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Archive for maj, 2012

maj 31

europa_jagellonica1

Europa Jagellonica

Art and culture of Central Europe during the dynasty of the Jagellonians 1386 -1572

The key dynastic group of Late Medieval Central and Eastern Europe was without doubt the Jagellons. Progenitor was the Grand Duke of Lithuania, Vladislaus II (1351 -1434) who annexed the kingdom of Poland in 1386. His grandsons ended up as rulers of not only the Lithuania and Poland, but Hungary and Bohemia as well. How to get a grasp this dynastic entity, however, is complicated business.

To a start, one of the odd characteristics of Eastern European History is this focus on the concept of “dynasties” or “ruling houses”. Although such dynasties might encompass several distinct rulers of diverse landscapes or kingdoms, in terms of Eastern European History they were (and still are) considered belonging to the same “ruling dynasty”; which then is made to imply that these kingdoms were indeed ruled together, constituting an “realm” or an “empire”.

AJAG Jaeger Europa JagellonicaTo what extent the situation should rather be viewed as comparable to the German, where duchies and free cities created an amalgamated patchwork, kept together by the Holy Roman Emperor and the regular diets, is an open question. However, Polish historians favour a more nationalistic point of view, stressing the empirical character of the ruling dynasty, not least because the Hapsburgs were always considered the archenemy.

How to get behind these different perspectives and figure out how state formation took place – and not least the cultural significance – has been the subject of a large research project housed at the University of Leipzig. While we are still waiting waiting for the large “Buch” (two volumes with 53 interdisciplinary articles written by theologians, historians, art historians, musicologists etc. and accompanied by 250 biographies to be published in 2013 or 2014), the chance is now to see an important traveling exhibition.

The exhibition showcases the art and culture of Central and Eastern Europe – more precisely Lithuania, Poland, Hungary and Bohemia during the years 1386 -1572. Focus is more precisely on the period around 1500. More than 200 grand pieces of art will be on show. The exhibition will travel between three locations, each complimenting the core of exhibited art with a more local context. In Kuttenberg, where it opened on the 19th of May, the indsurty connected with the silver mines are presenting us with the perspective. Moving to Warsaw, architecture and culture will be at the centre. In Postdam the dynastic relations with amongst other families, the Hohenzollern, will provide the context.

On show will be:

  • Panels, drawings and prints by Albrecht Dürer, Lucas Cranach the Elder, Hans Elfelser, Hans Krell, Holbein, Hans Süss von Kulmbach and others
  • Richly illuminated manuscripts by the Krakow court painter, Stanislaw Samostrseelnik as well as royal and municipal charters, precious incunabula etc.
  • Sculptures and relief of wood and stone by Veit Stoss and others
  • The work of Jewellers and Goldsmiths like Melchior Beier, Marcin Marcinic etc.
  • Coins, small-scale-sculpture and medals
  • Liturgical and secular textiles
  • Astrological tools and globes
  • Amours, weapons and much else…

In short all the paraphernalia of the ruling classes of Late Medieval and Early Modern Europe.

The scientific catalogue will be published in January 2013

The official homepage - www.europajagellonica.eu – is unfortunately only in Polish.

However, the curators has prepared and English presentation which might be downloaded here 

The venues for the exhibition(s):

19. 05.2012–30.09.2012
 GASK – Galerie Středočeského kraje | Mittelböhmische Galerie Kuttenberg

29.10.2012–27.01.2013
 Zamek Królewski w Warszawie | Königliches Schloss Warschau
Museum Narodowe w Warzawie | Nationalmuseum Warschau

1. 03.2013–16.06.2013
 Haus der Brandenburgisch-Preußischen Geschichte, Potsdam

maj 31

henry VIII-with-children

Tudor Obsession

The term ‘Tudor’ was hardly used in the 16th Century and its obsessive  modern use by historians and writers generally gives us a misleading  impression of the period, an Oxford historian has found.

Cliff Davies of Oxford University’s History Faculty has scoured official papers, chronicles, poems, plays and pamphlets for  the ‘Tudor’ name, but have found it was hardly ever used as a designation of the monarchy. Not until the last years of Elizabeth’s reign, and even then sparingly. For instance of the many poems written to mark the death of Elizabeth and the accession of James I in 1603, only one talks of a change from ‘Tudor’ to ‘Stuart’.

Davies suggests that terms like ‘Tudor England’ and ‘Tudor monarchy’ used by historians and in TV and film dramas give a false impression of glamour and unity to the period from Henry VII to Elizabeth I, and that historians need to rethink many assumptions about 16th Century England.

