Transcript
Page 1: MASTERPIECES OF MEDIEVAL ART BY JAMES ROBINSON

themes, we might say, are often whatspearhead new research and lend newinsights into otherwise well-knownworks. To focus research and writingaround a commonplace drink such asmilk, however, does seem a slightly oddnotion. Indeed, Kenneth Hayes admits asmuch in his introduction to this book.Milk is, of course, much more than just adrink. Its comforting and life-givingassociations – mother’s milk, childhooddrink, sustenance for the sick, the frail andthe elderly – are always present. Hayeshints at these sorts of associations; heimparts how his title of Milk and Melancholydraws on Sigmund Freud’s essay ‘Mourn-ing and melancholia’ of 1917, as well as onanother important study, Saturn and Melan-choly: Studies in the History of NaturalPhilosophy, Religion, and Art (1964) byRaymond Klibansky, Erwin Panofsky andFritz Saxl. Reference to these two textsenables Hayes to take a dualistic ap-proach, so that roots in iconography andpsychoanalysis expand a monographicstudy of milk into a much broader textthan we might imagine.

Why the splash, though? Hayes set outto write a monographic study of Jeff Wall’siconic image Milk (1984), but soon dis-covered a proliferation of images in art,especially in photography, that took up theidea of spills, splashes, pools and puddlesof this opaque liquid. For Hayes, theevanescent nature of the spill or splashseemed to act as a ‘locus of disturbance’ oreven a traumatic interruption. His net castwider than just Wall, then, Hayes looked tothe emergence of these sorts of photo-graph in late nineteenth-century scientificphotography.

He begins with the history of splashphotography in scientific research andhow those images were later appropriatedfor art’s sake. The reader’s attention isdirected to the early scientific photographsof Harold Edgerton in the 1930s, as well asstudies of fluid dynamics by A M Worthing-ton around 1900. Worthington moved inscientific circles, the opacity of milk andits seemingly luminescent quality inter-ested him. His thinking was informed bystudies in fluid dynamics and his owninvestigations reveal a fascination with theindexical trace. Despite this, Worthingtonresisted photography and preferred hand-done illustrations accompanied by adetailed written account of his observa-tions. Later, Edgerton’s work, as Hayesobserves, integrated photography from

the very beginning. An engineer by train-ing, Edgerton’s photographic practicedemonstrates the photographic apparatusitself. Soda Spritzer of 1933 demonstrateshow high shutter speed, combined withcareful lighting, could have the effect offreezing action without losing any vitality.In November 1939 Life magazine featured acollection of Edgerton’s images, whichconcluded with eight photographs of amilk drop falling into a saucer of milk. Hisphotographs appeared in technical andpopular publications as well as MOMA’sphotographic show ‘The Exact Instant’ in1949. Yet, Edgerton considered himself anengineer first and foremost, not an artist.

In Chapter 2, Hayes claims that themilk splash ‘was instrumental in over-coming the hegemony of Action Painting’.This is a bold claim for a small splash,perhaps, but one that has some groundingin preceding developments in photogra-phy. The increasing assimilation of thework of photographers such as Edgertoninto art exhibitions meant that the imagesof the splash were rooted in photography.In Hayes argument, the splash in ActionPainting, then, gestured towards photo-graphy and a loss of confidence in thefuture of painting itself.

Chapter 3, ‘The Optical Unconscious inextremis’ – expands upon what Hayes rathergrandly refers to as ‘the milk-splashdiscourse’. In this model, milk becomes asite of disturbance, what I referred to earlyon in this review as trauma or interruption.Hayes explores the significance of thesesorts of idea in Walter Benjamin’s famousessay of 1936 ‘The Work of Art in the Ageof Mechanical Reproduction’, as well asmore contemporary thinking on Benjaminfrom Rosalind Krauss and MargaretIversen. The idea of seeing the unseenthrough photography brings Hayes tosuggest that the milk-splash allows us aglimpse into the optical unconscious. Heeven goes so far as proposing considera-tion of the milk-splash as a sort of primalscene of the optical unconscious.

