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Category Archives: Art

Bibles moralisées: 13th-century France

27 Saturday Feb 2021

Posted by michelinewalker in Art, Illuminated Manuscripts, Spirituality

≈ 8 Comments

Tags

13th-century France, Blanche de Castille, Four Bibles, Illuminated Bibles


Oxford-Paris-Londres

Our four Bibles are the following:

  • Codex Vindobonensis 2554 Vienna
  • Codex Vindobonensis 1179 (Vienna)
  • Bible moralisée de saint Louis (Toledo) *
  • Bible moralisée Oxford-Paris-Londres
  • *The Bible of St Louis has an English-language entry. 

1. Codex Vindobonensis 2554 (Vienna)
Only one of the Bibles moralisées listed above shows God working. It is Codex Vindobonensis 2554. The illumination we saw shows God in the process of creating the world. Each folio has a recto-verso arrangement. In other words, when opening the Bible, one sees the Old Testament (Ancien Testament) on one side and the New Testament (Nouveau Testament) on the other side. All represent the Book of Genesis.
God or Christ is represented on f 1v.
« Ici crie Dex ciel et terre, soleil et lune et toz elemenz ».
He God created heaven and earth, the sun and the moon, and all the elements.
It was made in France in approximately 1215 – 1230.
The text is in Old French, not Latin.
It contains 246 folios (bound)
Illuminations measure 34.4 x 26 cm (h & w) (haut & large)
It is listed in the Warburg Institute Iconographic Database.

Dieu, architecte de l’univers, f 1v 2554 (Vienna) (Photo credit: Wikipedia) (1)
Dieu, architecte de l’univers, f 1v (Vienna) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

2. Codex Vindobonensis 1179
Codex Vindobonensis 1179 is also housed in Vienna. Scenes are represented on both sides of the book and represent the Old Testament, on one side, and the New Testament on the other side. Images represent the Book of Genesis.
God or Christ is represented on f 1v.
It was made in France in approximately 1225
It contains 130 folios (bound).
It is the smallest of our four Bibles.
Illuminations measure 43 x 29.5 (h & w) (haut & large)
It is listed in the Warburg Institute Iconographic Database.

The St. Louis Bible – The Pantocrator, God the Son, as the Creator of the universe. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) (3)

3. The Bible of St Louis or the Toledo/Pierpont Morgan Library de New York, M. 240.
Under the illumination depicting God, we La Bible de Saint Louis – Christ en tant que Créateur de l’Univers (The St. Louis Bible – The Pantocrator, God the Son, Creator of the universe).
Images represent Genesis.
God the Son is represented on f 1v.
It was made in France between 1220-1230 or 1240.
It contains 224+222+31+153 parchment folios bound in four volumes.
Illuminations measure 34,4 × 26 cm (h & w) (haut & large).
It is listed in the Warburg Institute Iconographic Database.

4. Bible moralisée Oxford-Paris-Londres  
Under the illuminated portrayal of God, one reads Christ en gloire. Le frontispice du volume d’Oxford.
It is a copy of the Toledo/Pierpoint Bible moralisée or the St Louis Bible.
It is classified as Bodl. 270b, Lat. 11580, Harley 1526-1527
It was made in France between 1230 and 1240
Illuminations measure 40 × 27,5 cm (h & w) or (haut & large)
The volumes belonged to John Thwayte in the 16th century and later to Sir Christopher Heydon (1561-1623). Sir Christopher Heydon gave the folios to the Bodleian Library at Oxford. Its French owner was Pierre Séguier, who bequeathed his illuminations it to his grandson Armand du Cambout. The folios were then housed in the abbaye de Saint-Germain-des-Prés. Since the French Revolution, the French folios have been kept in the Bibliothèque nationale de France.
Oxford has folios from the Book of Genesis up to the Book of Job, which constitutes 1728 miniatures in medallions. The Bibliothèque nationale de France is home to 1776 miniatures, from the Book of Job and the Book of Malachi. The British Library houses 1408 folios from the Books of Maccabees and the New Testament.
It is listed in the Warburg Institute Iconographic Database.

Comments

The Bible of Toledo/Pierpoint is considered the superior Bible. However, unlike the Vienna Bibles, it shows God the son as Creator of the Universe. It, therefore, reflects the dogma of the Holy Trinity. God the Father, God the Son and the Holy Ghost. The Vienna Bibles show God, the architect. In this respect, Vienna Bible Ms 2554, God seems to be at work. This depiction of working is often shown. It may seem literal and naïve, but it is convincing. In Ms 1179, God’s face resembles the face portrayed in Ms 2554. F 1v of the Toledo and Oxford manuscript depict a Christ en gloire, a Majestic God Who nevertheless holds a compass and a world resembling the world of related depictions. It is clearly stated that Christ, as One in three Gods, has created the world.

