LLL. Meeting (13), Lille, 25-27 March 2014.

Art médiéval, manuscrits enluminés :
nouvelles recherches et nouvelles méthodes
Séminaire LLL - Lille – 25-27 Mars 2014
Equipe Histoire de l'Art pour l'Europe du Nord (Centre IRHIS – Lille)
Illuminare – Center for the Study of the Illuminated Manuscript (KU Leuven)
The Research Center for Illuminated Manuscripts (Courtauld Institute of Art, London)
Tuesday 25 March, Université de Lille 3 – Maison de la Recherche
(open to all participants)
13h00, Introduction, Christian Heck
13h30-13h50, Olga Karaskova (Lille), Le projet BnF « Manuscrits d’origine germanique »,
quelques témoins peu connus
13h50-14h10, Jeroen Reyniers (Leuven), The Relic Shrine of Saint Odilia (1292).
Iconographical Study of the Oldest Dated Panel Paintings in the Netherlands
14h10-14h30, Emma Capron (London), The Pérussis Altarpiece: The Politics of Patronage in
Fifteenth-Century Avignon
14h30-15h00, discussion
15h00-15h30, pause
15h30-15h50, Christine Gille (Lille), The picture of Apostle Peter crossed head downwards:
an upside down body sign of humility in the 13th century
15h50-16h10, Marina Musurok (Leuven), Imaginary Cartographies: Imaginary Places on the
Medieval Mappae Mundi as an Object for Travel
16h10-16h30, Rosamund Garrett (London), The Life of Christ and the Virgin Tapestry :
Material Consequences of Theft
16h30-17h00, discussion
17h00-17h30, pause
18h00-18h20, Illuminare : new website and new documentation
Wednesday 26 March, Visit to Louvre-Lens and Arras
(strictly reserved, upon pre-inscriptions)
9h00, departure of the bus : Villeneuve d’Ascq, VAL station Pont de Bois
(from Lille Flandres railway station in the center of Lille : the VAL departure is underground,
take the direction 4 Cantons, and stop at the station Pont de Bois; about 25 minutes)
10h00, Musée du Louvre-Lens, visit with Xavier Dectot, Director
11h00, free visit for the second part of the morning
Lunch in Lens
14h30, Arras, Bibliothèque municipale : illuminated manuscripts
Back to Lille at about 19h00
Thursday 27 March, Université de Lille 3 – Maison de la Recherche
(open to all participants)
9h00-9h20, Alicia Servier (Lille), La folie du héros dans les images enluminées du Lancelot
du Lac (XIIIème-XVème siècle)
9h20-9h40, Georg Geml (Leuven), Presence and Likeness: The Johannesschüssel and the
Vera Icon
9h40-10h00, Harriette Peel (London), Commemorating a young girl in 1460s Bruges
10h00-10h30, discussion
10h30-11h00, pause
11h00-11h20, Dr. Anne-Marie Barbier (Lille), La tradition iconographique de l’Epistre
Othea dans les manuscrits Erlangen, UB, 2361 et Bruxelles, BR, 9392 : des images et un texte
au service du prince ?
