Madonna of Chancellor Rolin
Encyclopedia
Oil painting
Oil painting is the process of painting with pigments that are bound with a medium of drying oil—especially in early modern Europe, linseed oil. Often an oil such as linseed was boiled with a resin such as pine resin or even frankincense; these were called 'varnishes' and were prized for their body...
by the Early Netherlandish
Early Netherlandish painting
Early Netherlandish painting refers to the work of artists active in the Low Countries during the 15th- and early 16th-century Northern renaissance, especially in the flourishing Burgundian cities of Bruges and Ghent...
master Jan van Eyck
Jan van Eyck
Jan van Eyck was a Flemish painter active in Bruges and considered one of the best Northern European painters of the 15th century....
, dating from around 1435. It is on display in the Musée du Louvre, Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
.
The work was commissioned by the energetic Nicolas Rolin
Nicolas Rolin
Nicolas Rolin was a leading figure in the history of Burgundy and France, becoming chancellor to Philip the Good .-Biography:...
, chancellor of the Duchy of Burgundy
Duchy of Burgundy
The Duchy of Burgundy , was heir to an ancient and prestigious reputation and a large division of the lands of the Second Kingdom of Burgundy and in its own right was one of the geographically larger ducal territories in the emergence of Early Modern Europe from Medieval Europe.Even in that...
, whose votive portrait takes up the left side of the picture, for his parish church, Notre-Dame-du-Chastel in Autun
Autun
Autun is a commune in the Saône-et-Loire department in Burgundy in eastern France. It was founded during the early Roman Empire as Augustodunum. Autun marks the easternmost extent of the Umayyad campaign in Europe.-Early history:...
, where it remained until the church burnt down in 1793. After a period in Autun Cathedral, it was moved to the Louvre in 1805.
Description
The scene depicts the Virgin crowned by a hovering Angel while she presents the Infant JesusJesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
to Rolin. It is set within a spacious Italian-style loggia
Loggia
Loggia is the name given to an architectural feature, originally of Minoan design. They are often a gallery or corridor at ground level, sometimes higher, on the facade of a building and open to the air on one side, where it is supported by columns or pierced openings in the wall...
with a rich decoration of columns and bas-reliefs. In the background is a landscape with a city on a river, probably intended to be Autun
Autun
Autun is a commune in the Saône-et-Loire department in Burgundy in eastern France. It was founded during the early Roman Empire as Augustodunum. Autun marks the easternmost extent of the Umayyad campaign in Europe.-Early history:...
in Burgundy, Rolin's hometown. A wide range of well detailed palaces, churches, an island, a towered bridge, hills and fields is portrayed, subject to a uniform light. Perhaps some of the Chancellor's very many landholdings around Autun are included in the vista. A haze covers a mountain range in the far distance. As in many Flemish paintings, the steepness of the hills and mountains is shown as much greater than that found locally, for dramatic effect.
The small garden with many flowers identifiable (including lilies, irises, paeonies and roses), visible just outside the columns, symbolizes Mary's virtues. Beyond, two male figures wearing chaperons
Chaperon (headgear)
Chaperon was a form of hood or, later, highly versatile hat worn in all parts of Western Europe in the Middle Ages. Initially a utilitarian garment, it first grew a long partly decorative tail behind, and then developed into a complex, versatile and expensive headgear after what was originally the...
are looking through the crenellations of what looks to be a fortified balcony or bridge. There has been speculation that they may represent van Eyck and an assistant, after the pattern of his Arnolfini Portrait
Arnolfini portrait
The Arnolfini Portrait is an oil painting on oak panel dated 1434 by the Early Netherlandish painter Jan van Eyck. It is also known as The Arnolfini Wedding, The Arnolfini Marriage, The Arnolfini Double Portrait or the Portrait of Giovanni Arnolfini and his Wife, among other titles...
. The figure on the right wears a similar red chaperon to the probable van Eyck self-portrait in the National Gallery, London
National Gallery, London
The National Gallery is an art museum on Trafalgar Square, London, United Kingdom. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The gallery is an exempt charity, and a non-departmental public body of the Department for Culture, Media...
. Near to them are two peacocks, symbols both of immortality and of pride, to which even a powerful man as Rolin might succumb.
As in other van Eycks, the depiction of the space is not as straightforward as it first appears. Comparison of the floor-tiles with other elements shows that the figures are only about six feet from the columned loggia screen, and that Rolin might have to squeeze himself through the opening to get out that way. Many van Eycks show an interior space that is actually very small, but the depiction is subtly managed to retain a sense of intimacy, but without feeling constricted.
Alterations
InfraredInfrared
Infrared light is electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength longer than that of visible light, measured from the nominal edge of visible red light at 0.74 micrometres , and extending conventionally to 300 µm...
reflectograms have disclosed a number of changes from the underdrawing
Underdrawing
Underdrawing is the drawing done on a painting ground before paint is applied, for example, an imprimatura or an underpainting. Underdrawing was used extensively by 15th century painters like Jan van Eyck and Rogier van der Weyden. These artists "underdrew" with a brush, using hatching strokes for...
. In that Rolin had a large purse hanging from his belt; since he had grown very rich in public office he probably felt that would be inappropriate. The infant Christ was originally pointing at the floor. Old descriptions from Autun tell us that the painting originally had a wooden frame painted illusionistically with inscriptions seemingly carved, like van Eyck's two portraits in London.
