Medieval and Renaissance art: a continental culture
Alex Gendler
Issue date: 11/18/05 Section: A&E
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Originally conceived as part of French week, the exhibit has been expanded to present medieval and Renaissance art in a broader context, featuring examples of art and architecture from all over Europe and even comparisons to non-European counterparts of the same period. "At that point in time, the nation-state doesn't exist --it really is a European culture," said french professor Mary Toulouse of the foriegn languages and literatures department. The other reason for the broader focus is that 2005 is officially the Year of the Languages.
One of the main attractions of the exhibit is a life-sized replica of a section of one of the seventy massive Tapestries of the Apocalypse, which were created by by Nicolas Bataille and Robert Poinçon for Louis I d'Anjou in the late 14th century. The tapestries, of which seventy of the original 100 remain, represent passages from the Book of Revelation. Their enormous size does not truly become apparent until one realizes that the section hanging on the wall, which spans several square feet and appears unrecognizable at first, is actually only a small fold in an angel's robe. Other tapestries--selections from The Lady and the Unicorn--are also displayed.
Another corner of the room features replicas of illuminated manuscrips from the collection of the Duke of Berry, as well as another set from Spain. An English brass rubbing of an image from a tombstone hangs on the wall. Nearby, there are photos of the Amiens Cathedral in France and the Alhambra Muslim sanctuary in Spain. These are situated next to pictures of Japanese and African temples built during the same time period, the intent being to show the vast difference in the ways that different cultures have interpreted the world around them. Alongside these are student-built scale models of the cathedrals' architectural skeletons.
Another central piece is an excerpt from the EXCEL project by Ihssane Loudiyi '07 and Olga Duhl, professor of French and comparative literature: a new critical edition of the 1494 poem "The Ship of Foolish Maidens" that deciphers the early Gothic print, rendering it in more readable modern type. The poem, of which only five original copies remain, is a moralistic treatise on the evils and temptations of women, and the edition examines its social and historic as well as its linguistic significance.