BLANCHE DE CASTILLE

Blanche de Castille ordered Bibles 1779, 2554 for her husband, but Louis VIII the Lion, born on 5 September 1187, died on 8 November 1226. He reigned for less than four years. The Bible of St. Louis/ToledoMorgan were bought for Louis IX, France. The Oxford-Paris-British Library Bible was ordered for Marguerite de Provence, Louis IX’s wife.

RELATED ARTICLES

God the Architect (19 February 2021)
The Bible of Saint Louis, Toledo (22 February 2021)

Sources and Resources

Wikipedia, Britannica, Facsimiles of the Bibles

List of the Bibles Moralisées

  • Vienna, Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, Codex Vindobonensis 1179 (1220-1226)
  • Vienna, Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, Codex Vindobonensis 2554 (1220-1230)
  • Oxford-Paris-London (ca. 1233)
    • Oxford, Bodleian Library, Ms. Bodley 270b
    • Paris, BnF, Ms. Latin 11560
    • London, British Library, Harley Ms. 1526-1527
  • Toledo-Morgan (ca. 1233)
    • Toledo, Cathedral of Toledo, Bible moralisée (Biblia de San Luis), 3 volumes
    • New York, Morgan Library and Museum, M. 240 (fragment)

(See Bible of St Louis, Wikipedia)

The Bible of St Louis (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

© Micheline Walker
27 February 2021
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A Forthcoming Post

25 Thursday Feb 2021

Posted by michelinewalker in Art, Illuminated Manuscripts, Slavery

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

Blanche de Castille, dIfferences, Forthcoming post, the Pantocrator

Christ the Pantocrator in the Bible moralisée Oxford-Paris-Londres
  • Bible moralisée de saint Louis (Toledo)
  • Bible moralisée Oxford-Paris-Londres
  • Codex Vindobonensis 1179 (Vienna)
  • Codex Vindobonensis 2554 Vienna)

Above is a fourth God pancreator. I have been researching our Bibles moralisées, but my work isn’t finished. It appears Blanche de Castile ordered both the Vienna manuscript and the Bible of Saint Louis. As for the Oxford-Paris-London bible, it is considered a close rival to the Bible of Saint Louis, housed in Toledo and New York.

Christ the Pantocrator

© Micheline Walker
25 February 2021
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From Candlemas to Valentine’s Day

08 Monday Feb 2021

Posted by michelinewalker in 16th-century France, Art, Calendar, Love

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

Carnival season, Chaucer, Easter, Februarius, Februus, Ides of February, Lupercalia, Purification, Simeon's Song of Praise, the Vernal Equinox

Simeon’s Song of Praise by Rembrandt, 1631 (WikiArt.org)

Valentine’s Day

Valentine’s Day, la Saint-Valentin, is approaching. My best wishes to all of you.

The Feast of Saint Valentine was established by Pope Gelasius I in CE 496 to be celebrated on 14 February in honour of Saint Valentine of Rome who died on that date in CE 269. The day became associated with romantic love in the 14th and 15th centuries when notions of courtly love flourished, apparently by association with the “lovebirds” of early spring.

Candlemas

Candlemas, or Candlemass, also known as the Feast of the Presentation of Jesus Christ, the Feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the Feast of the Holy Encounter, is a Christian Holy Day commemorating the presentation of Jesus at the Temple. It is based upon the account of the presentation of Jesus in Luke 2:22–40 and has been celebrated since the 4th century CE. (See Candlemas, Britannica.)

It is reported that Pope Saint Gelasius I (494–96 CE) wanted to replace a “pagan” feast, called Lupercalia (“Lupus” [wolf] and “calida” [warmth]) with a Christian feast. Candlemas would be the new feast, which is celebrated on 2nd February, 40 days after Christmas, and would commemorate three closely related occasions.

  1. the Purification of the Virgin
  2. the Presentation of Jesus at the Temple of Jerusalem
  3. the Meeting of the Lord, or the Holy Encounter (see Simeon, Gospel of Luke, Wikipedia)

In obedience to Mosaic law, Mary had to be purified 40 days after giving birth, which falls on 2nd February. Moreover, Mary had to present her firstborn to God. Finally, Simeon, who had been promised by the Holy Spirit that he would see the Messiah before his death, recognized the Messiah. It was Jesus. Having seen Jesus, he said “now we dismiss.” These are the words of a canticle entitled Nunc dimittis.