11h20-11h40, Sophia Rochmes (Leuven), From "blanc et noir" to grisaille: color terms in
theory and practice
11h40-12h00, Dr. Nicholas Herman (London), Bourdichon Héraldiste
12h00-12h30, discussion
Free Lunch (Cafeteria in University)
14h00-14h20, Jeroen Luyckx (Leuven), The Sixteenth-century Portraits of European
Monarchs, Printed by Hans Liefrinck
14h20-14h40, Anna Koopstra (London), A note on the materials and technique of Jean
Bellegambe's Le Cellier altarpiece
14h40-15h00, Robrecht Janssen (Leuven), Dominicus Lampsonius, Anthonis Mor & Jan van
Scorel
15h00-15h30, discussion
15h30-16h00, pause
16h00-16h20, Ann Adams (London), The tomb of Louis de Gruuthuse, Bruges, and the
influence of Edward IV, King of England
16h20-16h40, Juliette Bouchot (Lille), Jean Crocq et Mansuy Gauvain, sculpteurs de la cour
ducale de Bar et de Lorraine
16h40, discussion
17h00, Final remarks
Art médiéval, manuscrits enluminés :
nouvelles recherches et nouvelles méthodes
Séminaire LLL - Lille – 25-27 Mars 2014
Summaries of the papers
Ann Adams (London), The tomb of Louis de Gruuthuse, Bruges, and the influence of Edward
IV, King of England
The tomb of Louis de Gruuthuse, formerly in the Church of Our Lady, Bruges, is no
longer extant and is known to us through drawings and descriptions. The tomb was unusual in
a number of respects: brasses were plentiful in Bruges churches but bronze effigies were not
and this preceded the more celebrated tomb of Mary of Burgundy; it may have been a transi
tomb, with its metal grille concealing a cadaver image; whilst shield-bearing lions are an
unusual motif. The tomb’s location was prestigious, being on the north side of the choir, and
was visible from the Gruuthuse oratory which connected the Gruuthuse residence with the
Church of Our Lady.
Louis de Gruuthuse, knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece, sheltered Edward IV
during his period of exile in 1470/71. In 1472, when Louis de Gruuthuse visited England,
Edward IV made him Earl of Winchester and granted him the right to bear a coat-of-arms
with a canton of the leopards of England. During that visit, Louis visited Windsor Castle,
Westminster Abbey and, probably, Canterbury Cathedral, sites of both shrines and royal
tombs. Louis made his will in 1474 and specified ‘a precious tomb in brass and polished stone
after a model made for that purpose by craftsmen…’ This paper will suggest that Louis de
Gruuthuse’s tomb was another example of the cultural interchange between England and
Burgundy and, specifically, of the personal relationship between Edward IV and Louis de
Gruuthuse, that has been explored previously in terms of books, tapestries and oratories.
Anne-Marie Barbier (Lille), La tradition iconographique de l’Epistre Othea dans les
manuscrits Erlangen, UB, 2361 et Bruxelles, BR, 9392 : des images et un texte au service du
prince ?
La tradition iconographique de l'Epistre Othea se fonde sur un programme, élaboré de
façon progressive par Christine de Pizan, en collaboration avec ses enlumineurs, au cours des
deux premières décennies du XVe siècle. La plupart des manuscrits enluminés de la seconde
moitié de ce siècle et les incunables Pigouchet perpétuent cette tradition visuelle.
Néanmoins, les cycles d'illustrations de deux manuscrits inscrits dans l'inventaire de la
bibliothèque de Philippe le Bon s'éloignent du programme initial. Réalisée vers 1455 par
Guillaume Vrelant, l'illustration du manuscrit Erlangen, UB, 2361, qui renferme le texte
composé par Christine, rompt ponctuellement avec plusieurs représentations traditionnelles,
tandis qu'elle comporte de nombreuses innovations. Ainsi, les enluminures relatives à la
guerre de Troie présentent de nouveaux sujets, certains d'entre eux étant indépendants du
texte. Repris dans le manuscrit Bruxelles, BR, 9392, commandé par Philippe le Bon et
enluminé par Loyset Liédet quinze ans plus tard, ce nouveau programme iconographique
s'appuie sur le remaniement du texte de l'Epistre Othea, effectué par Jean Miélot.
Les dix-sept manuscrits de l'histoire de Troie recensés dans la bibliothèque de Philippe
le Bon témoignent de la vivacité de l'intérêt que le prince lui a porté. Il semble donc légitime
de s'interroger sur le sens des ruptures iconographiques observées dans les représentations de
la guerre ayant opposé les Grecs et les Troyens de l'Antiquité, dans ces deux manuscrits de
l'Epistre Othea. Plus généralement, cette recherche s’intéresse aux innovations
iconographiques présentes dans l'ensemble de ces deux cycles d'illustrations.