In an interview to the Oxford University Media, he claims that ‘The word ‘Tudor’ is used obsessively by historians, often as a quite unnecessary reinforcing adjective to add an appropriate ‘period flavour’ to their work, but it was almost unknown at the time”.

According to Davies, the Tudor name was deliberately played down, because it was an embarrassment in England; Henry VIII would rather boast of the “Union”, of the families of Lancaster and York, which he embodied through his mother.

– ‘Periods’ are artificial constructions by historians. What makes the concept of the ‘Tudor period’ so seductive is that we believe it to have been current at the time. This was not the case.  We need to revise our concepts, says Davies, who is obviously a bit annoyed by the “Tudor Craze” apparent in films, television series and the Living History re-enactments flourishing around the countryside each summer.

C.S.L. Davies is Keeper of the Archives at Wadham College and a distinguished “Tudor” Historian, as it somewhat ironically says on the blurb of a selection of essays, which were presented to him in 2002 (Authority and Consent in Tudor England: essays presented to C.S.L. Davies. Ed. by G. W. Bernard and S. J. Gunn. Ashgate 2002). His main work is a detailed and generally very admired study of “Peace, Print and Protestantism 1450-1558”, published at Hart-Davis MacGibbon, 1976.

C.S.L. Davies has published the background for these reflections in an article:
Information, disinformation and political knowledge under Henry VII and early Henry VIII (pages 228–253) in: Historical Research, May 2012, Vol. 85, issue 228: pp. 228 – 253

Read more at Oxford University Media

maj 17

vinterbjaelke2

Vikings at Bygdøy

Norwegian minister for culture closes debate. Viking ships remain at Bygdøy.

The ships from Oseberg and Gokstad are some of the most outstanding finds from the Viking Age. However both were excavated more than a 100 years ago and according to new examinations by conservationists their condition is more fragile than has hitherto been suspected.

After consultation with the Norwegian Director for Cultural Heritage it has been decided to keep the ships at Bygdøy, where they are currently exhibited; thus spiking the plans for moving them to the centre of Oslo and placing them as the star-pieces of a new Viking Age Museum and experience centre near the waterfront of the city and next to the new Opera.

– It is sad to ascertain that our most precious national heritage is in an advanced state of decay. On the other hand it is good finally to get a decision concerning the plans to move the ships from their current location, says Director Jørn Holme.

According to the Directorate for Cultural Heritage this means that plans may be laid for the future conservation of the ships as well as developing new ways of exhibiting them in an enticing way, which may allure new visitors in the future. Exactly how this is to be achieved is currently unknown. The recent report, which undergirds the final decision, is very detailed and the conclusions there (concerning the challenge for the conservationists) will have to be digested first.

Bygdøy is a peninsula on the western side of Oslo and has several museums, like the Kon-Tiki Museum, which shows all year long the legendary expeditions of Thor Heyerdahl, the Norwegian Museum of Cultural History (Norsk Folkemuseum) and the Viking Ship Museum as well as the Norwegian Maritime Museum and the ship Fram, used by Roald Amundsen. Bygdøy is one of Norway’s oldest cultural landscapes with a rich history. Bygdøy has beautiful parks and forests and some of Oslo’s most popular beaches. Large parts of the area such as The King’s Forest and the Bygdøy Royal Estate are protected from development.

However, there is no doubt that Bygdøy presents some possibilities – both to continue to exhibit the ships in the current evocative surroundings, which are from the 30es (and remind visitors of a cathedral); and at the same time build a new state of the art visitor centre and maybe Open-Air Museum to welcome the mass tourism, which will definitely be the result of the new series on Vikings , currently filmed in Ireland and elsewhere in Europe and scheduled to air in the summer of 2013; and coinciding with amongst other things a major Viking Exhibition in Copenhagen.

maj 16

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Jarrow and Bede

Bid for World Heritage Status for Wearmouth-Jarrow founders on review from ICOMOS

Wearmouth-Jarrow encompasses two very important monasteries in Northumberland. They were founded by Biscop Baducing aka Benedict Biscop, an Anglo-Saxon thegn, who in his youth travelled extensively to Gallia and Rome. In 674 – 682 on grants from the Northumbrian king Ecgfrith, he founded, what were later to become these twinned monasteries. In their days, they were no doubt impressive. Roman in outlook, built of stone and embellished with coloured glass-windows and carved sculptures, the monastic compounds must have looked quite different from vernacular architecture at that time. Further they were the repositories of not only foreign artworks and a new form of music; they were also places for literacy, learning and not least science. Today we know them best, because these institutions fostered the venerable Bede in their midst. And indeed, it is an evocative experience to walk around the sites and enter (the remains) of the churches, which were once part of this magnificent ecclesiastical institution. Nevertheless, the places are in their own right significant in so far as they are representatives of some of the very early bridgeheads of Christendom in an otherwise pagan setting.