Hayes’ final chapter turns to hisoriginal inspiration for this project andWall’s Milk appears as an almost inevitabledestination for Hayes’ argument. He sug-gests an agoraphilic drive at work as, inthe late 1960s, artists moved into the spaceof the street. Braco Dimitrijevic, AdrianPiper and Martha Rosler are just a few ofthe artists whose work he examines here,but it is Hayes’ treatment of BarbaraKruger’s Untitled (You Are Getting What You

Paid For) (1984) that really brings hisargument together. The dialectic of anxietyand desire suddenly becomes central toHayes’ milk-splash discourse and lendsclarity to what is, by its very nature,disturbed. When he finally gets to Wall,Hayes’ reaches for Roland Barthes’ poeticsin Mythologies. The picture, he tells us,‘manifests the phantasy of seeing the soulat the moment of death, a death contrivedby the camera’. There is nothing new inthis argument of course, but at last we getto the meaning of Hayes’ title and hisideas, like milk, coalesce, mid-air andmelancholic.

beth l williamson

Tate

MASTERPIECES OF MEDIEVAL ART

james robinson

British Museum Press 2008 d19.99320 pp. 250 col illusisbn 978-0-7141-2815-3

The medieval period is frequentlyportrayed as an age of darknessand ignorance, compressed between

the wisdom of the Ancient World and itsrediscovery during the Italian Renais-sance. Similarly, the Middle Ages arecharacterized as a time when linear pers-pective was forgotten and draughtsman-ship replaced by awkward figures, lackingproportion. Fortunately, modern academicopinion is helping to redress this image,showing that the period was one of vibrantcolour, exquisite craftsmanship, and pro-found symbolism. In particular, PaulBinski has forged analyses of medievalart and architecture that integrate history,theology, music, and literature in order tounderstand the visual culture of this time.This influence of an integrated approachto art history is now spreading to wideraudiences in surveys of medieval artdesigned to appeal to the general reader.James Robinson’s Masterpieces of MedievalArt is a fine example of this trend.

Published by the British Museum, thisbook is a survey of some of the mostinteresting and beautiful items in itsmedieval collections, examined piece bypiece. This is not, however, merely aselection of artefacts made at the whimof the author; it is in fact a catalogue of themuseum’s newly refurbished medievaldisplay: the Paul and Jill Ruddock Galleryof Medieval Europe. James Robinson, theauthor of this book, is also the curator ofLate Medieval Europe at the museum, and

46 The ArtBook volume 17 issue 1 february 2010 r 2010 the authors. journal compilation r 2010 bpl/aah

Reviews

Page 2: MASTERPIECES OF MEDIEVAL ART BY JAMES ROBINSON

thus responsible for the current reorgani-sation upon which the catalogue is based.The book and exhibition both concentrateon works produced in the period 1050–1500, covering, as far as English chronol-ogy is concerned, the vast period from theeve of the Norman Conquest to that of theReformation.

This bright and stylish presentationwas opened to the public last year, and isin many ways superior to the previousarrangement. The number of freestandingcabinets has been reduced, allowing theviewer greater freedom of movement,while spotlights highlight individualpieces within each cabinet, giving themtheir own emphasis. One drawback of thenew arrangement of the collection is thedisplay of the most significant artefacts.When objects were presented typologically,the outstanding examples of each typecould be clearly appreciated; the thematicapproach helps to place an object within acontext of its use and user, but this can beto the disadvantage of smaller items. Twopieces suffer from this in particular: theseal die of Robert Fitzwalter and theDunstable Swan Jewel. The former isreckoned to be one of the finest survivingmedieval silver seal dies. Nevertheless,once removed from the company of otherseals it loses much of its previous impact.

The Dunstable Swan Jewel (c. 1400), adelicate gold and enamel pendant, is partof a tradition of display used by a networkof European nobles who all claimeddescent from Godfrey of Bouillon, grand-son of the legendary Swan Knight, agenealogical phenomenon addressed insome detail by Sir Anthony Wagner(Pedigree and Progress, 1975). The jewel,symbol of the Bohun family and ofLancastrian allegiance, illustrates the con-temporary interest in both genealogy anddisplay. Little more than an inch in height,the Swan Jewel is difficult to show; thoughit is placed on a pedestal and illuminatedby a spotlight, it is dwarfed by surround-ing objects; unfortunately a large knight’shelmet and accompanying chain mailattract the eye more readily than thedelicate beauty of the Swan.