Dans ces deux manuscrits, les modifications apportées à des représentations
traditionnelles semblent liées au contexte culturel et politique. D’autres enluminures
paraissent exprimer de façon manifeste la conception du pouvoir politique qui était celle de
Philippe le Bon. Une fonction identique peut être attribuée aux innovations iconographiques
caractérisant les enluminures qui relatent la guerre de Troie. Ainsi, les ruptures
iconographiques observées dans ces deux cycles d'illustrations peuvent s’expliquer
simplement comme un reflet passif des idées politiques émanant de la cour de Bourgogne, à
l’époque où ces manuscrits ont été enluminés.
Cependant, l'intérêt porté par le prince au mythe troyen invite à se demander si
l’ensemble de ces innovations n'exprime pas plutôt des choix, des intentions du destinataire
des manuscrits. Ne sont-elles pas un moyen d'action politique au service du duc de
Bourgogne ? L’analyse des suggestions visuelles créées par les images représentant de
nouveaux sujets dans le manuscrit d’Erlangen et des liens entre ce type d’images et les ajouts
opérés par Jean Miélot dans le manuscrit de Bruxelles nous permettra de déterminer si ces
innovations iconographiques sont susceptibles d’indiquer un choix délibéré effectué par le
destinataire. S’il en est ainsi, le cycle d’illustrations initial d’inspiration humaniste, transmis
par la tradition, a fait l’objet, dans ces deux manuscrits, d’un détournement en vue de fins
politiques.
•
Juliette Bouchot (Lille), Jean Crocq et Mansuy Gauvain, imagiers à la cour ducale de Bar et
de Lorraine
À la fin du XVe et au début du XVIe siècle, René II (1473-1508), petit fils de René
d’Anjou, se trouve à la tête des duchés de Bar et de Lorraine. La politique de mécénat
artistique de René II se situe dans le prolongement direct de celle menée par son aïeul : elle
est déjà manifeste dès après la bataille de Nancy (1477), qui oppose le duc de Lorraine à
Charles le Téméraire. La reconstruction du Palais Ducal de Nancy, suite à cette guerre, est
l'occasion pour le duc de Bar et de Lorraine de s'entourer d'artistes locaux, ou au contraire
issus d'horizons variés.
Nous proposons d'aborder en particulier le cas de deux sculpteurs ou tailleur d’images
au service de René II : Jean Crocq (actif de 1480 à 1511 ?) et Mansuy Gauvain (actif de 1511
à 1542 ?). Le premier est originaire des alentours d’Anvers, le second est probablement issu
du duché de Lorraine. L'étude de la comptabilité ducale fournit un certain nombre de détails
relatifs à la vie privée ou à la solde de ces artistes, malheureusement elle ne fournit que peu
d'indications sur leurs œuvres respectives. C'est par un recoupement des mentions d'archives
et d'une analyse stylistique des œuvres que nous pouvons envisager certaines attributions à
une personnalité artistique ou à un atelier. Cet exposé permet de mettre en lumière la
personnalité de l’imagier au service d’un mécène, en Lorraine à la fin du Moyen Age et au
début de la Renaissance.
•
Emma Capron (London), The Pérussis Altarpiece: The Politics of Patronage in FifteenthCentury Avignon
In 1480, Louis Pérussis or Peruzzi, a successful Avignon banker of Florentine descent,
commissioned a local artist to paint two large altarpieces of the Adoration of the True Cross
to be displayed in two of the city’s most important churches. One of these works, known as
the Pérussis Altarpiece, is now part of the Metropolitan Museum’s collection in New York.
The other, now lost, is known through an eighteenth-century drawing and a written
description. Both paintings include a likeness of Louis kneeling in front of the holy cross, and
set against a panoramic landscape. Indistinct in the later drawing after the lost work, the
scenery in the surviving Met panel is decidedly recognisable as Avignon, and more precisely
as the border area between the kingdom of France and the papal city.
