#connoisseurship

[galleryofart]

British Gentlemen In Rome

Former Title: Connoisseurs in Rome

Artist: Catherine Read (Scottish, 1723–1778)

Genre: Conversation Piece

Date: c. 1750

Medium: Oil on Canvas

Collection: Yale Center for British Art at Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut

[studiesinconnoisseurship]

Salvator Mundi - master of the dead eyes

Salvator Mundi, various attributions (Louvre Abu Dhabi)

The Salvator Mundi painting, widely touted as a Leonardo, seems to have disappeared into the limbo of the Saudi Royal family’s treasury where it will doubtless lie, like an ingot of gold in a vault, unseen by most and unappreciated by its owner except as proof of the great wealth required to secure it. Frequent mention, however, is still made of this picture, and while that continues, so does the undesirable confusion that is spread by any demonstrable misattribution. This Brief Study is intended to provide that demonstration.

From left: Head of the Young John the Baptist (Drawing from a private collection, featured in an auction catalogue from 1934 as ‘School of Leonardo’) ; Salvator Mundi ; Head of a Woman (Musee du Louvre?)

Drawings, as always, are helpful. Here are two, to set beside the Salvator Mundi: on the left of it a drawing of a young John the Baptist, on the right a drawing of a young woman, possibly at the Louvre. It is enough to compare, and find similar, the eyes, the nose, the mouth, the treatment of hair. If likeness means anything, it ought to obtain in a juxtaposition such as this. As soon as it becomes clear that these two images are products of the same hand, it becomes clear also that the artist who made the drawing cannot be Leonardo, who never drew like this, and therefore Leonardo cannot be responsible for the painting either.

Of course the Salvator Mundi is Leonardesque. It is by an inferior artist (perhaps Salai, as once suggested by Suida) who has latched onto the ‘sfumato’, or smoky mysteriousness, that is displayed – for some tastes, to excess – in the late Leonardo Saint John the Baptist at the Louvre and copied by this artist in a painting at the Walters Museum. This mysteriousness, the smoky atmosphere implied in the etymology of the Italian word, is indulged in by this artist as if it was all that mattered in Leonardo’s art. The result is that Christ stares out at us, like a ghost from another world, with those strange, ‘dead’ eyes.

Left: St John the Baptist by the follower of Leonardo – Walters Museum, Baltimore ; right: Leonardo’s original – Musée du Louvre

Comparing the earlier drawing with the two paintings of John the Baptist

Comparing the earlier drawing with the two Baptist images either side, one by the copyist, the other by Leonardo, reveals as much as the difference in colour, the ‘Salvator’ eyes, nose and mouth.

Both attributed to the School of Leonardo, Left: ‘Head of a Youth’ – Ambrosiana, Milan ; Right: Portrait of a Lady – Columbia Museum of Art, South Carolina)

Another drawing , of an androgynous-looking youth at the Ambrosiana, shows the same rather long eyes whose lids are more prominent than anything between them . This might almost be a study for the no less ghostly Portrait of a Lady at Columbia Museum of Art in South Carolina. The same artist’s draughtsmanship (or lack of it) is seen in a drawing (Mona Vanna) and a painting both featuring a naked Mona Lisa. A weak sense of form is disguised by a quantity of perfunctory smudging of charcoal or graphite. His admiration for Leonardo is matched by his failure to understand how necessary a proper grounding in observational drawing was to Leonardo’s painted work. A similar failure attended the followers of Turner.

Left: Mona Vanna, attributed to Leonardo ; Right: Female Figure, attributed to Salai

If we return to the Salvator Mundi, we can observe the unconvincing treatment of drapery folds and the way in which ornamented braidwork is not adequately integrated with the rest of Christ’s robe, but lies across it in two, rather than three, dimensions. When our eye moves to the orb, it is equally dissatisfied by the lazy depiction of it, with no attempt at highlight. The orb is as dead as the eyes.

The draperies, braidwork and orb from Salvator Mundi tell us this is not Leonardo’s work

Colour is always a significant indicator in paintings. In this case we have a near-Prussian blue with chestnut browns trailing off into a deeper brown penumbra. This is the palette of the Lansdowne Madonna (‘Madonna of the Yardwinder’), a more impressive work than the Salvator Mundi but displaying a similar tendency to wrap figures in a haze of sfumato.

