Kristen Pederson <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>....I have found some tantalizing references about the symbolic use of
glasses in later medieval art, but would appreciate the help of this
list.
Dear Kristen,
I don't know about "symbolic" uses of glasses, but there is (or rather: was)
an interesting, early, and perhaps quite rare sculptural example on Claus
Slutter's "Well of Moses" (c.1400) near Dijon, visible here thanks to the care
of Mary Ann Sullivan:
http://www.bluffton.edu/~sullivanm/sluter/sluter.html
I have a *firm* memory (long-suffering folks on this list know what
*that* means) of reading that one of the figures here originally was fitted
with a pair of gold glasses which, for some reason, is (are?) no longer
extant.
I can't remember which figure it might have been, but perhaps the Isaiah, who
is sporting a rather hefty tome under his left arm
(http://www.bluffton.edu/~sullivanm/sluter/isaiahface.jpg ).
Professor Sullivan's snaps were taken not of the original work but rather of
the plaster casts in the Musée National des Monuments Français (the Trocadéro)
in Paris.
(BTW, *this* museum with it's thousands of full-size casts of medieval
sculpture and mural paintings is worth a few hours, if you don't have the
opportunity to travel much outside of Paris. And, there is a beautiful
view of the Tour Eiffel from the terrace, as well. Metro: Trocadéro)
However, there is rather more of the original polychromy visible on the
original, which is really quite magnificent to behold (the figures are
somewhat larger than life-size and there is also not far away a portal with a
reasonably fantastic Virgin--"Baroque!"-- on the trumeau, also by Slutter).
So, if you ever find yourself around Dijon, it's definitely worth a stop.
Best to all from here,
Christopher
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