"Che epoca terribile quella in cui degli idioti governano dei ciechi" WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE (1564-1616)

N.D.L.R. : Contemporain de la Chaslerie. En d'autres termes, rien de nouveau sous le soleil.

Self-taught artist Joris Hoefnagel was a pivotal figure in the history of art from the Netherlands, both as the last important Flemish manuscript illuminator and one of the first artists to work in the new genre of still life. A true Renaissance man, Hoefnagel wrote Latin poetry, mastered several languages, played a variety of musical instruments, and sold drawings, in addition to making topographical drawings, maps, oil paintings, and illuminations.

Born to wealthy merchant parents, Hoefnagel traveled to England, France, and Spain in his youth, recording his experiences in topographical drawings. These were later used as models for a six-volume atlas. In the autumn of 1577, after Spanish troops had invaded Antwerp, Hoefnagel journeyed south with cartographer Abraham Ortelius. During this trip, Albert V, duke of Bavaria, hired Hoefnagel as a court artist. It was at this time that Hoefnagel completed his first major work, a multi-volume book of natural history miniatures. In 1591, Hoefnagel was appointed court artist to Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II, a collector known not just for his art but for his Kunstkammer, or cabinet of curiosities. For Rudolf, Hoefnagel again demonstrated his astounding technical facility when he added illuminations to a manuscript completed thirty years earlier by the celebrated Hungarian scribe Georg Bocskay.

N.D.L.R. : Contemporain de la Chaslerie.

Peinture sur bois de 1557 signée Martin Van Heemskerk, un chef-d'œuvre découvert en plein cœur du Pays d'Auge :

N.D.L.R. : Presque contemporain de la Chaslerie.

La bonne question est posée à la fin du reportage...

In 1585, Giuseppe Arcimboldo (1527 - 1593) created the Florentine folios, which he presented to the Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II; one hundred and fifty drawings collected together in a red leather portfolio, with a dedication in Latin which translates aso:

To the indomitable Emperor, his eternal and beloved Sovereign and Majesty Rudolf II. From Giuseppe Arcimboldo of Milan, of multiple and varied ideas conceived by his own hand for the provision of tournaments. In the year of grace, 1585.

This collection contained several drawings and sketches which Arcimboldo created for royal celebrations, pageantry, festivals, and processions. The majority of these drawings were created in pencil and blue wash, with subjects ranging from animals such as elephants and dragons, to objects such as carriages and sleds. Other drawings depicted theatrical costumes, worn by members of court who assisted in the parades, accompanied by inscriptions to explain their functions. For the liberal arts, for example, he designed a robe for Geometry, inscribed above: “Geometry under the auspices of Archimedes the Sicilian and Archita the Calabrian. Grey robe,” a robe for Astrology, notated: “Astrology under the auspices of Ptolemy the Alexandrian and Julius Hyginus the Roman. White robe edged in red with golden stars.” The majority of the designs, which are in Vienna and in Florence, were studies in preparation for the celebrations of the marriage of Archduke Charles of Syria and Maria Anna of Bavaria. Fonteo gave a poetic account of it, including a long description of the festival, of the procession, and of the ceremony. With his help, Arcimboldo designed the show, glorifying the patronage of the emperor.

From Arcimboldo By Liana De Girolami Cheney

N.D.L.R. : Contemporain de la Chaslerie.

Bronzino, Portraits du nain Morgante.

N.D.L.R. : Mouais... Qu'est-ce que c'est que cet oiseau ? Le petit oiseau ?
Presque contemporain de la Chaslerie.

Tintoretto "Ultima Cena", (1592-1594),
Venezia, Scuola di San Giorgio Maggiore, presbiterio.

N.D.L.R. : Contemporain de la Chaslerie.

Landscape is one of the defining genres of Dutch seventeenth-century art. This recently acquired work, the first major work by Hendrick Avercamp to enter the Museum's collection, is an exceptionally well-preserved example of a pivotal moment in the development of the genre. Learn more in our web series MetCollects.

Hendrick Avercamp (Dutch, 1585–1634) | A Wooded River Landscape with a Church and Figures | ca. 1613

N.D.L.R. : Contemporain de la Chaslerie.

Bacchanal : A Faun Teased by Children
Gian Lorenzo Bernini (Italian, Naples 1598–1680 Rome)

Artist : and Pietro Bernini (Italian, 1562–1629)
Date : ca. 1616–17
Medium : Marble
Dimensions : Overall (confirmed): H. 52 1/8 x W. 29 x D. 18 7/8 in., 529lb. (132.4 x 73.7 x 47.9 cm, 239.9528kg)

N.D.L.R. : Presque contemporain de la Chaslerie. Qu'admirer le plus, l'œuvre ou l'artiste qui n'avait pas 18 ans lorsqu'il sculpta celle-ci ?