Left: The Lansdowne Madonna – Private Collection – features the same colour palette and ‘sfumato’ as the Salvator Mundi

Clearly I do not hold this artist in much esteem. Plutocrats are welcome to spend a fortune on his work, but the rest of us should keep our eyes peeled for quality and not allow our vision to be blurred by the ‘Leonardo mystique’ and the floaters of dubious attributions. What this case highlights, not for the first time, is the regrettable necessity for connoisseurs to apply themselves to mediocrities. In an ideal world they would not need to, but they often have to because one person – an originator whom others follow – has ascribed a work by an inferior artist to a vastly superior one. These words, inferior, superior, imply what is at stake: a difference of quality. The exercise I have conducted here will have some value if it succeeds in demonstrating that difference. A painter who has little sense of form cannot disguise the fact, try as he may, with ‘mystery’ that has no depth or substance; it is hollow and spectral, like the dead eyes. If we cannot definitely name him, let us nickname him the Master of the Dead Eyes.

[blackcatcigarlounge]

The best cigars are like wine – they only get better with time. For many cigar enthusiasts, aging cigars is an art. While cigar aging may seem complex and time-consuming, it is well worth the effort. Aging cigars is a process that enhances the flavors, aroma, and overall smoking experience of an individual in a cigar bar in Florida.

[ranpowriter]

On BSD’s Poe and The Cask of Amontillado — methodical violence

For all that Poe is characterized as soft (and rightfully so) I’ve always thought it was curious how easily he is given to violence, especially as it relates to Ranpo.

For the below analysis of Poe, I will be comparing Poe to the narrator of the Cask of Amontillado, Ranpo to Fortunado, and Poe’s novel to specific part of the catacombs where Fortunado was walled in.

1. The Motive

Poe spent 6 years plotting the murder of a man who beat him in a detective competition, which I’m fairly certain is a reference to the narrator in Cask of Amontillado (abbreviated hence as Cask)

when [Fortunado] ventured upon insult I vowed revenge

Fortunado is the man the narrator kills, and for a similar reason to which Poe wanted to kill Ranpo (humiliation). In fact, this entire first paragraph delves into reasoning that Poe follows in his revenge against Ranpo. Notably:

[A wrong] is equally unredressed when the avenger fails to make himself felt as such to him who has done the wrong.

And Poe makes it very clear to Ranpo that he felt humiliated by Ranpo, and what he felt humiliated by. He tries to make himself felt to Ranpo, and we see this with how he tries to remind the detective of their history.

2. The Identity and Treatment of the Victim

Both Ranpo and Fortunado are:

1. Better than and are arrogant about a skill which the narrator also takes pride in. Ranpo is astonishingly brilliant (moreso than Poe) while Fortunado is someone who “prided himself on his connoisseurship in wine” and the narrator is also “skilful in the Italian vintage”. Ranpo also repeatedly brags about his intelligence/super-deduction and calls other people stupid, just like Fortunado insists that he is the better expert on wine than the other people the narrator brings up, and calls one of them “an ignoramus”.

2. Killed (or attempted to be killed) by in a test of the aforementioned, shared skill. Ranpo is lured into a mystery novel while Fortunado is lured into a cellar to taste wine.

3. People who will be missed, “unlike” the killer. Ranpo is the agency’s pillar while Poe works for the guild which is all “money and violence”. Poe even remarks that he envied Ranpo’s praise, and that he himself cannot stomach the world much. Fortunado was said by the narrator to be “rich, respected, admired, beloved; you are happy, as once I was. You are a man to be missed”.

4. “Lucky” people. Poe viewed Ranpo as lucky for being the holder of glory and praise and for being blessed with the super deduction ability, unlike the “disgraced” Poe. Fortunado’s name literally means fortunate.

5. Locked in a place to die where others have already died. As the novel’s murderer, Ranpo likely would’ve been one of if not the last person to die, and when he did he’d have died among corpses, much like Fortunado died in the catacombs.