While the spiritual concerns at work in these retables have been well covered and
convincingly associated with the Pérussis family cult, the social and political motivations
behind such a grand act of patronage have not been thoroughly investigated. This paper
attempts to tackle these more worldly motives by grounding the paintings in their specific
historical context: the years 1479-1481 were a time of turmoil for the Pérussis, as the
Florentine community in Avignon was hit by the far-reaching consequences of the Pazzi
conspiracy. The Pérussis double commission may thus have been triggered by and envisaged
as a public response to these events.
This contextualisation, combined a look at territorial history, will allow to better one’s
understanding of the imagery deployed in these panels. Notably, the specific placement of
the patrons in this ‘politicized’ landscape was certainly a way to publicly reassert their
identity and loyalty as proud Avignon citizens, while also claiming their bond to French king
Louis XI, whose support to the Florentines was key during these difficult times. This study
ultimately intends to approach the ways in which the numerous Italians migrants who settled
in fifteenth-century Avignon manipulated and advertised their shifting identity through the
imagery, style, and original location of the art they commissioned.
Rosamund Garrett (London), The Life of Christ and the Virgin Tapestry: Material
Consequences of Theft
The Life of Christ and the Virgin tapestry once hung in one of the primary sacred
spaces in England, the choir of Christ Church Cathedral in Canterbury; a monastic cathedral
with a community of nearly ninety Benedictine monks and the seat of the head of the church
in England, the Archbishop of Canterbury. Despite originally thought to have belonged to
Saint Paul’s cathedral in London, the tapestry was commissioned in 1511 by Prior Thomas
Goldstone II and the Cellarer Richard Dering, monks of Christ Church Cathedral Priory, at a
time when King Henry VIII had recently ascended the throne and Christ Church was
benefitting from a time of stability and prosperity. Despite the thriving tradition of churches
owning choir tapestries at this time on the continent, the same could not be said in England.
Though we know of a small number of cases where English churches and priories possessed
tapestries for ornamenting the choir, the Life of Christ and the Virgin tapestry was certainly
the highest quality and most costly example, and would have been the most splendid and
significant cycle of tapestry designed for use in a ecclesiastical setting in early sixteenth
century England.
However this set of six hangings has had a turbulent past. Having survived both the
Reformation and the dissolution of the monasteries by King Henry VIII, the tapestry was
plundered during the English Civil War by Parliamentary troops in the 1640s, never to return
to the cathedral for which it was commissioned. Later purchased in 1656 by the cathédrale
Saint-Sauveur in Aix-en-Provence, the tapestries were stolen a further twice more; once in the
1790s during the instability of the French Revolution, and, more recently, two of the eight
hangings were stolen in 1978 after their exhibition in the Musée des Tapisseries in Aix-enProvence. These two hangings remain missing. Their complex provenance has had material
consequences, both in terms of the fabric of the hangings and in terms of the resulting
research challenges. This paper considers the physical evidence of the hangings in relation to
their tumultuous provenance, examining the way in which the incidents of theft, iconoclasm
and changes in ownership have made various physical impacts. It explores the manner in
which these interventions can distort our perception of how the hangings may have been
originally conceived, and how these physical impacts may lead to implications and obstacles
in current research.
Georg Geml (Leuven), Presence and Likeness: The Johannesschüssel and the Vera Icon
The relationship between John the Baptist and Jesus Christ is already emphasized in
the Gospels, with John being related to Jesus by blood, as his cousin, and also by character, as
his forerunner and precursor. From time to time, this relationship was emphasized in visual
arts, especially to be seen in the images called Johannesschüssel.
The Johannesschüssel or Caput Johannis in Disco is a type of sculpture that emerged at the
beginning of the 13th century in the German speaking area, was manufactured in big numbers
until the 20th century and can be found in wide parts of Europe. It shows the severed head of
John the Baptist on a dish, the trophy the daughter of Herodias received as a reward for her
dance at the birthday party of her stepfather, the tetrarch Herod Antipas.