Some years ago a group of people got together in order to work to have the twinned monastery declared World Heritage. One reason was obviously their great love of the place and a recognition of its historical and intellectual ramifications. Another reason was the genuine wish to create a reason for tourists to visit the local community and create some jobs. What followed was a huge collaborative effort, countless meetings and much reflection. Last year this resulted in nearly 750 pages of well-written texts and photos arguing for World Heritage Status for the twinned monastery of Wearmouth-Jarrow in Northumberland. In 2011 these reports were officially handed over to UNESCO, which then decided to submit the matter to a more detailed review in order to reach a formal decision this summer. In October 2011 Archaeologists visited the site and went through it with something, which must have been akin to a early medieval comb made out of antlerbone.

codex amiatinus 2 207x300 Jarrow and Bede

Bede in his Scriptorium

However, recently this report was placed on the internet with a very damning conclusion: “ICOMOS recommends that the Twin Monastery of Wearmouth-Jarrow, United Kingdom, should not be inscribed on the World Heritage List.”

Apparently this came to the notice of the committee working for the inscription a few days ago. As of today this has resulted in a formal withdrawal of the application for this year, though carefully worded phrasing seems to indicate that the committee wishes to either lodge a complaint or alternatively work to amend the application.

To get an inscription on the World Heritage List is indeed no easy matter. Any site aspiring to the status has to exhibit an Outstanding Universal Value compared to other sites of the same character; and it must be able to demonstrate integrity and authenticity. Further it must be able to demonstrate the ability to be managed properly and finally there must be guarantees in place that a buffer zone is protected properly. First of all, though, it has to be a “site” or “property” – in short a piece of architecture or nature of outstanding value, which signifies a specific part of our common heritage, but in a unique way; that is: cannot be found elsewhere and in a better condition.

However, the ICOMOS review of the Wearmouth-Jarrow bid reveals exactly how complicated it is to persuasively present such a case.

On one hand there is no doubt that the site is important in so far as it is the place where the venerable Bede lived and died, while writing his huge output of theological, historical and scientific treatises. To visit his grave in the Cathedral in Durham must for any seasoned medieval tourist be accompanied by a trip to the two churches lying at the mouth of two busy rivers, the Tyne and the Wear. No doubt about that. And yes, people do go there to try and experience what it must have been like to live the life of a Benedictine monk in this very recently converted landscape, probably still full of pagan people and places.

On the other hand: in themselves the archaeological remains are not unique. In that sense the ICOMOS review is correct. To get a feeling for early Anglo-Saxon church-buildings, one has to sample a number of other places like Hexham, Ripon, Brixworth etc.; and some of them might even – as the ICOMOS review claims – be better situated, when better excavated, to tell the story in a better way.

Nevertheless, no place is quite as well illustrated, thanks to the illuminative historical writing of the old sage.

dedication stone 300x225 Jarrow and Bede

The Stone of Dedication in St. Pauls

This is exactly the hum of the matter. It says in the conclusion of the review from ICOMOS, that the

“proposed Outstanding Universal Value as a tangible manifestation of an exceptional centre of intellectual endeavour in the early Middle Ages, uniquely documented in the writing of the Venerable Bede, could not be justified in the context of the World heritage Convention. ICOMOS considers that it has not been demonstrated how the intellectual legacy of the Venerable Bede is related to the physical remains of the property and that the justification provided centred exclusively on the historic importance of the Venerable Bede and the association between the person and the location. ICOMOS in this context would like to recall that the World Heritage Convention is a property or side-based convention without a mandate for the commemoration of the world’s most outstanding persons.”

In short, and rather less convoluted, the convention (or its caretakers: the archaeologists) does not give room for celebrating a place, because it is uniquely associated with a person of world renown. The site has foremost to be incomparably a unique architectural or archaeological edifice.

That may be! But is this right? Should we really allow for this very limited and sterile understanding of what heritage is? Or should we begin to acknowledge that people do not primarily visit historical places in order to inspect the architecture, the building materials or the exquisite art inherent in a place. Do people for instance go to Hampton Court to look at the architecture? Or do they go there to meet the ghosts of Henry the VIII, Anne Boleyn and Cromwell?