6. Meant to be slowly killed. Since again, Ranpo(‘s character) would’ve probably outlasted everyone else it’s likely that it would’ve taken a while for him to die, while Fortunado is literally walled into the cellar and presumably died of dehydration/starvation/suffocation/etc. It’s also possible that has Ranpo not figured out the killer, he would’ve died of the same cause (since, who knows if there was food in that novel).

3. Method of Madness — fair and escapable, up to a point

To me, the above similarities that Poe is like the narrator as well. This in mind, and considering canon actions, I do think that Poe is intensely and easily given to violence when moved to be. However, I also think this happens only in regard to Ranpo.

However, I also think he is principled and intentional about this violence. He gives Ranpo a fair chance. He has all the Guild’s resources at his disposal and probably could’ve done more to kill the man of all he wanted to do was kill, but no—he wanted to beat Ranpo at his own game. He wanted to redress the insult he suffered as the narrator of Cask did when he lured Fortunado into a game.

The narrator of Cask of Amontillado invited (did not force, only perhaps poke the ego of) Fortunado gave Fortunado plenty of chances to leave, even offered multiple times to take him back out when he began to cough / show ill health (though depending on interpretation, these may have been done to goad Fortunado into continuing). Similarly, Poe gave Ranpo a challenge (which he willingly took) and every chance to back out before he entered the book.

However, as Fortunado’s desire to prove his skill in wine tasting led him to be walled into the catacombs, Ranpo’s desire for the Guild info led him into the book. From there, both of their situations were escapable (or at least they were meant to be).

Also, if you’re wondering why I think the novel is specifically the part of the catacombs that Fortunado was walled into (and not the trip down to the catacombs itself), just look at this image:

Bricked in, much like Fortunado.

All of this leads me to believe that to Poe, revenge was not about the ends, but the method. The ends had no meaning of the method did not address his revenge appropriately. Poe himself suggests this as well when he mentions that the Guild’s violence bores him. The Guild’s violence is just violence, but Poe’s violence towards Ranpo is methodical, intentional, meaningful, and cruel. This leads me into…

4. Blasé Regard of Violence

Take this scene from the Cask:

“Enough,” he said; “the cough is a mere nothing; it will not kill me. I shall not die of a cough.”

“True — true,

And this scene from chapter 32:

It’s a bit subtle, but both killers reference that their victim is going to die. The narrator in Cask says “true” because indeed Fortunado would not die of a cough, but of whatever killed him in the catacombs. And in Poe’s eyes (since he believed he would successfully kill Ranpo), Ranpo would “practically die to secure that info”.

Neither of them feel guilt, or even give a thought about feeling guilt, for what they’re doing.

I also want to note that I don’t think either the narrator in Cask nor Poe necessarily enjoy the inflicting of violence. They just… do it. The violence is not blood or pain to relish in, but the vector of their revenge. When Yosano “dies” in the novel and Ranpo is anguished, Poe does not shout about delighting in Ranpo’s misery, but rather is just glad to have beaten him.

The violence is part of these two killers’ method, and the method does matter to them (more than the outcome, even), but the violence is not the part of the method that matters. It is an avenue through which the method is delivered.

As a closing note, I also leave with you the observation that we only get the name of the narrator of The Cask of Amontillado, Montresor, at the very end of the story (when Fortunado has been almost completely walled in), just as Ranpo only claims to remember Poe after he’s gotten out of the novel.

My personal thoughts on Poe’s relationship to Ranpo (IE, not analysis of Poe and Cask) will be below the cut.

—

Personal RanPoe Thoughts

Poe is a little insane.

I really do like thinking about his desire to take violent revenge on Ranpo without actually caring about the violence part is a super cool thing to explore.

I also, again, think that this disposition to violence is Ranpo-specific; that Poe would not be as violent towards anyone other than Ranpo or unless Ranpo was involved. Ranpo and all his arrogance and brilliance. Ranpo as the loved, praised man he is.

I also do not think Poe wants to hurt Ranpo anymore, just for the record (and again I don’t think it was ever about causing harm, just satisfying his own vengeance), neither do I view him as possessive (I mean, we see him happily cheering for Ranpo’s intellectual prowess being recognized during the Perfect Crime arc).