The kinship between John and Jesus has often been used for the Johannesschüssel, mostly
based on the description of Jesus Christ in the so-called Lentulus letter. But especially some
of the early examples seem to have been modelled after the sancta facies, receiving the
Byzantine icon of Christ. The similarity goes even so far that these early Johannesschüsseln
look like a transformation of the two-dimensional image of the vera icon into a threedimensional sculpture, implicating the transformation of the image not made by hand into a
sculpture made by man – that, on the other hand, tries to veil this instance by imitating reality.
Christine Gille (Lille), The picture of Apostle Peter crossed head downwards: an upside
down body sign of humility in the 13th century
Two main events have impacted the spirituality of the 13th century, the emergence of
the body issue, and the Franciscan concept of humility. Among works of art showing
interaction of images of bodies with the notion of humility, the picture of the upside down
juggler is relevant to the reversal of the perception of the signal produced by such a figure in
the 13th century. Many scholars have put David dancing before the Ark of the Covenant
source theme. As yet, David upside down before the Ark of the Covenant is a textual trope, or
even a mystical theme. It’s not an iconographic theme. My purpose is to debate whether to
regard the age-old picture of Apostle Peter crossed head downwards as an iconographic
source of the picture of the upside down juggler in the 13th century. According to Sauvel,
Gothic pictures of the martyrdom of Apostle Peter have no interest, compared to Romanesque
ones. Taking up Sauvel’s classification of the crucifixion of saint Peter into three
iconographic types, we have put that many Gothic illuminations fit to the specifications of the
third scheme, based on symmetry, on the colobium and on the motif of the rope. The picture
of the body of saint Peter crossed upside down has indeed gained in abstraction to express
humility in the 13th century and should be considered as an iconographic source of the upside
down juggler image.
Nicholas Herman (London), Bourdichon héraldiste
The painting of banners, shields, parade armour, and ephemeral decorations by court
artists has frequently been dismissed as a burden imposed by court patrons. But the discovery
of several unpublished documents concerning Jean Bourdichon’s activities in this regard helps
shed light on the practice, demonstrating its central importance to the projection of visual
power during the reigns of Charles VIII and Louis XII. Likewise, the attribution of a group of
hitherto unknown royal heraldic compositions by the artist gives a glimpse of an otherwise
lost genre. While at odds with modern hierarchies privileging conventional painting and
sculpture over other, ‘minor’ arts, the production of ceremonial regalia can be seen as an
essential and prized facet of the court artist’s day-to-day versatility.
Robrecht Janssen (Leuven), Dominicus Lampsonius, Anthonis Mor & Jan van Scorel
In 1559, Anthonis Mor (1517-1577) painted a signed tondo portrait of his former master Jan
van Scorel (1492-1562). Mor produced the portrait, now in the collection of the Society of
Antiquaries in London, for Van Scorel’s funerary monument in the Mariakerk in Utrecht.
Contrary to the portrait, the monument did not survive in its entirety, but a detailed account
can be found in the writings of Arnoldus Buchelius (1565-1641) and Karel van Mander
(1548-1606). Unknown up to now is the involvement of Dominicus Lampsonius (1532-1599)
in the erection of this monument. After the death of Van Scorel he wrote an epitaph which
was to be found beneath the portrait and has been preserved in an unpublished manuscript. In
my lecture, attention will be given to the original placement of this epitaph and the
information it reveals on the relation of Mor and Van Scorel on the one hand, and Lampsonius
and Mor on the other.
Olga Karaskova (Lille), Le projet BnF « Manuscrits d’origine germanique », quelques
témoins peu connus
Le programme de catalogage des manuscrits germaniques conservés au département
des manuscrits de la Bibliothèque nationale de France concerne 180 oeuvres réalisées entre le
XVe et le XVIIIe siècle sur un territoire couvrant l'Allemagne, l'Autriche, la Bohême et la
Suisse. L'ensemble se distingue par son extrême variété, intéressant les domaines de recherche
les plus divers : chroniques, recueils de costumes, traités d'astrologie, d'alchimie, d'art
militaire, recueils de chartes ou recettes de médecines, vies de saints, livres de dévotion...
