GOTHIC EUROPEGARDNER CHAPTER 18-3
PP. 478-486
VIRGIN OF PARIS Virgin and Child (Virgin of Paris),
Notre-Dame, Paris, France, early 14th century
Best example of the court style in Late Gothic sculpture
Exaggerated S-curve posture is typical of Late Gothic sculpture
A worldly queen -> decked out in royal garments and heavy gem-encrusted crown -> Jesus as infant prince
Further humanization of the portrayal of religious figure -> Late Gothic is very different in tone from the solemnity of most High Gothic figures
SAINT-MACLOU, ROUEN West façade of Saint-Maclou, Rouen,
France, ca. 1500-1514
Shift from the High Gothic to the Late French Gothic architecture = shift from Rayonnant to the FLAMBOYANT style -> named for the flamelike appearance of its pointed bar tracery
Best example of Flamboyant style is the church of Saint-Maclou in Normandy
The five portals bend outward in an arc -> wiry, flickering flamboyant tracery form brittle decorative webs mask the buildings structure
Bewildering complexity of overlapping features
CARCASSONNE
Aerial view of the fortified town of Carcassonne, France, 12th and 13th centuries
Age of frequent warfare -> feudal barons built fortified castles/towns
Ramparts = defensive wall circuits
Battlements with crenellations
The keep
Familiar sight in Gothic France -> tight complex of castle, cathedral, and town
GUILD HALL, BRUGES
Hall of the cloth guild, Bruges, Belgium, begun 1230
The Bruges cloth guild’s meeting hall is an early example of a new type of secular architecture in the late Middle Ages
Sits in the city’s major square -> shows the important role of artisans and merchants in Gothic Europe
Designed to for attention and prestige with the towers of city cathedrals
HOUSE OF JACQUES COEUR
House of Jacques Couer, Bourges, France, 1443-1451
The house of the immensely wealthy Bourges financier Jacques Couer -> splendid example of Late Gothic architecture w/elaborate tracery
Symbol of the periods new secular spirit
BOOK ILLUMINATION AND LUXURY ARTS
Paris was the intellectual center of Gothic Europe
University faculty -> birthplace of scholasticism
Center for skilled architects, masons, sculptors, and stained-glass makers
Center for the production of fine books
During the Gothic period book manufacture shifted from monastic scriptoria to urban workshops of professional artists
VILLARD DE HONNECOURT
Villard de Honnecourt, figures based on geometric shapes, folio 18 verso of sketchbook, from Paris, ca. 1220-1235, ink on vellum
On this page from his private sketchbook, the master mason Villard de Honnecourt sought to demonstrate that simple geometric shapes are the basis of natural forms and building
Ars de geometria
GOD AS ARCHITECT
God as architect of the world, folio 1 verso of a moralized Bible, from Paris, France, ca. 1220-1230, ink, tempera, and gold leaf on vellum
Geometry played a symbolic role in Gothic art and architecture
The triangle for example, symbolized the idea of the Trinity, the circle symbolized the eternity of the one God
God is shaping the world w/the aid of a compass -> the artist portrays God as an industrious architect using the same tools as Gothic builders
LOUIS IX, THE SAINTLY KING
The royal patron behind the Parisian Rayonnant “court style” of Gothic art and architecture was King Louis IX (1214-1270)
His mother Blanche of Castile served as regent to the boy king
French regarded Louis as the ideal king -> in 1297 he was declared a saint
Known for his piety, justice, truthfulness, and charity
Louis launched two Crusades and died in Tunisia during the second one
He was seen as the Christian knight, the benevolent monarch, and the holy man
BLANCHE OF CASTILE Detail of the dedication page of a
moralized Bible, 1226-1234
Saint Louis was an avid collector or both secular and religious books -> amassed a vast library
One of the books commissioned by the royal family is a moralized Bible -> costly gold-leaf dedication page depicts Saint Louis, his mother Blanche of Castile, and two monks -> the younger monk is at work on the paired illustrations of a moralized Bible
PSALTER OF SAINT LOUIS
Abraham and the three angels, folio 7 verso of the Psalter of Saint Louis, from Paris, France, 1253-1270, ink, tempera, and gold leaf on vellum
It is believed the artists who produced the Psalter of Saint Louis are the same as those who produced the stained glass for his Saint-Chapelle church
Architectural settings reflect screenlike lightness and transparency of royal Rayonnant buildings -> colors emulate those of stained glass
Elegant proportions, facial expression, theatrical gestures, swaying postures are hallmarks of the Parisian Rayonnant court style
BREVIARY OF PHILIPPE LE BEL
Master Honore, David anointed by Samuel, folio 7 verso of the Breviary of Philippe le Bel, From Paris, France, 1296, ink and tempera on vellum
Master Honore was one of the secular artists who produced books for the French monarchy
Two Old Testament scene involving David -> Samuel anoints youthful David, David prepares to aim his slingshot
Figures have sculptural volume and showed the play of light on their bodies
BELLEVILLE BREVIARY
Jean Pucelle, David before Saul, folio 24 verso of the Belleville Breviary, Paris, France, ca. 1325, ink and tempera on vellum
Fully modeled figures in 3D architectural settings rendered in convincing perspective
Believed to have visited and studied in Italy
Close observer of plants and fauna
VIRGIN OF JEANNE D’EVREUX
Virgin of Jeannne d’Evereux, from the abbey church of Saint-Denis, France, 1339, silver gilt and enamel, 2’3” high
Queen Jeanne d’Evereux donated this luxurious reliquary-statuette to the royal abbey church of Saint-Denis
Intimate human characterization of the holy figures recalls that of the Virgin of Paris
Beautiful young Mary, child playfully reaches for his mother -> elegant proportions, swaying posture, heavy drapery folds
Fleur-de-lis scepter contained hairs believed to be from Mary’s head
THE CASTLE OF LOVE
The Castle of Love and knights jousting, lid of a jewelry casket
Woman’s jewelry box adorned w/ivory relief panels
At left the siege of the Castle of Love -> shooting flowers and hurling baskets of roses from catapults
Center is a jousting scene