What I do think is that Poe is willing to do just about anything for Ranpo, and to extremes. We see that he easily bets on Guild secrets away—screwing over the group that pays him an unholy amount of money—in order to have Ranpo’s attention and that he’ll write entire books on Ranpo’s whims (I haven’t counted the number of books Ranpo’s used throughout the manga but it’s not a small number of entire novels written in what I assume was less than a year). And while we haven’t seen Poe be violent again, I do think it’s possible.

This is all to say, if you wanna know where my brain has been today, it’s been thinking up scenes like this:

It was plain to see that Ranpo was made to be loved. His voice was loud, his grins were broad, and no better was there ever a moment to celebrate than when he snatched up his glasses and declared,

“Now, my super-deduction will reveal the truth behind this case!”

To deny Ranpo the right to be loved by the public was to deny who Ranpo was. Poe would have nothing else but the whole of him locked at the forefront of his mind.

I think this interpretation is also neat to think about in regards to the recent arc, but I didn’t have the brain space to write something like that today.

I have more RanPoe thoughts, but those will have to wait until a later post (as this is meant to specifically be focused on Poe, The Cask of Amontillado, and violence). Soon, soon.

To be explored in the future… Ranpo’s and Poe’s relationships to feelings of alienation.

[pearlprincess02]

libra sun 11H, taurus moon 6H, scorpio rising, libra mercury 12H, scorpio venus 12H

libra sun: is a day cardinal air sign. the symbol of libra is the scales and its glyph reflects both balance and the setting sun. libra rules over harmony, balance, decisions, love and beauty. libra is the diplomat and mediator of the zodiac. libra comes across as fair, peace-loving, and creative. however, libra it is sign that does not like to decide on just one side, but likes to remain neutral. that's why decisions make them difficult. but they like appearance and beauty, which means that in love, libra will always look for someone who looks nice and it will be important to libra that this person is looking good. libra is also a sign that will always fight for justice. no matter what, they will always be on the side of justice and prove it. libras adore high art, intellectualism, and connoisseurship.

sun in 11th house: miss/mr. popular. committed as fuck. most people love you and if they don’t, it’s because of a projection. chatty. should be a podcast owner. makes a new friend every week. really good at social media. open minded. wants to save all of the animals. “if we don’t have earth, we have nothing.” this is the friend you seek to help take your mission statement up a level. to the natal owner: you can’t save everyone!! not everyone is worth your genuine love and support. learn boundaries.

taurus moon: a taurus moon has a calm and peaceful energy. they are resilient, practical, and have a strong interest in material things. taurus moons have a natural ability to stabilize any situation while remaining grounded. they are reliable, persistent and determined to get things done. with the grounded and stabilizing energy of taurus, they have strong emotions but also take the time to process them. taurus moons enjoy the simple things in life and appreciate a comfortable and stable environment. they are focused on creating and maintaining a sense of security in their life, whether it's in their job, relationships or just simply being at peace. taurus moons are a mixture of deep feelings, practical thinking, and a grounded outlook on life. they are a calming presence who can also bring stability to any situation. they are likely to value and appreciate comfort, stability, and peace, and strive to create that in their life. taurus moons can also be stubborn and slow to open up or move. their greatest desires may be for a sense of security and stability in their life, both in material and emotional ways. they also highly value comfort and love, and desire love and adoration from others.

moon in 6th house: you are always think of ways to help those you love with your emotional support. this is the house of daily work so you may experience significant emotional experiences at your job that shape and change you as a person. it’s also the health house so having the moon here could indicate that you are at your best emotional health when you have been taking care of your physical and mental health.

scorpio rising: dark just dark - their eyes look dark even if they’re light colored, dark auras, tattoos, literally looks like a fucking shadow ok, doesn’t realize they death glare people they hate, i love these people tbh they’re so intriguing and beautiful in a mysterious way, DEFINITELY attracts obsessive people and friends, probably feels like they’ve been 20 different people in their lifetime - always transforming their image and looks

libra mercury: a libra mercury indicates a very charming and balanced approach to communication. you likely have a strong ability to communicate in a friendly, diplomatic, and socially intelligent way. you enjoy engaging in conversation and may be very comfortable being the center of attention. you enjoy connecting with other people, and you likely have a tendency to keep things light and positive. you are likely to approach conversation in an intuitive, gentle, and diplomatic way that avoids confrontation or conflict. you may have a strong need for harmony and balance in your interactions and relationships.

