungand other prayers recited on hisbehalf at Notre-Damedu Chitel in Autunon Saturdaysand all feastdays; see Kamp,op. cit.(note i6), p. I54. 9I The inscriptionsare quoted in J. Plummer, The Hours of Cather- ineof Cleves, New YorkI966, p. 96; andLane, op. cit.(note go), p. 4. Thisset of appeals up thechain of command, so tospeak, is a primeex- ampleof the so-called double intercession, a subject frequently depicted fromthe later middle ages on, as BarbaraLane and othershave demonstrated;see Lane,op. cit.,(note go), andJ.B. Knipping, Icono- 13 A ladykneeling before the Virgin and Child, ca. i390, fol.86r in the graphyof the Counter Reformation inthe Netherlands: Heaven on earth, 2 Carew-PoyntzHours. Cambridge, Fitzwilliam Museum, MS 48 vols.,Nieuwkoop 1974, vol. 2, pp. 263-68.An unusualvariant of the doubleintercession, in whichthe Virgin appeals to theMan of Sor- rows,occurs in an earlysixteenth-century portable altarpiece; see A. Monballieu,"Het AntoniusTsgrooten-triptiekje (I507) uitTongerlo vanGoossen Van der Weyden," Jaarboek Antwerpen i967, pp. I3-36. 92 Sandler,op. cit.(note 40), p. 142, fig.8o. 93 Otherinstances of the blessing Christ Child in "Obsecro te" illu- minationsoccur in twoFrench books of hours. The firstwas executed ca. 1420 (Baltimore,Walters Museum of Art,w. 2I9, fol.86v); see L.M.C. Randall,Medieval and Renaissancemanuscripts in the Walters ArtGallery, 3 vols.,Baltimore & LondonI989-93, vol. I, pp. 280-85, cat. nr. i00, describedbut notillustrated; the second dates from ca. 1470 (New York,Pierpont Morgan Library, MS M.73, fol.I3r); ill.in Wieck,Painted prayers, cit. (note 41), p. 88, nr.68. It is in thiscontext ofplea and assurance, perhaps, that we can understand a remarkable il- luminationin theGrandes Heures of Jean of Berry (Paris, Bibliotheque Nationalede France,Ms. lat.9g9, fol.96), in whichBerry, accompaniedby his guardian angel, kneels in an initial below a largerillustration in whichhe and somecompanions are usheredthrough the gates of Paradiseby none other than St Peter.See Meiss,op. cit.(note 45), vol. i, pt. i, pp. 69-7I, fora discussionof this illumination, and the color- platein Pt. 2, fig.23.I

This content downloaded from 146.201.208.22 on Wed, 17 Sep 2014 15:52:43 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 138 panelpaintings as well,94all of which suggests that Rolin been fulfilledall the more effectivelybecause ofJan van wasnot as presumptuousas sometimesthought when he Eyck's almost uncanny ability to recreate the visible had himselfdepicted being blessed by the Christ worldin paint.While earlierdonor portraitsoften seem Child.95Indeed, a prayerin Matinsof the Little Office generalized,bearing, we may assume, only a vague re- entreats,"May theVirgin Mary with her loving child semblance to theirprototypes, it must have seemed to blessus."96 visitorsto Rolin's familychapel that it was not Rolin's effigybut the chancellorhimself, in person,who kneels The aboveobservations hardly exhaust the subjectof in the sacred space depictedin the panel. And when he devotionalportraits and theirseveral functions in the in turngazed upon thisimage, the chancellormust have latemiddle ages, and we plan to address other aspects of taken great comfortin the thoughtthat long afterhis thissubject in thefuture. Nevertheless, we hope to have own body had been consignedto its grave,to await the demonstratedthat while Rolin may well have been con- Resurrection and Judgment,his surrogate self, so cernedwith the "self-fashioning" ofan imageof himself miraculouslyimmune frommortal decay, would con- to be admiredby posterity,he probablyalso had more tinue to praise the Virginand entreather intervention fundamentalmatters in mind.Since the Ro/in Madonna on behalf of his soul, and fromthe Child receive the wasdestined for display in the family chapel of a church promiseof its salvation. to whoserestoration and upkeep the chancellor himself had generouslycontributed, it helpedto remindthe MYERS SCHOOL OF ART priestscelebrating Mass oftheir obligations to him, and UNIVERSITY OF AKRON it reinforcedthe plea inscribedon his tombslab below OHIO forprayers from the faithful in general.His surrogate was also presentat theMass and continuedto prayto CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY theVirgin in hisabsence.97 These functionswould have CLEVELAND, OHIO

94 Amongpanel paintingsin whichthe donoris blessedby the thisprayer can be foundin manycopies of the Little Office made in ChristChild, the Museo Correr(Venice) alone contains the following Flandersin the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. examples:one of the early fifteenth-century Venetian school, a second 97 ThatRolin's portrait had thisfunction has also been suggested, attributedtoPietro Duia (doc.1520-1529), anda thirdattributed to albeittentatively, by Dhanens,op. cit.(note 3). p. 269; and 0. Pacht, MarcoBasaiti, late fifteenth toearly sixteenth century. Van Eyck: die Begrzinderder altniederldndischenMalerei, ed. M. 95 See Harbison,op. cit.(note 2), p. i i 6. Schmidt-Dengler,Munich i989, p. 86. 96 Purtle,op. cit.(note 41), p. 71, andnote 38, where she notes that

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