medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
From: Genevra Kornbluth <[log in to unmask]>
> Personally, I find the Man of Sorrows ivory the most elegant that I have
posted so far
> http://www.kornbluthphoto.com/images/ManSorrows.jpg
an acquired taste, apparently.
i don't go in much for that Sappy late middlevil stuff, myself.
i think i'll stick to the supreme Elegance of the St. Paul
http://www.kornbluthphoto.com/images/LouvrePaul.jpg
which has *just* the right combination of Hellenic survival and incoming
middlevil otherworldly sensibility.
the head is particularly nicely rendered.
as is the gently sinuating drapery under the figure's left hand.
objects of this quality did not "suck themselves out of their own fingers" (in
Wilhelm Voge's happy phrase, as quoted by his student, Erwin Panofsky), but
must be seen reflections of an extensive, opulent, and living tradition,
99.999% of the exemplars of which have been lost, without a trace, save for
the dim --but brilliant-- echos we see in ones like this.
> I don't think that the large stone Faustinus
> http://www.kornbluthphoto.com/HistSculpture4.html
> is unfinished. Rather, it is in a rough cookie-cutter style without rounding
or undercutting.
i'm going to Stick to my Guns here, as well.
i don't think i've *ever* seen a piece of middlevil sculpture which purports
to be a finished work which has the prominent remains of tool marks (in any
normally visible place):
http://www.kornbluthphoto.com/images/BresciaFaustinus3.jpg
even a coat of gesso and some paint would have a hard time covering those
marks up.
that shot also captures the incomplete rendering of the various plastic forms
of the figures, still stuck in their respective planes.
the process of work was apparently (duh) from the surface progressively down
to the background, the stages of which can best be seen in this precious
newly-discovered (more or less, 1995) unfinished lintel from the inside of the
north portal at Fleury:
http://art-roman.net/stbenoit/stbenoit58.jpg
where the various stages of the work can be seen in a quite wonderful fashion,
from the earliest blocking out of the figures
http://art-roman.net/stbenoit/stbenoit59.jpg
through the progressive refinements
http://art-roman.net/stbenoit/stbenoit60x.jpg
leading to the nearly finished forms
http://art-roman.net/stbenoit/stbenoit61x.jpg
(i know of *nothing* else like this piece, btw, and would be grateful to hear
of any suchlike monuments, should anyone know of any.)
[cf. Jean Moulin, and Élaine Vergnolle. “Découverte d'un linteau inachevé
à Saint-Benoît-sur-Loire,” Bulletin Monumental, CLIV, 1996, p. 352.]
your Faustinus relief strikes me as, indeed, the work of a not particularly
accomplished fellow, but even a relatively clumsy Eyetalian guy working with
relatively untutored visualization skills would not, i believe, have
deliberately left his work in this state.
maybe he went on strike, maybe he got fired, or maybe he died, but i do not
believe that he would have left *this* as his legacy, if he were sober.
>I found that style interesting, and so photographed the angled views that
show it off. I always want to know what the sides and backs of 3D objects look
like when I see front views, so whenever I can I shoot those as well.
and i, for one, am glad that you did.
Encore!
> The apple reliquary was a surprise to me
> http://www.kornbluthphoto.com/images/AppleRel2.jpg
> --it seems that every museum has some form I have not encountered before.
>Maybe this just reveals my sweet tooth, but it forcefully reminds me of the
Droste chocolate oranges I used to get
--something like this from the web, with no implied endorsement of the vendor
> http://store.candywarehouse.com/darkorangeball.html
it put me strongly in mind of those Fabregé eggs which the Czars used to give
their Czarinas for Xmas
http://tinyurl.com/34poy6c
c
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