What we know for a fact is, that the great majority of people visit these places in order to crawl under the skin of persons long gone by. In order to do that, they need to get something to work with in order to be able to sense them. Places may help in this way; and are therefore of importance. Places may be especially helpful, when they are illuminated by great stories. As is exactly the case at Jarrow!

ICOMOS, try and get it right next time…

Karen Schousboe

 

Read more:
Wearmouth and Jarrow

The bid for World Heritage Inscription

2012 Evaluations of Nominations of Cultural and Mixed Properties to the World Heritage List. Icomos report for the World Heritage Committee, 36th ordinary session, Saint Petersburg, June-July 2012: The Twin Monastery of Wearmouth-Jarrow (United Kingdom No 1391) p. 311 – 325

Current status:
Update for Wearmouth-Jarrow Nomination

Articles in Shields Gazette by journalist Terry Kelly about the local uproar. A special thanks to Terry Kelly who uncovered the ICOMOS file

 

maj 14

Captured Goods

New exhibition in Bern shows captured goods from 1250 -1520

During the 15th and early 16th century Switzerland took part in a series of successful wars against the Burgundian Dukes. At the battles of Aaargaus 1415 and Waadt 1536 rich prey fell in the hands of the burghers of Bern. The greatest trophies, however, stem from the battle against Charles the Bold in 1476, when the ducal treasures were seized in total. Part of these treasures ended up in the History Musuem in Bern, where they are currently exhibited. For those who did not have the chance in 2008, when the “life and times of Charles the Bold” was the object of a major European exhibition in Brussels, the possibility is here again to experience at least some of the priceless treasures.

Some of these magnificent pieces are the Mille-Fleur tapestry from 1466, which once belonged to Phillip the Good, the tapestry of the Adoration of the Magi from Brussels or Tournai ca. 1450 -1460 and a portrait of Phillip the Fair.

Each of these pieces represents the refined and exclusive taste, which governed at the Burgundian court in the later Middle Ages. Many of the treasures are currently being restored, and as part of the exhibition it is possible to watch the conservators at work as well as question them about the techniques, procedures and materials.

Captured Treasure – Court art in Bern (1250–1520)- Erobertes Gut – Höfische Kunst in Bern (1250 – 1520)
Bernisches Historisches Museum
Helvetiaplatz 5, Bern

The Catalogue from 2008:
Katalog zur Ausstellung
«Karl der Kühne (1433–1477)»
Hrsg: Historisches Museum Bern; Bruggemuseum & Groeningemuseum Brügge
Verlag: Mercatorfonds, Brüssel 2008

 

 

maj 14

smykkesaetafperler
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Young Dürer

The largest exhibition of the works of Dürer in 40 years

This summer, the German National Museum in Nürnberg hosts the largest exhibition with works by Albrecht Dürer in 40 years. The exhibition is built around five themes, focusing on his idea of himself as for instance witnessed in the development of the “first” copyright protection scheme, the influence from his neighbors in the formation of his persona and art plus his work as a dramatist an narrator, as is witnessed in his large production of early prints, as well as in his strive for technical perfection as a painter of natural objects and scenes of nature. A separate part of the exhibition showcases the way in which modern art historians tries to solve some of the puzzles through scientific methods of investigation.

The exhibition has been complicated to curate. One reason is that paintings and other artworks of Dürer are not easy to borrow from other museums. Several very important painting are shown, amongst those the “Kreuzabnahme”, which has undergone heavy restoration during the last years.

However, one particular painting, which was on the wish-list, was the self-portrait by Dürer, which hangs in München in the Alte Pinakothek, the so-called “Selbtsbildnis im Pelsrock”, will not be shown. This is the painting, where Dürer poses as Jesus, and which he later presented to the council of the city of Nürnberg in 1509 (it was later sold during the Napoleonic wars).

300px Duerer01 wiki 216x300 Young DürerNaturally Nürnberg tried to borrow the painting for the exhibition. “Nein” said München, and argued that the painting is not typical of “The Early Dürer” (although it was painted, when he was young). Accordingly München could not see a reason for the loan. Further it was indicated, that the Museum considered the painting central to the exhibition in München, since it draws huge crowds (and income). Finally, they claimed that the painting had been damaged the last time it had been lent to Nürnberg in 1971 and finally that it was too fragile. Naturally the curators in Nürnberg felt insulted by the insinuation that they were not good caretakers – actually a very damaging slander in so far as that might put a stop to other in-loans. Further, they felt entitled to borrow, since both museums actually belong to the same institution. After a lot of bickering both upfront and – we must presume – behind the scenes, and after the Landestag had voted to order München to lend the painting to Nürnberg, a joint committee of conservationists from both museums examined it. Their verdict was unanimous: The painting was too fragile to be transported. Further, the damage stemmed not from 1971, but was already visible in the 1930ies.