Candlemas, la Chandeleur, takes places during Carnival season. Carnival is a Christian festivity that starts on Epiphany (6 January) and ends on Ash Wednesday, or the day after Mardi Gras, a day of revelry and merriment. An image inserted below, a drawing or sanguine, depicts a celebration of the Lupercalia occuring at the end of the 16th century.

Valentine’s Day

Moreover, it has been reported that Pope Gelasius I wanted to suppress the ancient Roman festival of the Lupercalia. The Lupercalia was a festival of fertility and purification which had given its name “dies februatus,” from Februatus, to the month of February. The Lupercalia was not related to the feast of the Blessed Virgin Mary, or Candlemas, the new feast. Valentine’s Day used to commemorate a St Valentine, a martyr. The feast took place during the Ides of February.

Chaucer

As a romantic feast, Valentine’s Day was all but invented by Geoffrey Chaucer (c. 1340s – 25 October 1400) who called the day “seynt” Valentine’s Day.

Chaucer was a prisoner during the Hundred Years’ War. When he was released, he took to England the French Roman de la Rose, a work of literature that epitomizes courtly love. However, it was an exchange. Charles d’Orléans, who was detained in England for 25 years during the Hundred Years’ War, took to France not only poems he had written referring to Valentine, but also the lore of Valentine’s Day as it existed in England. According to Chaucer, birds mated on 14 February.

In The Parlement of Foules (1382), Chaucer wrote:

For this was on seynt Volantynys day
Whan euery bryd comyth there to chese his make.

Geoffrey Chaucer’s Parlement of Foules

[“For this was on Saint Valentine’s Day when every bird cometh there to choose his mate.”]

Valentine’s day took place near the Ides of February. We have noted that the degree of lightness and darkness has governed the dates of festivities since the beginning of time. Consequently, Christian festivities would take place at the same time as “pagan” festivities, which they usually replaced, but not altogether. Carnival is a Western Christian festive season ending on Ash Wednesday, the day after Mardi Gras, or on Mardi Gras, Shrove Tuesday itself.

The Ides of February

The Ides of a month fall on the 15th day of that month. February being the shortest month, its Ides fell earlier. They fell on approximately the 13th of February and would include Lupercalia, a word combining the above-mentioned “lupus” and “calida.” (See Lupercalia, Wikipedia.) The better-known Ides are the Ides of March, “the 15th day of the Roman month of Martius[,]” a day associated with the assassination of Julius Caesar who developed the Julian Calendar. (See The Ides of March, Wikipedia.)

The Gregorian Calendar

There came a point when festivities taking place in February no longer matched the seasons, Easter in particular. Therefore, Pope Gregory XIII replaced the Julian Calendar with the Gregorian calendar. The Gregorian calendar is the better match to the seasons or lightness and darkness. It is based on the Jewish calendar. The Gregorian calendar was introduced in 1582. However, Gregorian Chant (cantus planus, plainsong) does not refer to Pope Gregory XIII. It refers to Pope Gregory I. The day on which Easter is celebrated must be determined every year, hence the adjective “moveable.” Easter matches, more or less, the vernal equinox.

Pope Gregory XIII by Lavinia Fontana (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
The Lupercalian Festival in Rome (ca. 1578–1610), drawing by the circle of Adam Elsheimer, showing the Luperci dressed as dogs and goats, with Cupid and personifications of fertility. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

As noted above, Valentine’s Day’s proper Christian source is the commemoration of a martyr named Valentine. But there is evidence that Lupercalia remains a festivity. (See Beware the Ides of February, Psychology Today.)

In ancient Roman religion, Februus, whose name means “purifier,” was the god of purification and Februarius, the month of February. Epiphanytide ends on Candlemas, but Carnival season continues until the very festive and equinoctial Mardi Gras.

The Soussa Mosaic, Februus panel from the 3rd-century mosaic of the months at El Djem, Tunisia (Roman Africa) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

RELATED ARTICLES

Posts on Love Celebrated, Page
Feast & Liturgy, Page

Sources and Resources

Britannica
Wikipedia
La Vraie Histoire de la Saint-Valentin
Beware the Ides of February

Love to everyone 💕

Rachmaninov‘s Nunc dimittis
Rembrandt (WikiArt.org)

© Micheline Walker
8 February 2021
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Chronicling Covid-19, 2021

07 Thursday Jan 2021

Posted by michelinewalker in 19th-Century France, Art, Covid-19, Sharing

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Édouard Manet, Covid-19, Donald Trump, sharing

Un bar aux Folies Bergère d’Édouard Manet (Courtaud Institute) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

This painting by Edouard Manet is so intriguing. Where is the gentleman looking at the young woman?

