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THE BIBLE MORALISÉE, THE GOLDEN LEGEND AND THE SALVATOR MUNDI: OBSERVATIONS ON THE ICONOGRAPHY OF THE WESTMINSTER RETABLE

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 March 2014

M A Michael
M A Michael*
Affiliation:
M A Michael, FSA, 25b Granville Square, London WC1X 9PD, UK. Email: mmichael@christies.edu
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Abstract

The iconography of the Westminster Retable is compared primarily with sources in the Bible moralisée tradition created in France in the thirteenth century. Through analysing the iconography of the miracle scenes displayed on the Retable and relating them to specific copies of the Bible moralisée it is suggested that the artist of the Retable had close personal knowledge of French models. Analysis of the iconography of the central section of the Retable suggests that the text of the Golden Legend may also have been used by the artist and/or the iconographer as a source. It is also suggested that there is an underlying theme in the Retable that relates closely to the creation of the Westminster pavement. Finally, it is suggested that the artist of the Westminster Retable should be integrated into the history of French painting as much as of English painting in order to explore more fully the possibility that he was trained in France.

Résumé

L'iconographie du Retable de Westminster est comparée principalement avec des sources de la tradition de la « Bible moralisée » apparue en France au xiiie siècle. L'analyse de l'iconographie des scènes de miracles dépeintes sur le retable et l'observation de liens à des exemplaires spécifiques de la « Bible moralisée » permettent de supposer que l'auteur du retable possédait une connaissance personnelle approfondie des modèles français. L'analyse de l'iconographie de la section centrale du retable tend à indiquer que le texte de la « Légende dorée » pourrait aussi avoir servi de source à l'artiste ou à l'iconographe. Nous émettons également l'hypothèse que le retable comporte un thème sous-jacent étroitement apparenté à la création du pavement de Westminster. Enfin, nous proposons que le créateur du retable de Westminster soit à l'avenir intégré aussi bien à l'histoire de la peinture française qu'à celle de la peinture anglaise pour permettre d'examiner dans plus de détails la possibilité qu'il ait été formé en France.

Zusammenfassung

Die Ikonographie des Westminster Retabels wird vor allem mit Quellen in der im 13. Jahrhundert in Frankreich entstandenen Tradition der Bible moralisée verglichen. Durch eine Analyse der Ikonographie der im Retabel dargestellten Wunderszenen und deren Inverbindungsetzen mit bestimmten Exemplaren der Bible moralisée wird nahegelegt, dass der Künstler des Retabels eine genaue Kenntnis der französischen Vorbilder hatte. Eine Analyse der Ikonographie des Mittelteils des Retabels legt nahe, dass der Text der Goldenen Legende auch vom Künstler und/oder dem Ikonographen als Quelle verwendet wurde. Des Weiteren wird vorgeschlagen, dass die dem Retabel zugrundliegende Thematik eng mit der Schaffung des Mosaikbodens in der Westminster Abbey verbunden ist. Des Weiteren wird vorgeschlagen, dass der Künstler des Westminster Retabels in Zukunft im selben Maße in die Geschichte der französischen Malerei als auch in die der englischen Malerei aufgenommen werden sollte, um somit eingehender die Möglichkeit zu erforschen, dass er in Frankreich ausgebildet wurde.

Type
Papers
Information
The Antiquaries Journal , Volume 94 , September 2014 , pp. 93 - 125
Copyright
Copyright © The Society of Antiquaries of London 2014 

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