mercury in 12th house: you need to create a space in your life where you can retreat into your own private thoughts. you are quite happy in your own company and tend to prefer to work alone or behind-the-scenes. you may forget things easily.

scorpio venus: a scorpio venus is characterized by a deep and intense approach to relationships. people with this placement may have emotional walls up, making it challenging for them to open up and be vulnerable. they may have a darker side or be attracted to the hidden depths on others. they may have a strong intuitive nature, seek out deep and meaningful connections, and crave intimacy and trust. they may have high standards and expectations when it comes to relationships and expect their partners to match their intensity and be willing to explore deep levels of trust.

venus in 12th house: these are my artistic people, they have a lot of passion and compassion. they tend to be attracted to spiritual or helpful people. they value connections and are naturally drawn to others; they find much comfort in helping those around them. they are looking for a partner with good character and empathy.

@danseuse-de-ballet

ᵒᵇˢᵉʳᵛᵃᵗⁱᵒⁿˢ ᵃʳᵉ���'ᵗ ᵐⁱⁿᵉ

[andreablog2]

Truly insecure about my lack of ability to engage with the slc housewives franchise the same way people might be insecure about not being able to enjoy baroque classical music. There’s just a level of reality television connoisseurship you either have or you don’t, it’s generational and I simply don’t have it.

[latinosoles]

"It's...ah...a bit tight, Mara."

"You will get used to it, darling. Consider this part of your gift to me, I've always wanted to have you here in a dress. And you are positively ravishing.”

“Heh, since you seem to like it so much, I’ll do my best not to rip it. Fancy dresses are no match for Sjur Eido, her mighty muscles, and accidental trips while wearing heels.”

“Enough foreplay, my Wrath. Tell me, what is this new instrument you have brought to enrich our practiced symphony? I expect that something exquisite will be what makes me sing tonight?”

“Oh, yes. It won’t be as rough on your voice as the brush. This stimulation is much more…delicate. It will still drive you up the wall, don’t get me wrong, but think of it as sensory degustation rather than being immediately overwhelmed. Thought you’d want something different from the usual to start off, and believe me, you’ll last wayyy longer.”

“Keep talking like that, Sjur, and you might be spared your turn. I am very much in the mood to embark on connoisseurship of the senses. One that ends when morning breaks the dusk.” 

“Then put your little peds on my lap, spread your piggies wide open, and get ready to sing~”

***

Heyy y'all! I gifted myself this comm as a birthday present, featuring Queen Mara Sov and her partner Sjur Eido, from the Destiny franchise. Artist link is here:

And if anyone here is into Destiny, here's a link to a longfic series I've been writing for some time:

[luchicm04]

♎LIBRA♎

September 23 to October 22 - Symbol: Scales⚖️

Sun: Joy Moon: Anxiety Rising: Fear

Personality Explanation:

Libra is an air sign, represented by the scales, symbolizing balance and harmony. Ruled by Venus, Libras are aesthetes of the zodiac and are passionate about high art, intellectualism, and connoisseurship. They are excellent designers, decorators, art critics, and stylists. Libra symbolizes "we," and relationships are paramount for them. They love harmonious partnerships with fashionable mates, especially those who make attractive arm candy. Libra governs the skin and is highly motivated by physical appearance.

When regularly coupled, Libras must be careful about seeking attention outside the agreed-upon boundaries of their relationship. They must remember that the happiness of their loved ones and the health of their relationships are more important than maintaining the attention of distant admirers. Libras are a cardinal sign, making them great at launching new initiatives. However, they struggle with indecision due to considering multiple perspectives in all pursuits. Instead, Libras should develop and trust their intuition. Despite their ambivalence, Libras can navigate virtually any social situation and resolve conflicts effortlessly by turning on the charm.

Read what your sign's horoscope emotions mean for you right here, or check out the rest of my works here.