However, this picture fits my topic. This post was written yesterday and it is about Covid-19. It’s incredible, but Covid remains a major threat. Yesterday, there were 2,641 new cases in the province of Quebec, revealing that some people celebrated Christmas and the New Year. One couldn’t. However, there was no demonstration against sanitary measures. Somehow, that is not the sort of thing Canadians do.

I pity the people of Washington, DC. There was a huge pro-Trump rally, which means that a thousand or thousands of people were infected. I believe they wanted life to be normal, which has been Mr. Trump’s attitude. Life is not normal and the pandemic will not end if strong measures are not taken. We must accept that there is a pandemic and stay safe. What choice do we have? I’m glad I live in Canada.

Despite the new lockdown, efforts are being made to keep street people safe. As I told you, I didn’t vote for Monsieur Legault, but I admire the way he is dealing with the pandemic. However, after ten months, Quebec still sits at the top of the list of Canadian victims, followed closely by Ontario. Many are working from home, and many are considering instituting a universal basic income. As for retired persons, it seems that pension funds are not decreasing. I keep thinking that poverty is at my door, but that is not the case.

Love to everyone and a very Happy New Year. 💕

Le Déjeuner sur l’herbe d’Édouard Manet (Wikipedia)

© Micheline Walker
7 January 2021
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Dutch Winter Scenes

29 Tuesday Dec 2020

Posted by michelinewalker in Art, Baroque

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

Hendrick Avercamp, sharing, The Beauty of Winter, Winter Scenes


A Winter Scene with Skaters near a Castle by Hendrick Avercamp (1608-9)
Photograph: Corbis
The Guardian. UK

Covid will not relent and too many are in denial. On Christmas day, the Montreal police force was making sure regulations were observed. There is a vaccine, but vaccinating everyone will take a long time and the very humble will be the last to be protected. Moreover, there are individuals who will refuse the vaccine. I hope the citizens of the United States will receive their stimulus cheques as soon as possible. This money buys food and keeps a roof over people’s head. No government has the right to neglect its citizens. People pay taxes in order to be safe. It’s the social contract. Besides, if there is money to launch rockets, there is money to keep everyone fed and housed. We must also prepare for other catastrophic events. Losing one’s income is tragic.

Love to everyone 💕

Winter Scene by Avercamp
Noël allemand d’André Gagnon
Winter Scene by Averkamp

© Micheline Walker
29 December 2020
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Blanche comme neige

28 Friday Aug 2020

Posted by michelinewalker in Art, Canada, Music

≈ 9 Comments

Tags

Acadian, Blanche comme neige, Canadian, Canadiana, French, Legend

Leonardo da Vinci

 

La belle s’est endormie sur un beau lit de roses
The beauty fell asleep on a beautiful bed of roses
La belle s’est endormie sur un beau lit de roses
The beauty fell asleep on a beautiful bed of roses
Blanche comme la neige belle comme le jour
White as snow, beautiful as [the] day
Ils sont trois capitaines qui vont lui faire l’amour
There are three captains who will make love with her


Le plus jeune des trois la prend par sa main blanche
The youngest of the three takes her by her white hand
Le plus jeune des trois la prend par sa main blanche
The youngest of the three takes her by her white hand
Montez, montez princesse dessus mon cheval gris
Climb, climb Princess on top of my gray horse
A Paris j’vous mène dans un fort beau logis
To Paris, I’m taking you, to a beautiful home

Finissant ce discours le capitaine rentre
As he stopped speaking, the captain comes in
Finissant ce discours le capitaine rentre
As he stopped speaking, the captain comes in
Mangez buvez la belle selon votre appétit
Eat and drink Beauty to your appetite
Avec un capitaine vous passerez la nuit
With a captain you will spend the night

Au milieu du repas la belle a [sic] tombé morte
In the middle of the meal, the beauty dropped dead

Au milieu du repas la belle a tombé morte
In the middle of the meal, the beauty dropped dead
Sonnez, sonnez les cloches, tambour au régiment   
Ring, ring the bells, beat the drums regiment
Ma maîtresse elle est morte à l’âge de quinze ans
My mistress she has died at the age of fifteen


Mais au bout de trois jours son père s’y promène
But at the end of three days her father walks by
Mais au bout de trois jours son père s’y promène
But at the end of three days her father walks by
Ouvrez, ouvrez ma tombe mon père si vous m’aimez
Open, open my coffin my father if you love me
Trois jours j’ai fait la morte pour mon honneur garder
For three days I’ve played dead, for my honor to keep


The translation above is mine. It is mostly word for word, so one can understand the original French. It is a folk song and folk legend, from French Canada or France. It is only remotely related to Christmas, because Beauty is as white as snow.