The book is divided into three sections,‘Devotional art’, ‘Society’, and ‘Interna-tional influences’, incorporating sacredand secular art, and its domestic andforeign inspiration. Clearly many piecesdo not fit cleanly into one category – themonumental brass of an unidentifiedbishop is placed in the first section, while

that of the gentleman John Langstonappears under ‘Society’; but is the funeraryimage of a bishop more devotional thanthat of a layman? Nevertheless, thecategories are more straightforward thanthe 13 themes that appear in the galleryitself, most of which can be seen assubdivisions of these general divisions.The only one of these themes that isdedicated to a particular work is the LewisChessmen (c. 1150–1200), a group of chesspieces finely carved from walrus ivory;significantly, the curator is also the authorof a separate book on this subject, and assuch receives one of the most detailedentries in the catalogue,explaining their provenanceand symbolism.

The text in general iserudite and accessible, butunfortunately lacks specificreferences to other aca-demic works, which haveclearly been consulted, butthe book is designed toappeal to a general audi-ence. Another weakness isthe index, occupying threepages: while it enables thecollection of objects to benavigated with little diffi-culty, there is little hope oflocating more precise cita-tions within the text. For theviewer, the greatest treasureof the book must be SaulPeckham’s seductive photo-graphs of the objects, which

adorn and illuminate almost every page;the colour and three-dimensional qualityturn flat illustrations into apparentlytactile objects.

The British Museum should be justlyproud of its wide-ranging and high-qualitycollection of medieval art. James Robinsonhas done full justice to this, both in the

TheDunstable Swan Jewel (c. 1400) France orEngland,rTrustees of the BritishMuseum.FromMasterpieces ofMedieval Art by James Robinson.

Lewis Chessman (c. 1150--1200).Probablymadein Norway,rTrustees of the BritishMuseum.FromMasterpieces ofMedieval Art by JamesRobinson.

r 2010 the authors. journal compilation r 2010 bpl/aah volume 17 issue 1 february 2010 The ArtBook 47

Reviews

Page 3: MASTERPIECES OF MEDIEVAL ART BY JAMES ROBINSON

museum’s medieval galleries, and in thisbook. I sincerely hope that both these willbring new converts into the glorious worldof light and colour that is medieval art.

jeremy goldsmith

Writer and historian, Newark upon Trent

ITALIAN ART, SOCIETY, AND

POLITICS: A FESTSCHRIFT FOR

RAB HATFIELD

barbara deimling, jonathan k

nelson, and gary m radke (eds)

Syracuse University Press, 2008 $24.95 d23.50 (P)263 pp. 19 col/30 mono illusisbn 978-8895250021

UK dist. Eurospan

This volume is dedicated to RabHatfield, a renowned teacher andscholar in Italian Renaissance stu-

dies who has taught at Syracuse Universityin Florence since 1971, on the occasion ofhis seventieth birthday. The book is part ofthe Villa Rossa series on interculturalperspectives on Italy and Europe pub-lished by Syracuse University Press.

The 15 essays on Italian Renaissanceart, society and politics by alumni ofSyracuse’s Graduate Program in Renais-sance Art cover diverse topics, but areunited by the clear influence of ProfessorHatfield’s passion for archival research.They are also notable for the consistencywith which the authors relate their specificarchival research to broader issues of thisperiod, supporting novel ideas aboutRenaissance Italy with in-depth casestudies. As the title suggests, somefocus more on art, with others looking atsociety and politics, both religious andsecular.

More than half the essays address artand artists in Renaissance Italy. Alexan-dra’s M Korey’s ‘A ‘‘Pleasing and enjoyablecounsel for living wisely’’ by Nicoletto daModena’ considers why da Modena’s printThe Fate of the Evil Tongue (1507) failed toachieve lasting resonance despite perfectlyfitting Alberti’s description of art quoted inthe title. Diane Kunzelman also looks at aspecific painting; her essay ‘Pontormo’sAdoration of the Magi: Technical analyses andnew insights’ is based on her conservationof this panel, particularly the developmentof composition revealed by the infraredreflectogram reproduced in the book.

The subjects are not restricted to thefine arts, as in Scott B Montgomery’s‘Fashioning the visage of sainthood: The

reliquary bust of Beata Umiliana dei Cerchiand the holy portrait in late medievalFlorence’ and Renee K Burnam’s ‘Pressingthe envelope: Stained-glass innovation infifteenth-century Tuscany’, which looks atstained glass glaziers as more thantranslators of designs by great artists, withreference to, and richly illustrated by, thewindows of the Duomo in Pisa.