Marot Marbeuf

Je passais en marchant à l'angle de la rue Clément Marot et de la rue Marbeuf, lorsque le croisement de ces deux rues en Mar frappa mon esprit : je me mis à songer à ceux qui leur avaient donné leurs noms.

Marot, je connaissais : un délicieux poète, du temps de François Ier, un maître en charme et légèreté qu'admirait beaucoup La Fontaine, dont j'étais capable de réciter des vers:

Dedans Paris ville jolie
Un jour passant mélancolie
Je fis alliance nouvelle
A la plus gaie demoiselle
Qui soit d'ici en Italie
Dedans Paris

Mais ce Marbeuf, qui avait une plus belle rue que lui ?

Ma surprise, rentré chez moi, fut de découvrir que Marbeuf, Pierre de Marbeuf, était lui aussi un poète. Et un assez joli poète, d'ailleurs, né en 1596, cent ans exactement après « maître Clément », et mort en 1645. J'en retiens ici les deux quatrains d'un sonnet intitulé Le sein d'Amaranthe :

Mon esprit qui toujours d'un vain espoir s'apaise,
Compare votre sein, dont je suis envieux,
A de jeunes boutons, puis il dit à mes yeux :
Si vous les pouviez voir, ne mourriez-vous point d'aise ?

Ainsi dans mon esprit s'allume une fournaise,
Et son feu se nourrit d'un objet gracieux,
Qui me fait concevoir en tout et en tous lieux,
L'enflure de ce marbre où fleurit une fraise.

« L'enflure de ce marbre où fleurit une fraise » !... Voici que désormais des cônes de chair s'épanouissent, dans le triangle d'or de Paris.

N.D.L.R. : Et, en plus, contemporain de la Chaslerie !

A Date to Remember:
William Shakespeare (born April 23, 1564) :

N.D.L.R. : Contemporain de la Chaslerie.

Michelangelo Merisi detto il Caravaggio, "Conversione di San Paolo", 1602 - Olio su tela, 230 x 175 cm, Cappella Cerasi, Santa Maria del Popolo, Roma -

Caravaggio realizzò la prima e la seconda versione della Conversione nel giro di pochi mesi e, come nel caso della Cappella Contarelli, diede del tema un'interpretazione radicalmente nuova, sia dal punto di vista artistico che concettuale. Per la sua scena, il pittore tornò alle origini: tornò all'olio su tela e alla fonte biblica della storia, per trovare un nuovo modo per giungerne al cuore e riportarla alla vita. La rivelazione che Caravaggio ebbe rileggendo il passo degli Atti degli Apostoli lo portò a creare il capolavoro che oggi ammiriamo. Saulo, caduto da cavallo, è letteralmente avvolto dalla luce divina menzionata nel brano, è stato disarcionato ed è pronto ad accogliere la chiamata celeste. La differenza con il primo dipinto è evidente, la composizione caotica e teatrale è sparita per fare spazio ad un dipinto silenzioso e di una radiosità spettrale, di una calma quasi innaturale. La presenza di Cristo è solo accennata dalla luce nell'angolo destro dell'opera e Saulo è ritratto come un vero e proprio soldato romano, come descritto negli Atti degli Apostoli. Con questa nuova interpretazione Caravaggio riesce finalmente a distaccarsi dall'influenza michelangiolesca derivata dal dipinto eseguito mezzo secolo prima nella Cappella Paolina avente lo stesso soggetto (le due scene hanno più di un tratto in comune).

Questa Conversione è da capire intuitivamente, d'istinto. Non è un'opera intellettuale, né che mostri interesse per la bellezza convenzionalmente intesa. E' destinata a parlare non al ricco o all'erudito in teologia, ma al povero, al pellegrino appena giunto a Roma dall'adiacente Porta del Popolo. La composizione è dominata dalla solida presenza del cavallo che solleva lo zoccolo per non calpestare il padrone. Non è un purosangue, ma un semplice cavallo da soma pezzato che alcuni dicono abbia posato diverse ore nello studio di Caravaggio.

N.D.L.R. : Contemporain de la Chaslerie.

El Greco (Domenikos Theotokopoulos) (1541–1614)
A Lady in a Fur Wrap, 1577 -1580
(detail)
Oil on canvas
62 x 59 cm
Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum.

This is probably the earliest known portrait painted by El Greco in Toledo. The treatment, with the greater continuity of brushstroke, is related to that of his portrait of Anastagi of his last years in Italy, and to his first paintings in Spain. In the manner of Titian, the lynx fur is freely and vigorously painted.The identity of the sitter is unknown, but clearly the portrait is too informal and intimate for a sitter of royal or aristocratic blood. The fact that El Greco painted very few female portraits, the intimate quality of the portrait, the apparent age of the sitter, and the correspondence in time with the setting up of the household, lead some critics to the conclusion that this is a portrait of Jerónima de las Cuevas, his life-long companion in Spain, and the mother of his son, Jorge Manuel. Since evidence for Jerónima's appearance is completely lacking there have been more reasoned proposals on the basis of comparison with other portraits. However, these identifications present problems of their own.

