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France, 18th century
wood and plaster, in part painted and gilded, window and mirror glass, marble table tops
Overall: 408.7 x 436.6 x 283.2 cm (160 7/8 x 171 7/8 x 111 1/2 in.)
John L. Severance Fund
This intaglio shows the goddess Venus visiting the forge of her husband Vulcan to collect the armor and weapons that she has convinced him to create for her son, Aeneas. Vulcan is seated on the right and holds a hammer in his raised right arm to strike the anvil before him. Venus is standing on the left and facing Vulcan. Although this specific moment is not described in Vergil's "Aeneid" (composed in the second half of the 1st century BCE), it is part of the story line of book 8, where Venus seduces Vulcan to get him to make the arms and later delivers them to Aeneas. Vergil (1st century BCE) wrote the "Aeneid" as a Latin epic poem in the model of the Greek "Iliad" and "Odyssey" by Homer (8th century BCE).
Roman
H: 13/16 × W: 5/8 × D: 1/4 in. (2.1 × 1.6 × 0.6 cm)
medium: Syrian garnet
culture: Roman
Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
7th MAY, LONDON – The London Pyramid Group meet to discuss URL Dispatch and look at how Pyramid matches URLs to views using simple pattern matching. Then having a look at some basic traversal and resource trees. See future London Pyramid Group meetups at: skillsmatter.com/user-group/ajax-ria/ldn-pyr
The style and quality of this manuscript's decoration is typical of deluxe Parisian books made for aristocratic or royal patrons. Most of the book's decoration appears to be the work of the Master of the Boqueteaux, an artist active at the court of King Charles V (died 1380). His style was apparently shared by a number of book illuminators working in and around Paris. It is very possible that the <em>Gotha Missal</em> belonged to Charles V, but is not provable because the manuscript has no royal portraits and lacks a colophon. Given the book's magnificent decoration, however, it would seem that it was produced for a Valois prince, if not for the king himself. The manuscript receives its name from the German dukes of Gotha, its later owners.
France, Paris
ink, tempera, and gold on vellum; blind-tooled leather binding
Codex: 27.1 x 19.5 cm (10 11/16 x 7 11/16 in.)
Mr. and Mrs. William H. Marlatt Fund
This manuscript was illuminated by a circle of at least five highly organized manuscript painters active in the Flemish cities of Ghent and Bruges. The principal illuminator was Alexander Bening, who painted the majority of the book's miniatures. Manuscripts produced by this circle of artists are renowned for the decoration of their borders, which typically feature a rich variety of realistically-painted flowers, birds, and butterflies.
This prayer book, called a book of hours, was intended not for a cleric, but for the private devotions of a lay person-in this case, Isabella the Catholic, Queen of Spain (1451-1504). Isabella's coat of arms embellishes the book's frontispiece. It is unlikely that the book was commissioned by the Queen herself; rather, she probably received it as a diplomatic gift from someone courting her patronage, perhaps Cardinal Francisco Jimenez de Cisneros. A Franciscan friar, Jimenez was dependent upon Isabella for his advancement, first to the post of Queen's confessor in 1492, and then to Archbishop of Toledo in 1495.
Flanders, Ghent and Bruges, late 15th century
ink, tempera, and gold on vellum
Codex: 22.5 x 15.2 cm (8 7/8 x 6 in.)
Leonard C. Hanna, Jr. Fund
These eight woodcuts come from a series of forty which illustrate the story of Christian redemption from original sin to the Last Judgement. Probably to maximize printing efficiency and quality, eight woodblocks were printed on each of five sheets of paper, but the subjects are not in the correct chronological order. Prior to sale, the sheets were cut into eight pieces. The sheets in the museum's set were only cut in half, preserving four prints per page. The numbers after the titles of the individual images indicate each scene's place within the narrative. By 1513, Altdorfer had already executed a number of small, finely detailed engravings. Because it is difficult to achieve the same degree of precision using woodcut, The Fall and Redemption of Man is a technical tour de force. Probably inspired by Albrecht Dürer's Small Passion (1511)-but almost double the size-the only contemporaneous comparable set of fine miniature woodcuts, Dance of Death, was designed by Hans Holbein in about 1526 (on view nearby).
Germany, 16th century
woodcut
John L. Severance Fund
This small altarpiece, intended for a domestic interior or private chapel, consists of three panels, allowing it to be folded and easily transported. Surrounding the Virgin and Child in the center are various saints. On the left is Saint Andrew crucified, with St. Francis and St. Paul below; on the right, Christ with the instruments of the Passion, and St. Stephen and St. Lawrence below. The long expressive lines that define the clothing and hands of the figures are typical of Byzantine painting, which spread from Constantinople to Italy in the Middle Ages. Berlinghiero is one of the earliest Italian painters known by name. He lived in Lucca, the most important artistic center in Tuscany before the rise of Siena and Florence. Berlinghiero headed a large, influential workshop that included his sons.
Italy, 13th century
tempera and gold on wood
Unframed: 42.5 x 12.5 cm (16 3/4 x 4 15/16 in.)
Did you know...
Berlinghiero is one of the earliest Italian painters known by name. He headed a large workshop in Lucca, the most important artistic center in Tuscany before the rise of Siena and Florence.
Gift of the John Huntington Art and Polytechnic Trust
In the Qing dynasty (1644–1911), luxury items became more affordable to larger parts of the society, including women, merchants, and literati in non-official positions. Imperial patronage and a growing urban population encouraged consumption of luxury goods and local craftmanship. This fine-grained, light yellow ivory carved in the shape of a lotus leaf illustrates the superb carving skills and the creative mind of the talented artisan who sought clients on a competitive market.
China, Qing dynasty (1644-1911)
ivory
Overall: 5.1 cm (2 in.)
Did you know...
Inside each box is a lotus pond and two swimming ducks carved in high relief.
Gift of Lois Clarke