medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
> medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
>
> >Does anyone know how, when and why the color blue came to be so
> intimately associated with the BVM, Titian's "Assumption" notwithstanding?
>
> The answer could be something like the chicken and egg in terms of which
> came first, general qualities or Mary's. That repository of
> miscellaneous meaning, Brewer's Phrase and Fable (14th ed., 1989, in
> hand), under Colours (p. 255-56), lists blue associations:
Part of the problem with "colour symbolism" is that so much of it is highly
contextual. This is seldom pointed out by such sources as Brewer, however useful
they might generally be. George Ferguson's Signs and Symbols in Christian Art, for
example, claims that the colour red can symbolize both love and hate. Presumably,
not at the same time. As far as blue is concerned, at least part of the reason that it
became a "prestige" colour, like gold, in the later Middle Ages and Renaissance was
that the finest blue pigment for paint was ultramarine, made of crushed lapis lazuli,
which was mined principally, then as now, in Afghanistan, making it the most
expensive pigment, besides gold leaf, available in Europe. Surviving contracts for
paintings from the 14th and 15th century often specify both the quality and the
quantity of ultramarine to be used. Like gold, high-quality ultramarine would have
been recognized as materially valuable and thus suitable to a highly valued subject.
Cheers,
Jim Bugslag
**********************************************************************
To join the list, send the message: join medieval-religion YOUR NAME
to: [log in to unmask]
To send a message to the list, address it to:
[log in to unmask]
To leave the list, send the message: leave medieval-religion
to: [log in to unmask]
In order to report problems or to contact the list's owners, write to:
[log in to unmask]
For further information, visit our web site:
http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/medieval-religion.html
|