Kate and Anna McGarrigle

Love to everyone 💕

 

French Cathedral, Quebec City, Mary M. Chaplin, 1839 – C856

© Micheline Walker
28 August 2020
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The Coronavirus.2

11 Wednesday Mar 2020

Posted by michelinewalker in Art, Disease, Illustrations, Middle Ages

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

Coronavirus, Netherlands, Pieter Bruegel, Plague

Thetriumphofdeath

The Triumph of Death by Pieter Bruegel the Elder

This may seem to contradict an earlier post on Intellectual Property, but it doesn’t.

One copies, but one names one’s source. My post on Coronavirus can be shared.

Would that we could listen time and again to Smetana’s “Moldau.” Played on the harp by a lovely young woman, it is heavenly. But the spectrum of heavenly music is rather wide.

Love to everyone ♥

1024px-Pieter_Bruegel_d._Ä._037

The Land of Cockaigne (1567), Alte Pinakothek, an illustration of the  medieval mythical land of plenty called Cockaigne, by Pieter Brueghel the Elder (Wikipedia)

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11 March 2020
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The “Figaro Trilogy,” revisited

04 Wednesday Sep 2019

Posted by michelinewalker in Art, Comedy, Commedia dell'arte, French Literature, History, Music

≈ Comments Off on The “Figaro Trilogy,” revisited

Tags

Barber of Séville, Figaro triology, La Mère coupable, Mozart's Figaro, opera buffa, Pierre Caron de Beaumarchais, Rossini, The Barber of Seville, The Guilty Mother, The Marriage of Figaro

Portrait de Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais, by Jean-Marc Nattier

Portrait de Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais by Jean-Marc Nattier

Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais (24 January 1732 – 18 May 1799) had recruited men who fought in the American Revolutionary War  and had also supplied arms to American revolutionaries.

One of his recruits was Pierre-Charles L’Enfant (9 August 1754 – 14 June 1825), an architect and engineer who designed the Washington National Mall. L’Enfant was dismissed and replaced by Andrew Ellicott (24 January 1754 – 28 August 1820) who criticized L’Enfant Plan and Pierre-Charles L’Enfant. In 1902, the McMillan Commission did away with Andrew Ellicott’s revisions. The Washington Mall was redesigned using L’Enfant Plan.

The Figaro Trilogy

The Barber of Seville (1773; 1775)
The Marriage of Figaro (written in 1778, performed in 1784, published in 1785)
The Guilty Mother (1791; 1966[opera])
The Marriage of Figaro as the center-piece of Beaumarchais’ “Figaro trilogy” 
Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro (K. 492, 1786)
Le Mariage de Figaro, 1784
Le Mariage de Figaro, 1784
Le nozze di Figaro, Mozart, 1786
Le nozze di Figaro, Mozart, 1786

The Marriage of Figaro (1784)

At an early point in his life, Beaumarchais did recruit men willing to join the Americans in their struggle for independence, but he is known mainly as the author of the Figaro trilogy, which consists of three plays: The Barber of Seville (1775), The Marriage of Figaro  (1784), and The Guilty Mother (1791).

A problematical comedy

the second installment in the Figaro trilogy
Accepted for production in 1778 (Comédie-Française)
Vilification of French aristocracy: condemned by Louis XVI
Revised: change of location
Performed in France in 1784
Published in France in 1785
 

The Marriage of Figaro is the second installment in Beaumarchais’ Figaro trilogy, but constitutes the centerpiece of Beaumarchais’ trilogy. It was written in 1778 and accepted for production by the Comédie-Française in 1781. However, as first written, it vilified French aristocracy and so shocked Louis XVI that he banned the production of the play.

The play was problematical because Count Almaviva, who marries Rosina in The Barber of Seville, or the Futile Precaution (1778), wants to consummate Figaro’s marriage to Susanna, Figaro’s bride. Beaumarchais revised the play and moved the action to Spain. Ironically, Count Almaviva wanted to avail himself of a right he had abolished: “the feudal droit du seigneur, the right of the lord of the manor to sleep with his servant’s bride on her wedding night.”[I]  

The Marriage of Figaro is a comedy inspired by the commedia dell’arte. Given the conventions of comedy, the Count’s plans will therefore be foiled. The innmorati will be helped not only by clever zanni and other servants, but also by Rosina, Almaviva’s wife, whose marriage to the Count, a philanderer, did not end altogether “well.” The play also features a redeeming discovery. The Count wants Figaro to marry Marcellina, Bartolo’s housekeeper, but it turns out that Figaro is the love child of Marcellina and Bartolo. One does not marry one’s mother. Bartolo therefore proposes marriage to Marcellina. There will be two weddings, which is not uncommon in comedy.