The artist and his role, influences andrelationships are also addressed. In ‘DopoLorenzo: On the Ghiberti family legacy’Arnold Victor Coonin reflects on thefailure of the next three generations ofGhiberti’s family to live up to his sizeablemonetary and artistic legacy. Caroline SHillard’s ‘Michelangelo and Realdo Col-ombo: A dialogue on art and anatomy’reconsiders the pair’s relationship, sug-gesting that rather than its being one ofanatomist–illustrator, that they werefriends who shared a common interest inthe dynamism of the human body. ClaudiaGoldstein’s ‘Vincenzo Campi’s kitchenand market scenes: The cultural pull ofAntwerp in early modern Lombardy’ looksat how the Affaitadi family’s importedFlemish works in Cremona influenced theart of Campi, the city and Lombardy ingeneral. The symbolic importance of thename with regard to identity is the subjectof Robert G La France’s ‘Ubertini or Verdi?Bacchiacca’s surname’.

The works with more emphasis onsociety and politics can be broadly dividedinto the religious and the secular. Theformer focus on nuns, including MeghanCallahan’s ‘‘‘In her name and with hermoney’’: Suor Domenica da Paradiso’spatronage of the convent of La Crocetta inFlorence’ and Theresa Flanigan’s ‘Nunsand property: Santa Felicita and theeleventh-century development of the Flor-entine Oltrarno’.

Unsurprisingly, the Medici figure pro-minently in the essays on Florentinepolitics. Margery A Ganz’s ‘‘‘Buon amicima non per sempre’’: Agnolo Acciaiuoli,Dietsalvi Neroni, Luca Pitti, Niccolo So-derini and the Medici, 1430s to 1460s’addresses those involved in the 1466attempted coup against the Medici. In‘Medici statecraft and the building and useof Ammannati’s Ponte Santa Trinita’, LiaMarkey highlights the bridge’s designelements that aggrandise its patron, andconsiders the bridge’s symbolic and cere-monial role in Florence. Addressing theMedici influence beyond Florence, MollyBourne’s ‘Medici women at the Gonzaga

court, 1584–1627’ draws on the letterswritten by the Medici Duchesses of Mantuain this period to analyse the active culturalexchange between Florence and Mantua.

The socio-political studies of the ItalianRenaissance are not, however, limited tospheres of Medici influence. Marta AlvarezGonzalez’s ‘Rendering the ephemeral per-manent: Commemorative accounts of thefestivities for the 1585 wedding of DukeCarlo Emanuele I of Savoy and Catherine ofAustria in Spain and in Turin’ looks at thedialectic between ephemeral events and themore permanent chronicling of them withregard to this wedding. In the final essay, thenascent Italian state is addressed by SusanM Dixon. ‘The reattribution of the Pantheonfrom Agrippa to Hadrian’ considers how theItalian state from its infancy to the Fascistperiod benefitted from the notion that thePantheon was built in the Augustan era,stalling the acceptance of its re-dating.

The diversity and specificity of thesubjects in this volume make it interestingfor the general reader, showcasing thestrength of the Syracuse programme,developed by Hatfield to pass on hispassion for archives. For those withspecific interests in this area, the essaysare thoroughly researched and well written.The images are well selected to support thetext, illustrating points and showing theless-well-known artworks that these essaysoften address. This nicely presented vo-lume offers novel perspectives on thisdeeply researched area of art history; theauthors have used the archives introducedto them by Syracuse University to supporttheir theories with compelling case studies;a fitting tribute to Professor Hatfield.

rosalind mckever

Art writer, London

EXACTITUDE: HYPERREALIST ART

TODAY

john russell taylor and maggie

bollaert

Thames and Hudson, London, 2009, d35.00 $65.00360 pp. Fully illustratedisbn 978-0500238639

This is a monster of a coffee tablebook. In size and format it attemptsto emulate the equally large volumes

on photorealism produced by Linda Chaseand Louis Meisel in the 1980s and 1990s,and like them it sets out to define thephenomenon of photo-based realist art asit exists now. In this lies the strength of

48 The ArtBook volume 17 issue 1 february 2010 r 2010 the authors. journal compilation r 2010 bpl/aah

Reviews


Top Related