The Offering of the Book to Anne de Graville. Berosus (fl. 300 B.C.), Chaldean History. In French, illuminated manuscript on parchment, France, Paris, 1505-6. One full-page miniature by Jean Pichore; genealogical tables in color
Catherine d’Amboise (1481-1550), Reason Explains the Nature of Fortune to Catherine. La complainte de la dame pasmée contre fortune. In French, illuminated manuscript on parchment, Central France, Bourges or Poitou ?, c. 1525-1530. 8 large miniatures by the artist of Paris, Mazarine MS 978 (P. Merevache?)
Flowering of Medieval French Literature
writing in French as “speaking as I learned from my mother,” or “speaking in my mother tongue.” Mostly illuminated, the 16 manuscripts on exhibition encompass a wide variety of subjects ranging from literature and science, philosophy and theology, to history and government. Rather than grouping works by genres or periods, the exhibition is organized in sections as follows: Literature and Science: the Rise and Affirmation of the Vernacular; II. Philosophy, Theology, and Mirror of Princes: Translations and Adaptations of the Classics; III. History and Genealogy: the Nation and the Individual; IV. Women Writers and Women Bibliophiles: Memory and Self-Assertion; V. From Manuscript to Print: the Circulation of Texts and the Triumph of the French Vernacular. Flowering of Medieval French Literature travels from Les Enluminures NY gallery to its Paris gallery at 1 rue JeanJacques Rousseau, where it will be on view from May 13-20. “L’essor de la langue française au Moyen Âge: Au parler que m’aprist ma mere,” an international colloquium with talks encompassing themes explored within the exhibition along with new research, will take place Saturday, May 17, 2014, at the Institut National d’Histoire de l’Art (INHA) in Paris. For more information, please visit: www. lesenluminures.com. To pre-register for the colloquium (required), please contact: info@lesenluminures.com. Les Enluminures was founded in Paris in 1991 by Dr. Sandra Hindman in association with the Chicago-based business, and opened its New York gallery in May 2012. Specializing in manuscripts and miniatures from the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, the gallery also handles rings and jewelry from the same periods. It organizes four or five exhibitions a year, some traveling and in collaboration with other dealers, which are often accompanied by catalogues.
Presenting a “new” history of medieval French literature based largely upon the impact of historical and social phenomena, scientific advancements, and linguistic and cultural singularities, Les Enluminures’ comprehensive project (exhibition, catalogue, and colloquium) centers on a group of manuscripts written in the French language between c. 1300 and c. 1550. While the earliest written records date from the ninth century, French was not widely used until the 13th- century. Many factors influenced the shift from Latin to the “mother tongue.” The change from an agrarian- to a commercial–based economy throughout towns and cities imposed a need for the middle class to understand each other both in written and spoken forms. The centralization of French government and the rise of a nation state under King Philip Augustus (who reigned 1180-1223) dictated a need for a language through which the court and the nobles could wield power far and wide. Not surprisingly, women played a pivotal role in the rise and evolution of medieval French, as they began to forge a place for themselves within a literary canon. Male writers also increasingly chose to feature women, which constituted a devoted audience for their works of literature and theology. As a result of these efforts, French was well established as the language of literature, historical record, and personal expression by the 15th- century. The exhibition title is taken from a quote from Jean de Meun, one of authors presented in the exhibition who, with Guillaume de Lorris, wrote the celebrated Roman de la Rose. In c. 1325, Jean described 74 • Fine Art Magazine