Zanni

The Marriage of Figaro’s Cherubino,[II] a character reminiscent of Cupid, the mythological god of desire, could be called a zanni. He is forever in love and gets into trouble. However, he also provides comic relief as do zanni in the commedia dell’arte. Zanni are stand-up comics. In Passion Plays, comic interludes were inserted between the acts. The same stratagem can also be used inside comedy. Some “comic” is always at the ready not only to “fill in,” but also to support zanni (servants, one of whom is clever, but the second, clumsy).

As part of the props, we have incriminating letters and, in the case of the Barber of Seville, the Count, disguised as Lindoro, a name borrowed from the commedia dell’arte, we have musicians serenading Rosina. Guitars are inextricably linked with the commedia dell’arte. They are a prop that Watteau and Picasso, Picasso especially, depicted abundantly.

Moreover, to fool the Count, the Countess dresses as Susanna, Figaro’s bride-to-be, while Susanna dresses as the Countess. Therefore, when the Count court Susanna, he is in fact courting his wife. He reveals his plans to seduce Susanna, but find Rosina attractive. It is quite normal in comedies for the Alazṓn , the Count, to undo himself, except that comedy is kind. Cross-dressing is also a frequent device in the comic text and it is rooted in the topsy-turvy world of the Roman Saturnalia, not to mention the last days of l’ancien régime. 

Beaumarchais and the Revolution  

After Beaumarchais relocated The Marriage of Figaro, “[t]he feudal droit du seigneur” became a distant right and wrong. Louis XVI lifted the ban on the production of The Marriage of Figaro and the play was performed by the Comédiens français ordinaires du Roi, on Tuesday, 27 April 1784, and the text was published in 1785. Yet the play remained problematical. Although The Marriage of Figaro is a Shakespearean “all’s well that ends well,” the conventional ending, or dénouement, of comedies, in the Marriage of Figaro, this ending seems a little theatrical.

First, the Barber of Seville‘s Rosina has married a philanderer. Second, Georges Danton  commented that Beaumarchais’ Marriage of Figaro had “killed off the nobility.” (See The Marriage of Figaro, play, Wikipedia). Jesus of Nazareth might have said “And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?” (Matthew 1:5-7). Georges Danton voted in favour of the execution of Louis XVI. (See Georges Danton, Wikipedia.)

Mozart’s Le nozze de Figaro (1786)

Beaumarchais or Pierre de Beaumarchais’ Marriage of Figaro was made famous by Mozart‘s (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) Nozze di Figaro, a four-act opera buffa, or comic opera composed in 1785 on a libretto (the text) by Lorenzo da Ponte (10 March 1749 – 17 August 1838). Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro (Le nozze di Figaro) premiered in Vienna at the Burgtheater, on 1 May 1786. It has remained a favourite opera often associated with Mozart only, not Pierre de Beaumarchais.

The Barber of Seville, or The Futile Precaution

The Barber of Seville, or The Useless Precaution (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Barber of Seville (1775)

The Barber of Seville; or, the Useless Precaution[III] was performed and published in 1775 as Le Barbier de Séville; ou, la précaution inutile. It is the first play in Beaumarchais Figaro’ trilogy. The play was written in 1773, but it was not performed until 23 February 1775, when it premiered at the Comédie-Française in the Tuileries. Although I have prepared a point by point description of the plot of The Barber of Seville, I am quoting Britannica’s summary. Simply add the name Lindoro, a guitar, and a few suspicious letters. The Count first dresses as a poor student named Lindoro.

“Rosine (known as Rosina in the opera), the ward of Dr. Bartholo, is kept locked in her room by Bartholo because he plans to marry her, though she despises him. Young Count Almaviva loves her from afar and uses various disguises, including one as Alonzo, a substitute music teacher, in his attempts to win her. Bartholo’s roguish barber Figaro is part of the plot against him. Indeed, it is Figaro who steals the key to Rosine’s room for Almaviva. Unfortunately, Almaviva is in his disguise as Alonzo when he meets Rosine. Though in love with “Alonzo,” Rosine is convinced by the suspicious Bartholo that Alonzo intends to steal her away and sell her to a wicked count. Disappointed, she agrees to wed Bartholo that very night. All of Figaro’s ingenuity is required to substitute Count Almaviva for Bartholo at the wedding ceremony.”[IV]
 

Portrait of Gioachino Rossini in 1820, International Museum and Library of Music, Bologna

Portrait of Gioachino Rossini in 1820, International Museum and Library of Music, Bologna (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Rossini’s Il Barbiere di Siviglia (1816)

In 1816, Le Barbier de Séville; ou, la précaution inutile (four acts)[V] was made into a two-act opera by Giaochino Rossini on a libretto by Cesare Sterbini. The Barber of Seville, or the Futile Precaution or Il barbiere di Siviglia, ossia L’inutile precauzione premiered on 20 February 1816 at the Teatro Argentina, in Rome.

