The National Museum of Ancient Art, Lisbon - The cribs - The 21st of October 2017

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Cribs, which have undeniably had a huge impact on me as I made it through childhood and early adolescence do seem to touch me in a slightly different way nowadays. I can't help saying the 18th century ones on display at the National Museum of Ancient Art are well worth the visit, not only because of the religiousness attached to them and the Biblica figures but also (and mainly) because of the complexity, as well as the artistry of the pastoral and social portraying scenes around the Nativity.

 

 

As I admired the numerous details in both the displayed cribs from the Convents of Salésias and Nossa Senhora das Necessidades, I overheard some Spanish visitors refer to them as being some of the most beautifully ever carved cribs they had seen, which I personally felt to be true.

 

 

 

National Museum of Ancient Art, Lisbon - Sculptures and a painting depicting St. Anne and the Virgin Mary; sculptures depicting Mary and little Jesus pertaining to the Museum's permanent collection - The 21st of October 2017

As I was visiting the National Museum of Ancient Art I found myself looking at different representations of the same religious figures, as well as trying to analyse the details and the equally different sculpting styles. Some of the information did provide additional insight regarding the workshops they were sculpted in, though the rest was left to our personal taste and feeling towards the specific represented figures.

 Mary being instructed by St. Anne - 15th century polychromed alabastar - Nottingham, England. 

 

 

 

St. Anne and the Virgin - 1350 tempera on wooden panel - Ramons Destorrents, Arnau and Ferrer Bassa.

 

 

1301 -1350 polychromed and gilded poplar wood sculpture representing the Virgin with the Child - Portuguese workshop (left). 1325 polychromed limestone sculpture depicting the Virgin Mary holding a rose in her right hand (right).

 

 

It is believed to follow the artistic sculpting approach displayed in the tombs, for which Master Pero, to whom it is attributed was well known for, together with having renewed the sculpting approach in Portugal.

 

 

 

1460 polychromed limestone sculpture representing the Nursing Virgin - attributed to João Afonso.

 

1450-1475 polychromed limstone representingt the Virgin with the Child - attributed to the Master sculptor Gil Eanes from the workshop of Coimbra.

 

 

 

This is considered a sophisticated and rather elegant version of the iconography of the Nursing Virgin which became deeply embedded in the spiritual approach of the Portuguese from the Middle Ages onwards.

 

 

 

 

1325-1350 polychromed limestone sculpture representing the Virgin with the Child - attributed to Master Pero.

The crowned Virgin Mary with Jesus depicted as a child playing with a bird very much follows the French sculpting approach in regards to the relationship between the two represented figures

 

 

 

1325-1350 polychromed and gilded limestone sculpture representing the Virgin with the Child - French workshop located in Portugal.

 

 

The sculpture depicting child Jesus holding a bird is believed to follow the traditional sculpting approach of Île de France, as developped in the first half ot he 14th century.

 

 

 

 

1480 polychromed limestone sculpture representing the Virgin and the Child - Attributed to Diogo Pires-o-Velho.

 

This rather unusual type of devotional sculpture is associated to the cult of Our Lady of the Rosary, as well as the one of the Virgin of the Immaculate Conception due to the inclusion of the lunar crescent at its base. The rosary is represented by the crown of 24 roses, including the one presented by the Virgin herself.

 

 

1475-1500 polychromed limestone sculpture representing the Virgin Mary - Estremadura workshop. In this sculpture Mary is represented as the queen of the Heavens. In it we can identify the traditional Portuguese Medieval sculpting approach. 

 

1460 polychromed limestone sculpture representing the Virgin with the Child - Attributed to master João Afonso.

 

 

 

This representation with the Child Jesus writing on his Mother's lap is a Gothic interpretation of the Romanesque images of the Virgin at the Throne of Wisdom. Mary is represented in the role of the first teacher of Jesus who is seen writing the word salvation on a part of her parchment. The pomegranate the Virgin is holding in  her right hand  celebrates the unity of the Church, as the fruit's seeds, together with the obtained salvation through the blood of Christ symbolised by the red colour.

 

(To be continued)

 

National Museum of Ancient Art, Lisbon - Sculptures, paintings and tapestries pertaining to the Museum's permanent collection; temporary exhibition - Ivory Coast masks and carved stool - The 21st of October 2017

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I kept on strolling around the various exhibition rooms, not necessarily looking for any sculpture or painting in particular though stopping to admire those that caught my attention the most. The morning ended up being a very interesting one, despite the fact that I have visited the Museum several times before.

 

15th century alabastar St. Catherine sculpture - Nottingham, England.

1475 polychromed limestone St. Catherine sculpture - Carved in "M"  monogram (left). 1460 polychromed limestone St. Catherine attributed to João Afonso (right).

 


1450 polychromed limestone Archangel St. Michael attributed to João Afonso (left). 1325 polychromed limestone St. Peter attributed to the workshop of Évora (right).

1475 polychromed limestone attributed to Diogo Pires-o-Velho

Cherry wood with gilded, textile and polychromed traces St. John the Evangelist - Iberian Province workshop. In the Portuguese Art produced during the transition from the Romanesque to the Gothic period it was quite common to see the representation of the Calvary with Christ on the cross flanked by the Virgin mary and St. John the evangelist as witnessed to the death of the son of God. In this representation the dramatic nature of the Saint is expressed in the gesture of the Saint as he supports his face on his hand expressing his innermost pain and suffering.  The schematic nature of the volume and the graphic work of the garment folds are still connected to the Romanesque-type of representation, whilst the vertical nature of the represented figure is closely tied to the idea of the column type of statue and its adaptation to sculpting architecture.

 

 

Tryptych of the Holy family with angels  - 1520-1525 oil on oak by unknown Nederlandish master painter. 

St. Francis receiving the stigmata - 1475-1500 - Tempera on pine wood panel by Valencian unknown master painter.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Flight into Egypt - 1765-1770 oil on canvas by Giambattista Tiepolo.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Acts of mercy  - 1600-1650 oil on oak panel by Pieter Brueghel the Younger.

 

 

Portrait of Dona Isabel of Portugal in the style of half length portraits dating  from the 16th century - Oil on wood panel.

 

Merry company - 1663-1665 oil on canvas by Pieter de Hooch.

Winter landscape - 1868 oil on canvas by Gustave Courbet.

Battle of Issus and the clemency of Alexander the Great when facing the family of Darius III - Mid 15th century oil on poplar wood panel by Apollonio di Giovani.

 

 

 

 

I must say I was particularly impressed with the two magnificent tapestries I managed to partly photograph.

Hercules ' fight with the Centaurus  -  1530-1540 Wool and silk tapestry - Manufactured in Brussels (left). Wool and silk tapestry "Painting" from a painting by Jean Restout - 1740-1760 Gobelins Factory - Cozette workshop (right)

Bete mask made of wood, natural fibres, horns and teeth of wild animals, Glé (Krou group) - late 19th century - Northwest and West of Ivory Coast (left).  Mahout Mask, koma made of wood, natural fibres, horns and teeth of wild animals - 19th century - Northwest and west of Ivory Coast (right). 

 

 

 

 

Baulé stool, Bia (Akan group) late 19th century - Ivory Coast.

(To be continued)