The result: The painting stayed in München and the Alte Pinakothek may probably enjoy a deluge of visitors travelling from Nürnberg to München this summer. Before traveling there, visitors should take the time to see the Albrecht-Dürer-Haus, where the artist lived from 1509 -1524. The house still stands and visitors may get a feeling for the living conditions of an artist in the beginning of the 16th century. Further the museum hosts a workshop where it is possible to get acquainted with the painting techniques and materials at that time.

Der Frühe Dürer
Germanisches National Museum, Nürnberg
24.05.2012-02.09.2012

Das Albrecht-Dürer-Haus
Albrecht-Dürer-Straße
Nürnberg

Dürer: Das ferne Genie. Eine Biographie.
Thomas Schauerte.
Reclam, Ditzingen 2012

Read about the “Ausleih-Streit”, the controversy, between Nürnberg and München in Faz

Letter from prof. Klaus-Dieter Lehmann (Nürnberg) to professor Satzinger (München) concerning the matter of the insinuation

 

maj 7

Tours 1500

Art from early Renaissance Tours is exhibited this summer

This summer there is a unique possibility of viewing artistic highlights from pre-renaissance Tours 1450 -1520. During this period a number of French kings resided in their magnificent castles along Loire – Amboise, Blois etc.

The art of the late 15th century is best known from its sculpture, illuminated manuscripts and stained glass. But even a few painting have survived, like for instance the panels by Jean Fouquet and a recently discovered painting by Bourdichon: The Virgin Mary at prayer. The exhibition focuses on the art of Jean Poyer, Jean Bourdichon and their families plus the sculptor Michel Colombe and artists from his studio.

Apart from the exhibition at the Musée des beaux-arts in Tours, guests are invited to visit a number of local churches and houses with art from the same period, amongst those the Tomb of Imbert de Bastarnay at Église Saint-Jean-Baptiste de Montrésor and La Pietà de Nouans by Jean Fouquet

At the museum a brochure listing the different venues is available.

The Exhibition is accompanied by a catalogue.

Tours 1500. Entre Moyen-Age et Renaissance
Musée des beaux-arts in Tours
18, Place Francois Sicard’, Tours
17.03.2012 – 17.06.2012

Tours 1500 : Capitale des arts
Béatrice de Chancel-Bardelot et al
Amery Somogy Edition 2012

maj 7

Renaissance Treasure

A marvellous treasure of renaissance cups, spoons, saltcellars and a jug are exhibited a Ecouen this spring

In 2006 a particularly impressive collection of renaissance silver was found in a garden in the small village of Pouilly-sur-Meuse in Lorraine in France. The collection was put up for sale at Sotheby’s, but was declared a national treasure and secured for a sum of €1,4 mill. Its final resting place is the Musée Lorrain at Nancy. This spring, however, the treasure is exhibited at the Musée National de la Renaissance at Ecouen North of Paris.

The collection consists of 31 pieces of silver, some of which are embellished with engraved and gilded decorations. The pieces, which date from the late 15th and the 16th century, were probably collected in the same family over several generations. Not quite spectacular, they are believed to have belonged to a wealthy, but not in anyway princely household. Some of the later pieces can be identified as stemming from workshops in Paris, Reims, Châlon-en Champagne and Strasbourg. It is believed that the collection of silver was buried in connection with the French Wars of Religion 1562 – 98.

tresor5 233x300 Renaissance TreasureThe collection is nearly unique. Most French renaissance silver was melted down in the wars in the 17th century and only a few remarkable pieces may still be seen. Many of these belong to the collections of the Musée National de la Renaissance. Thus, although the treasure of Pouilly-sur-Meuse is the pièce de résistance of the current exhibition, it has been accompanied by a veritable feast of tapestries, paintings, prints, cutlery and other eating utensils from the same period. The exhibition attempts to showcase the culture and traditions behind the grand feasts as well as ordinary daily life in early renaissance France.

The exhibition is accompanied by a catalogue with exceptional photos, a general presentation of the objects and their context as well as a presentation of other similar finds.

Trésors enfouis de la Renaissance. Autour de Pouilly-sur-Meuse
Éditions de la Rmn – Grand Palais 2012

L’invention d’un trésor. Vaisselles précieuses et arts de la table à la Renaissance
Musée national de la Renaissance.
Château d’Ecouen, 95440 Ecouen
04.04.2012–02.07.2012