Beaumarchais’ Guilty Mother (1792)

The Guilty Mother, subtitled The other Tartuffe (La Mère coupable ou l’autre Tartuffe), a play in five acts, is the final part of the Figaro trilogy. Tartuffe is a play by Molière. The character Tartuffe feigns devotion. The Guilty Mother was completed in 1791, but not performed until 1792 at the Théâtre du Marais. The French Revolution had gained impetus, which made it necessary for Beaumarchais to take away his title from Count Almaviva. The Guilty Mother   will be discussed in a later post.

Marius Milhaud‘s The Guilty mother or La Mère coupable (1966)

The Guilty Mother or The other Tartuffe was set to music: an opera in three acts (Op. 412), by Marius Milhaud, to a libretto by Madeleine Milhaud. It is the final instalment in Beaumarchais’ Figaro trilogy and was first performed at the Grand Théâtre de Genève, on 13 June 1966. (See La Mère coupable [The Guilty mother], Wikipedia.)

Jean-Antoine Watteau‘s Italian comedy.

 

Mezzetin, Jean-Antoine Watteau
Mezzetin, Jean-Antoine Watteau
The Italian Comedy, Watteau
The Italian Comedy, Watteau
La Surprise, Watteau
La Surprise, Watteau
The Love Song, Watteau
The Love Song, Watteau

The Rebirth of Brighella and the Birth of Figaro

Figaro is heir to the commedia dell’arte‘s Brighella, a zanni. He joins Pedrolino-Pierrot, Harlequin, Scapino, and other zanni. In fact, Figaro himself joins the rank of the zanni. As portrayed above, he looks like Harlequin, but he may disguised as Harlequin. Figaro is an iconic figure in France. To be precise, Figaro is an institution: a newspaper, founded in 1826 and published in Paris. Le Figaro is the second-largest paper in France. It takes its motto from Beaumarchais’ Figaro trilogy:

“Sans la liberté de blâmer, il n’est point d’éloge flatteur.”
(“Without the freedom to criticise, there is no true praise.”)
 

Brighella, Maurice Sand

Brighella, Maurice Sand

Scapino, a Zanni

Scapino, Maurice Sand

RELATED ARTICLES

  • Beaumarchais’ Trilogy: The Guilty Mother (18 July 2014)
  • Picasso in Paris (9 July 2014)
  • Picasso’s Harlequin (3 July 2014)
  • Arlecchino, Arlequin, Harlequin (30 June 2014)
  • Leo Rauth’s “fin de siècle” Harlequin (27 June 2014)
  • Pantalone: la Commedia dell’arte (20 June 2014)
  • Designing Washington, DC (cont’d) (25 May 2014)
  • Designing Washington, DC: Pierre-Charles L’Enfant (23 May 2014)

Notes

The Commedia dell’arte
Bartolo is a dottore
Lindoro is one of the names innamorati used in the commedia dell’arte
Figaro is a Brighella, a zanni in the commedia dell’arte, who helps the innamorati overcome obstacles to their marriage)
The guitar is an essential prop
Letters are used all the time: false, anonymous, incriminating…
 
Sources and Resources
  • The Marriage of Figaro is an Online Library of Liberty, full text EN
  • Le Mariage de Figaro is a Gutenberg Project [EBook #20577] FR
  • Male innamorati are called: Arsenio, Aurielo, Cinthio, Fabrizio, Flavio, Fedelindo, Florindo, Leandro, Lelio, Lindoro, Mario, Ortensio, Ottavio, Sireno, often the son of Pantalone, Silvio, Tristano
  • Female innamorati are called: Angelica, Aurelia, Beatrice, Bianchetta, Celia, Clarice, Clori, Cinzio, Emilia, Eularia, Flaminia, Florinda, Filesia, Filli, often the daughter of Pantalone, Isabella, Lavinia, Lidia, Orazio, Ortensia, Silvia, Turchetta, Vittoria 
  • Brighella
  • Maurice Sand, Masques et bouffons (comédie italienne), 1860

Flûte de Brighella, Henrico Brunelleschi (Photo credit: Christi'e)

Flûte de Brighella, Enrico Brunelleschi
(Photo credit: Christie’s) (This image cannot be enlarged.)

____________________

[I] Watteau depicted Mezzetino, a zanni, playing the guitar. The guitar is also a major motif in Picasso’s art.