Lors de ma communication, j'en présenterai quelques exemples les plus intéressants, histoire
de faire une première introduction à cette riche collection presque méconnue aux chercheurs.
Anna Koopstra (London), A note on the materials and technique of Jean Bellegambe's Le
Cellier altarpiece
The Le Cellier altarpiece (The Metropolitan Museum of Art) can be firmly attributed
to the South-Netherlandish/French artist Jean Bellegambe (c. 1470-1535/36). It was probably
commissioned by Jeanne de Boubais, who between 1507 and 1533 was abbess of the
distinguished Cistercian female convent of Flines, which was located close to Douai, the
artist’s home town. Its unusual, rich iconographic program and high quality of painterly
execution testify to Bellegambe’s skill and originality. In this short paper, I will focus on one
particular aspect of the painting: its making, and the materials and techniques involved. In
addition to providing further insight into the artist’s approach, I will also consider this within
the context of the surviving documentary evidence for the convent’s artistic patronage.
Jeroen Luyckx (Leuven), The Sixteenth-century Portraits of European Monarchs, Printed by
Hans Liefrinck
In the mid 16th century, the Antwerp-based publisher and print maker Hans I
Liefrinck (1518-1573) published a series of woodcuts depicting the major European monarchs
of the time. These woodcuts are a crucial part of the fund of Hans Liefrinck, as they are
mentioned in an application for an exclusivity privilege to the Holy Roman Emperor Charles
V (1500-1558) in 1543, in which Liefrinck complains about lesser copies being sold on the
market. In this paper I would like to focus on the iconography and target market of these
prints, evaluate how they relate to similar prints by Sylvester van Parijs (active ca. 1542), and
reflect on the provenance of the preserved prints of this series.
Marina Musurok (Leuven), Imaginary Cartographies: Imaginary Places on the Medieval
Mappae Mundi as an Object for Travel
The paper will examine the images of India, Troy and Babylon, Paradise, Jerusalem,
Jericho and Sodom on the medieval mappae mundi. In my presentation I will explore the
visual representations of travels using the medieval maps of the world, the illuminations in
manuscripts and the illuminating maps. I will try to explain why people were so strongly
drawn to legendary places in the Middle Ages and what factors drove the travelers and the
illuminators to dream up imaginary countries [Bruner 1991]. I assume that the
abovementioned legendary lands on the medieval maps embodied the idea of utopian and
ideal places, which was relevant for European culture throughout centuries. These cities and
regions on the maps, on equal terms with El Dorado, Atlantis and the Land of Cockaigne,
were thought to be a paradise on the earth [Eco, 2013:11-37]. My concern is to analyze the
topography of the fantastic places due to their close connection with the imaginary cities’
discourse.
As the object of a journey, these cities existed between an irretrievable past and an
indefinite future. Being concentrated in the upper part of the map of the world, all these cities
are found in such proximity to each other that they appear to form the imaginary cities’ locus.
The maps embodied the features of imaginary places having the connotation of the
miraculous. These cities lay at the crossroads of the classical and biblical traditions and,
therefore, played an important role in legends, novels and itineraries. It follows from such
medieval travel accounts as ‘The Travels of Sir John Mandeville’ [Mandeville 2006] and
afterwards ‘The travels of Marco Polo’ [Polo 1959] that mirabilis (the miraculous) was
concentrated in the East [Le Goff 1985].
Some of these cities and places, for example, Troy, Babylon and Paradise were never
seen, visited or existed, while the others, including such real cities as Jerusalem and Jericho,
contained the features of imaginary places. Troy was the greatest city of antiquity the majority
of European kings traced their origin to. Some maps with Troy were illuminated, being
included in the chronicles and different kinds of manuscripts. Known as New Cairo in the
Middle Ages, Babylon with its Tower was shown on the maps and in the itineraries. Paradise,
Jerusalem, Sodom and Jericho formed the area associated with numerous biblical allusions.
