15/1/07 - History of Art - Leading Europe: Painting in France c.1240 - c.1380

In the visual arts of France in the middle ages, importance was placed on light as a symbol of Christ, and glass was representative of the Virgin, similar to the painting Madonna in the Church, c.1437.

However, the sacred meaning of light came long before Van Eyck and was shown by increasingly larger windows. Later, stained glass became popular, such as the St Lubin and the Infancy of Christ windows of Chartres Cathedral, c.1205 and c.1145 respectively. Roundels (circles of stone) show the most significant moments in biblical stories, although the pictures are incredibly small and hard to read with the naked eye. Glass painters came immediately after cathedrals were constructed. There is a great deal of detail and skill in their work. The patrons were depicted at the bottom of the window, where the pictures are easier to read. For example, see the wine makers at the foot of the St Lubin window. The faithful would see this and be encouraged to buy wine, so there was a sponsorship relation between the glass painters and their patrons. The difficulty of reading the stories depicted in the glass suggests that the emphasis was on light merely, not the pictures.

Darkness was also important. The south transept of Chartres Cathedral is dark, for example. The effects of the interior are created by the light from the window, whether the effect is darkness or light.

Light is used in manuscript painting such as in the Bible moralisée. It was probably made under royal patronage, because on its title page there is an illustration of a king and queen, thought to be Blanche of Castile and her son Louis IX. Such evidence helps to date the artefact; this manuscript probably dates to c.1220. Below the king and queen are the makers of the manuscript, although it is rare for artists to be shown alongside the patrons.

The scene of Genesis from this manuscript is very interesting. A pair of compasses were probably used to make this page. The sequence reads from picture 1-2-5-6, with those pictures immediately beneath these used as explanatory and moralising references. Compare these pages with the window of the Sainte-Chapelle, Paris. The manuscript painters must have borrowed their style from the glass painters.

Notice that on the page of God in the First Act of Creation (Architect of the Universe) God uses compasses, emulating the artist and raising the status of the artist in society. Mathematical relationships have been used to give definitive proportions to the picture. The artists took their inspiration from the figures of Reims Cathedral, particularly the style of drapery and the classical forms.

In Beauvais Cathedral the windows are of clear glass, following the new notion that interior architecture is more important than decorative glass. Manuscript illuminators overtook glass painters in demand and prestige. The Master Honoré page from the Breviary of King Philippe the Fair shows a change in the style of draperies, moving away from the classicised style. Compare these new figures with those on the western front of Reims Cathedral, c.1220s. The manuscript painter depicts the life of David, who supposedly wrote the Psalms, as a way of illustrating concepts conveyed in the Psalms. Manuscript painters mostly remained anonymous, but documents kept with this manuscript suggest the painter was a Master Honoré and his workshop is mentioned in one of its pages. His style is so unique that other manuscripts have been attributed to him, for example La Somme le Roi: Friendship, Hatred and Episodes from the Life of David, c.1295, La Somme le Roi: Chastity, Luxury and Two Scenes from the Old Testament and La Somme le Roi: The Garden of Virtues which shows that the artist engages in realistic forms of nature: ash and holly trees are clearly identifiable, as well as goldfinches.

Jean Pucelle was really the only manuscript illuminator who was so famous that he was still talked about after his death. His Hours of Jeanne d'Evreux is just two and a half inches high. The Annunciation pages represent matins, a time of prayer before dawn, and other prayer times refer to other periods in Christ's life. Pucelle was still a teenager when he painted the manuscript. There are humorous elements, as if to highlight the seriousness of the Biblical stories. Pucelle sometimes uses a 'grisaille' style, that is, uses tones of grey to give the effect of sculpture. At the time of lent, colours were given up, hence his depiction of Ash Wednesday in this grisaille technique.

Pucelle also illustrated the Belleville Breviary, c.1328. In the 'Saul Threatens David' series, abstract concepts such as envy are illustrated at the bottom through personifications of Biblical characters, e.g. Cain and Abel personify charity. Pucelle also shows a flair for naturalism in his naturalistic decorative borders. Pucelle kept the same distinctive style throughout his other manuscripts and developed the style as he became older and more experienced at his work. He had a reputation as a clever artist who derived his pictures from life.