Regarding the authorship of the painting, several other attributions have been put forward. It has been proposed as a work of Tintoretto, of an artist in the circle of the court painter Alonso Sánchez Coello, and most recently, of the Cremonese portrait painter Sofonisba Anguissola.

N.D.L.R. : Contemporain de la Chaslerie.

Now on view, "Out of Character: Decoding Chinese Calligraphy" features more than forty outstanding examples of calligraphy created by leading artists of the Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties.

Wen Peng (Chinese, 1498–1573) | The Thousand-Character Classic | 1561 | Lent by Guanyuan Shanzhuang Collection

N.D.L.R. : Presque contemporain de la Chaslerie.

With this large painting, Peter Paul Rubens effectively introduced a less expensive replacement for tapestries, which had long been a form of princely decoration requiring much greater expenditures of time and money. Ironically, this design was also woven as a tapestry.

Peter Paul Rubens (Flemish, 1577–1640) and Workshop | Wolf and Fox Hunt | ca. 1616

N.D.L.R. : Presque contemporain de la Chaslerie. Et vivent les Pierre-Paul !

Michael van Meer, Liber amicorum, 1613-48 :

N.D.L.R. : Presque contemporain de la Chaslerie.
Ceci dit, je ne comprends pas très bien ce que ces deux-là fabriquent. La Mort coupe le lien qui les unit, certes, mais que font-ils avec ce cœur matelassé qui fume comme une théière ?

Chivalry isn't dead, well at least not in tapestries. This tapestry depicts scenes from Amadis of Gaul, a chivalric romance that enjoyed great popularity in European court circles in the late sixteenth century. Here the Knight Amadis rescues Princess Oriane.

Designed by Karel van Mander I (Netherlandish, 1548–1606) | The Liberation of Oriane from a set of Amadis of Gaul | ca. 1590–95

N.D.L.R. : Contemporain de la Chaslerie.

Pietra Dura Table , Italian, ca. 1580

N.D.L.R. : Contemporain de la Chaslerie.

Comment naît un syndrome de mode ?

Sous Henri II, Henri III et Henri IV, la mode masculine s'inspire des volailles à la mode : poulets, dindons faisant la roue, poules huppées, paons blancs...

A la fin du XVIe siècle et jusqu'à 1630, la fraise autour du cou évoque un "syndrome de la décollation" inspirée par l'abondante iconographie autour de la décapitation de St Jean Baptiste, elle-même rendue possible par une réflexion sur la séparation de l'âme et du corps.

Ecouter le podcast (conférence publique à l'IFM, 13 mai 2014).

N.D.L.R. : Contemporain de la Chaslerie.

Medallion with Return from a Spring Outing
Period: Ming dynasty (1368–1644)
Date: late 16th–early 17th century
Culture: China
Medium: Ivory
Dimensions: H. 1 1/4 in. (3.2 cm); Diam. 3 1/4 in. (8.3 cm)

The richly carved scene of a scholar gentleman riding in a moonlight landscape is also found in Chinese paintings dating to the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. The scholar is riding on horseback while four young attendants carry his supplies and a fifth hastens to open the gate to the family compound. The scholar gentleman is understood to be returning from a spring outing filled with wine and poetry.

N.D.L.R. : Contemporain de la Chaslerie.

Johann Bayer, The constellation Serpens from 'Uranometria', 1603.

Johann Bayer's 'Uranometria' is one of the most important celestial atlases of the 17th Century and the forerunner of all star atlases which contained 51 star charts, of which 48 were Ptolomeic constellations.

Each plate has a carefully engraved grid, so that star positions can be read off to fractions of a degree. These positions were taken,from the catalog of Tycho Brahe. Brahe's catalogue had circulated in manuscript form in the 1590s, but was not published until 1602.
Another important feature of the Bayer's atlas was the introduction of a new system of stellar nomenclature. Bayer assigned Greek letters to the brighter stars, generally in the order of magnitude, so that the bright star in the Bull's eye became alpha Tauri (and the brightest star in the Centaur became our familiar alpha Centauri.) These letters were placed on the charts themselves, and also in a table that accompanied each chart.
The atlas was also the first to represent the stars of the southern latitudes and based on observations which can be traced to an actual voyage of discovery—that of Houtman’s first voyage to the East Indies in 1595-97.

N.D.L.R. : Contemporain de la Chaslerie.