What was relationship between these places and the reality? It turned out that no matter how
far away, both India and Jerusalem could be reached by travelers. Thus, it created the illusion
that if one knew in which direction to sail, the traveler might be able to make a journey to
Troy and the Earthly Paradise, since those locations were found on the mappae mundi, even
though near the border of the inhabited world. Thus, The paper will emphasize the role of the
miraculous places on the ‘mental map’ of Europe in the Middle Ages.
References
Sources
1)
Mandeville, J. 2006. The travels of Sir John Mandeville: the fantastic 14th century
account of a journey to the East. Mineola, NY: Dover Publications.
2)
Polo, M. 1959. The travels of Marco Polo. Harmondsworth: Penguin.
Bibliography
3) Adams, P. G. 1988. Travel Literature Through the Ages. New York: Garland.
Bruner, J. 1991. The Narrative Construction of Reality // Critical Inquiry. Vol. 18, №
1. P. 1-21.
5) Eco U. 2013. De geschiedenis van imaginaire landen en plaatsen. Trans. by Boeke Y.,
Krone P. Amsterdam: Prometheus, Bert Bakker.
6) Harley, J. B. 1989. Deconstructing the Map // Cartographica. Vol. 26, P. 1-20.
4)
7)
Le Goff, J. 1985. Le merveilleux dans l'Occident médiéval // L’image de la ville dans
la littérature. Paris: Gallimard. P. 17-37.
8)
Manguel Al., Guadalupi G. 1999. The Dictionary of Imaginary Places is: The Newly
Updated and Expanded Classic. San Diego: Harcourt.
9)
Shepard, A., Powell St. D. (Ed. by) 2004. Fantasies of Troy: Classical Tales and the
Social Imaginary in Medieval and Early Modern Europe. Toronto: Centre for
Reformation and Renaissance Studies.
Harriette Peel (London), Commemorating a young girl in 1460s Bruges
The brass epitaph of Caterina d’Ault in St James’, Bruges, is an unusual surviving
example of fifteenth-century Flemish commemorative brass-work. Caterina died young in
1461 and her memorial was commissioned c.1468. It was designed to form part of the new
chapel in St James’ granted that year to Caterina’s father, the prominent merchant, Colart
d’Ault. It depicts Caterina as a virginal bride in heaven being presented to Christ, her
bridegroom (not shown), by two figures described as her brother and her guardian angel.
Aside from its extremely good condition and technical virtuosity, the epitaph’s most striking
features are the large speaking banderoles above each of the three figures; prefixed by an ‘A’,
‘B’ and ‘C’ and thus intended to be read in a certain order, the texts lead the viewer through
the narrative of Caterina’s former destiny as a joyful bride on earth, her acceptance of God’s
superior plan for her in heaven, and her greater future as a bride of Christ. Caterina’s epitaph
draws extensively on late medieval concepts of commemoration with unusual detail and
sophistication. It is a monument both to her life and eternal memory and to the ideas about
theology, memory, gender and the family that existed in the society that she and her father,
the patron, represented.
My research aims to understand the remarkable lengths taken by both her father as
patron and the artist who designed the work to create such a unique memorial and what its
lavishness and unusual iconography was meant to project, and particularly considers the
importance placed on Caterina’s commemoration as an unmarried girl and as a daughter.
Finally the paper will begin to present analysis of the interaction between Caterina’s
commemoration and this brass’s complex position as a public monument to both an
individual, a family name and her father as patron, and the role played by the commission’s
specific historical context, a number of years after Caterina’s death.
Jeroen Reyniers (Leuven), The Relic Shrine of Saint Odilia (1292). Iconographical Study of
the Oldest Dated Panel Paintings in the Netherlands
The Cistercian nunnery Mariënlof (Kerniel-Belgium) preserves an important painted
object for the art historical tradition of the present country Belgium. It is a thirteenth century
reliquary, deriving from a workshop in the diocese of Liege and dedicated to Saint Odilia, one
of the eleven thousand tortured virgins in Cologne. A fifteenth century document is preserved
in which the date of the shrine, 1292, is mentioned. By this, the chest is the oldest dated panel
painting in the Netherlands.