[II] See Commedia dell’arte, Wikipedia, under Subjects.
 
[III] “The Barber of Seville.” Encyclopaedia Britannica. Encyclopaedia Britannica Online.
Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2014. Web. 13 Jul. 2014.
<http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/52863/The-Barber-of-Seville>.
The Count also calls himself Lindoro.
 
[IV] Op. cit.
 
[V] Op. cit.
 

Love to everyone 💕

This post was published several years ago, but it is related to our current posts.

 
Gioachino Rossini : The Barber Of Seville – Overture 
 
 
 

Figaro

Figaro

 
© Micheline Walker
(revised 4 September 2019)
13 July 2014
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24 Friday May 2019

Posted by michelinewalker in Art, Sharing

≈ 33 Comments

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computer problems, Sir Joshua Reynolds

miss-bowles.jpg!Large

The Strawberry Girl by Joshua Reynolds, 1775 (WikiArt.org)

I apologize for not writing for several days. My computer is on the blink.
I may need help.

Kind regards to everyone  💕

boy-holding-a-bunch-of-grapes.jpg!Large

Boy holding a Bunch of Grapes by Joshua Reynolds, 1770 (WikiArt.org)

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… au reste, après nous, le Déluge

26 Tuesday Feb 2019

Posted by michelinewalker in Art, Enlightenment, France, French songs

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Artist, Chief mistress, Louis XV, Madame de Pompadour, Patroness of the Arts, The Enlightenment

Marquise de Pompadour by François Boucher, 1756, Neue Pinakothek (Wiki2.org.)

After France lost the Battle of Rossbach (1757), during the Seven Years’ War, and would lose New France, Madame de Pompadour, the chief mistress of Louis XV, said: “au reste, après nous, le Déluge” (“Besides, after us, the Deluge”).

For France, it was the beginning of the Deluge. After the Seven Years’ War, it was on the brink of bankruptcy, which, as we have seen, led to the meeting of the Estates General. It opened on 5 May 1789, but the French Revolution began two months later, on 14 July 1789, the day the Bastille was stormed.

For the people of New France, it was also the Deluge. New France (see map) was very large, but it had few inhabitants, about 70,000. These were the descendants of 26,000 colonists, but its population would grow.

The current population of Quebec is 8,455,402, 81% of whom are French-speaking. Many immigrants to Quebec are French-speaking North Africans: Blacks and Whites. Several are Algerians and, a large number, Muslims. (See The Population of Quebec, World Population Review.com.)

Madame de Pompadour

Madame de Pompadour was born Jeanne-Antoinette Poisson (29 December 1721 – 15 April 1764) and she was the royal mistress from 1745 to 1751, or from the age of 24 to the age of 30. She had to retire from her role as chief mistress because of health problems. However, she remained Louis XV’s friend and mistress of his heart. She was very influential at court. On 8 February 1756, she was named lady-in-waiting to Marie Leszczyńska, Louis XVI‘s mother.

The marquise was a patroness of the arts and a student of François Boucher. He taught her how to make engravings. She also learned to engrave semi-precious stones, such as onyx. The images shown below are by François Boucher and Pompadour, after gemstone engraver Jacques Guay. (Wiki2.org.) In 1759, our marquise bought a porcelain factory, at Sèvres. (See Madame de Pompadour, Wiki2.org.)

Génie de la Musique by Boucher, Pompadour, Guay (Wiki2.org.)
Génie de la Musique by Boucher, Pompadour, Guay (Wiki2.org.)
L'Amour by Boucher, Pompadour, Guay 1755 (Wiki2.org)
L’Amour by Boucher, Pompadour, Guay 1755 (Wiki2.org)


Les Lumières

Not only was the Marquise a patroness of the arts, but she was also a friend of the physiocrates and philosophes of the Enlightenment, Voltaire, no less, as well as its encyclopédistes: Denis Diderot, Jean le Rond d’Alembert …

When Madame de Pompadour died of tuberculosis at the age of 42, Voltaire wrote:

“I am very sad at the death of Madame de Pompadour. I was indebted to her and I mourn her out of gratitude. It seems absurd that while an ancient pen-pusher, hardly able to walk, should still be alive, a beautiful woman, in the midst of a splendid career, should die at the age of forty-two.”
(See Madame de Pompadour, Wiki2.org.)

“… après nous, le Déluge.”

Love to everyone 💕

 Les Tendres Souhaits — Le Poème harmonique
Claire Lefilliâtre, soprano
Vincent Dumestre, lutenist and founder of the ensemble Le Poème harmonique

Head of a Woman from Behind by François Boucher (WikiArt.org)

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