Iconography
The Virgin sits with the infant Christ "on her knee" (i.e., on her thighs), which make a platform for the infant. This very traditional motif is known as the Throne of WisdomSeat of Wisdom
In the Roman Catholic tradition, the epithet "the Seat of Wisdom" or "Throne of Wisdom" is identified with one of many devotional titles for the Mother of God...
, and was often used by Jan van Eyck, who elaborated the meaning in complex allusions. The Virgin's body was often compared to an altar, on which Christ was present as he was believed to be during the Mass
Mass (liturgy)
"Mass" is one of the names by which the sacrament of the Eucharist is called in the Roman Catholic Church: others are "Eucharist", the "Lord's Supper", the "Breaking of Bread", the "Eucharistic assembly ", the "memorial of the Lord's Passion and Resurrection", the "Holy Sacrifice", the "Holy and...
. This painting may have originally hung to the left of Rolin's place at the front of his chapel in his parish church, between him and the altar. To Rolin, or a viewer of the real and painted Rolins together, the Virgin is painted in the position of the altar in the chapel. The illuminated manuscript
Illuminated manuscript
An illuminated manuscript is a manuscript in which the text is supplemented by the addition of decoration, such as decorated initials, borders and miniature illustrations...
in front of Rolin is open to a page with a large initial D, which probably indicates "Domine, labia mea aperies" ("Lord, open my lips"), the opening of Matins
Matins
Matins is the early morning or night prayer service in the Roman Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran and Eastern Orthodox liturgies of the canonical hours. The term is also used in some Protestant denominations to describe morning services.The name "Matins" originally referred to the morning office also...
; this is therefore a Book of Hours
Book of Hours
The book of hours was a devotional book popular in the later Middle Ages. It is the most common type of surviving medieval illuminated manuscript. Like every manuscript, each manuscript book of hours is unique in one way or another, but most contain a similar collection of texts, prayers and...
.
Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
of his own day. The setting probably represents at the same time an imaginary building in Autun, and the "Heavenly city of Jerusalem"; two personages from two worlds are shown, and their surrounding combines the world of each.
The painting might be connected with the appointment in 1436 of Rolin's son Jean
Jean Rolin (cardinal)
Jean Rolin was a Burgundian bishop and Cardinal.His father, Nicolas Rolin, was ducal Chancellor of Burgundy, and lord of Authumes. Jean became a Cardinal in 1448, created by Pope Nicholas V, as part of diplomatic engagement between the Duchy of Burgundy and the Papacy, tending against France.He...
as Bishop of Autun; there is a magnificent cathedral
Cathedral
A cathedral is a Christian church that contains the seat of a bishop...
on the Virgin's side of the river. Also, just above Rolin's hands there is a smaller church, perhaps intended to represent a new church dedicated to the Virgin, or his own parish church, Notre-Dame-du-Chastel which he greatly enriched.
Seven deadly sins
The 7 Deadly Sins, also known as the Capital Vices or Cardinal Sins, is a classification of objectionable vices that have been used since early Christian times to educate and instruct followers concerning fallen humanity's tendency to sin...
distributed among the details of the painting. The relief
Relief
Relief is a sculptural technique. The term relief is from the Latin verb levo, to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is thus to give the impression that the sculpted material has been raised above the background plane...
s just over Rolin's head show (from left) the expulsion of Adam and Eve from Paradise (Pride
Pride
Pride is an inwardly directed emotion that carries two common meanings. With a negative connotation, pride refers to an inflated sense of one's personal status or accomplishments, often used synonymously with hubris...
), the Killing of Abel by Cain (Envy
Envy
Envy is best defined as a resentful emotion that "occurs when a person lacks another's superior quality, achievement, or possession and either desires it or wishes that the other lacked it."...
) and the Drunkenness of Noah (Gluttony
Gluttony
Gluttony, derived from the Latin gluttire meaning to gulp down or swallow, means over-indulgence and over-consumption of food, drink, intoxicants or wealth items to the point of extravagance or waste...
). Then the lion-heads on the capitals behind Rolin may stand for Anger
Anger
Anger is an automatic response to ill treatment. It is the way a person indicates he or she will not tolerate certain types of behaviour. It is a feedback mechanism in which an unpleasant stimulus is met with an unpleasant response....
, and the tiny squashed rabbits between column and base in the loggia screen for Lust
Lust
Lust is an emotional force that is directly associated with the thinking or fantasizing about one's desire, usually in a sexual way.-Etymology:The word lust is phonetically similar to the ancient Roman lustrum, which literally meant "purification"...
(which they were considered to exemplify in the Middle Ages). All these details are on Rolin's side of the painting; no equivalents are visible on the other, divine, side. However this leaves Avarice and Sloth
Sloth (deadly sin)
In the Christian moral tradition, sloth is one of the seven capital sins, often called the seven deadly sins; these sins are called sins because they supposedly destroy the charity in a person's heart and thus may lead to eternal death.-Definition:Sloth is defined as spiritual or emotional...
unaccounted for, unless perhaps the human figures of Rolin himself (with his underdrawn purse), and the idlers out on the terrace (perhaps including, as stated above, van Eyck himself) represent the last two vices.