Over the past decades many scholars published studies about the iconography of this
shrine, but they did not declare the same identification of the depictions. This problem is
caused by the disappearance of several parts of the panels after the nineteenth century
alternation of the dimensions. A new study, on the occasion of the interdisciplinary training
‘Advanced Master in Medieval and Renaissance Studies’ (supervisor prof. dr. Jan Van der
Stock), helped to get new information about the object. The rediscovering of the oldest legend
of the saint, in the university library in Liege, revealed the right identifications.
The session will focus on the manuscript in Liege and on the iconography of this object. The
goal of the lecture is to reconsider the thirteenth century setting of the shrine.
Sophia Rochmes (Leuven), From "blanc et noir" to grisaille: color terms in theory and
practice
The grisaille manuscripts in the circle of Burgundian Duke Philip the Good (d. 1467)
appear strikingly achromatic in comparison with the typically brightly colored Flemish luxury
manuscripts. Although our modern term grisaille implies an image in monochrome gray, the
period designation "de blanc et de noir" suggests instead images in black and white. In
medieval color theories, black and white were considered the two true primary colors. Should
we then consider these images "de blanc et de noir" as truly colorful? After a brief
introduction to the corpus of Burgundian grisaille manuscripts and some remarks on trends
therein, this paper explores the medieval discourse of "black and white" as it relates to
technical writing, materiality, and artistic representation, concluding that the grisailles can be
thought of as images composed not of color but of light and dark.
Alicia Servier (Lille), La folie du héros dans les images enluminées du Lancelot du Lac
(XIIIème-XVème siècle)
Le roman de Lancelot du Lac, appartenant au cycle du Lancelot-Graal, est écrit en
France vers 1220. Lancelot est considéré comme le meilleur chevalier du monde et un modèle
d’amant courtois. Toutefois, loin d’être parfait, le héros s’avère avoir des failles. En effet,
Lancelot sombre à trois reprises dans des crises de folie, causées par sa séparation d’avec
Guenièvre – qu’il soit prisonnier de l’enchanteresse Camille, de la fée Morgane ou banni de la
cour par la reine après avoir eu une relation charnelle avec Élizabel –. Ces épisodes du récit
montrent la fragilité du personnage qui est dépossédé de son identité et de son statut social,
anticipent son échec final (Lancelot ne pourra pas accéder aux mystères du saint Graal) et en
indiquent les raisons (l’amour coupable du chevalier pour la reine Guenièvre). L’intervention
propose d’étudier l’iconographie de la folie de Lancelot dans des manuscrits du Lancelot du
Lac réalisés entre le milieu du XIIIème siècle et la fin du XVème siècle dans des ateliers français
et septentrionaux. Comment la démence du chevalier est-elle traitée dans les enluminures ?
Quelle est la fréquence et la place de ce thème iconographique dans les manuscrits ? Les
images révèlent-t-elles une compassion envers le héros ou, au contraire, la condamnation d’un
homme vaincu par ses propres vices ? Lancelot peut être représenté seul, divaguant dans la
forêt ou aux abords d’un château, ou agressant sans raison chevaliers, dames et demoiselles
qu’il terrorise. Il est aussi fréquemment accompagné de personnages féminins qui rappellent
les faiblesses du chevalier et le péché de chair commis. Les images illustrant la folie de
Lancelot s’opposent à la vision idéalisée du chevalier courtois et abordent la question de la
chute d’un héros voué à l’insuccès, incapable d’accomplir le destin qui lui était promis. Elles
préparent la transition vers la Quête du Saint Graal – où la figure de Lancelot s’efface au
profit de celle de son fils Galaad – et sont donc importantes dans la construction narrative,
idéologique et iconographique des manuscrits.