[wilderhazard]

It's hard to express this without being rude about it (and I generally like the author), but this piece neatly encapsulates everything in Gay Culture™ that I'm alienated from: expensive resort vacations treated as routine or at least rite of passage, twee sentimentality about party drugs, an affectation of connoisseurship based on liking mediocre pop music, and an affectation of radicalism based on voting for Democrats but feeling conflicted about it.

[heraclitizer]

One scarcely associates ghosts with high-rise buildings, even though I have heard of multi-storey apartment structures in Hong Kong which were said to be haunted; yet perhaps the more fundamental narrative of a ghost story 'to the second power', of a properly postmodern ghost story, ordered by finance-capital spectralities rather than the old and more tangible kind, demands a narrative of the very search for a building to haunt in the first place. Rouge certainly preserves the classical ghost story's historical content: the confrontation of the present with the past, in this instance the confrontation of the contemporary mode of production - the offices and the businesses of Hong Kong today (or rather yesterday, before 1997) - with what is still an ancien régime (if not a downright feudalism) of wealthy slackers and sophisticated establishments of hetairai, replete with gaming and sumptuary feasts, as well as erotic connoisseurship. In this pointed juxtaposition the moderns - bureaucrats and secretaries - are well aware of their bourgeois inferiority; nor does the suicide for love stand in any fundamental narrative tension with the decadence of the romantic 1930s. Save, perhaps, by accident, for the playboy fails to die and is finally unwilling to follow his glamorous partner into an eternal afterlife. He does not wish, so to speak, to be haunted; indeed, as a derelict old man in the present, he can scarcely be located in the first place. The traditional ghost story did not, surely, require mutual consent for a visitation - here it seems to; and the success or failure of the haunting never depended quite so much, as in this Hong Kong present-day, on the mediation of the present-day observers. To wish to be haunted; to long for the great passions that now exist only in the past; indeed, to survive in a bourgeois present as exotic cosmetics and costumes alone, as sheer post-modern 'nostalgia' trappings, as optional content within a stereotypical yet empty form: some first, 'classical' nostalgia as abstraction from the concrete object, alongside a second or more 'postmodern' one as nostalgia for nostalgia itself, a longing for the situation in which the process of abstraction might itself once again be possible; this is the source of our feeling that the newer moment is a return to realism - plots, agreeable buildings, decoration, melodies, and so on - when in fact it is only a replay of the empty stereotypes of all those things, and a vague memory of their fullness on the tip of the tongue.

fredric jameson on stanley kwan's rouge, from "the brick and the balloon: architecture, idealism and land speculation", in the cultural turn: selected writings on the postmodern, 1983-1998

[studiesinconnoisseurship]

Rogier and Campin: Mistaken Identities

Connoisseurship, by its nature, will often involve mistaken identity, work by one artist being taken for that of another. This Study looks at a case that can be illustrated by work attributable to two famous fifteenth centruy artists, Rogier van der Weyden and Robert Campin, within one collection, that of the London National Gallery, and the relation of these pictures to others elsewhere.

When juxtaposed, it is easy to see the similarities between faces in Rogier's Altarpiece at Beaune and portraits in the National Gallery, attributed to Campin. Such a degree of likeness makes it hard to see how there could be disagreement that they were all painted by the same hand. Stylistically, everything corresponds, even the craquelure

In the above juxtaposition, the left-hand face of each pair is a face out of the Beaune Altarpiece, the Last Judgment, still at Beaune in Burgundy, that everyone seems agreed is the work of Rogier van der Weyden. The right-hand face of each pair is of the Man and Woman, respectively, portrayed in two separate panels at the London National Gallery where they are ascribed, not to Rogier, but to Robert Campin. The two artists were famous in their day for the outstanding quality of their work, and they both presided over large workshops.

The Altarpiece at the Hotel-Dieu, Beaune. Open, it shows The Last Judgement

Closed, the polyptych shows the donors kneeling before statues of saints

Here is another Portrait of a Man that can also be seen at the National Gallery. It is the portrait of a known person, Alexander Mornauer.

Portrait of Alexander Mornauer, attributed to "the Master of the Mornauer portrait", National Gallery, London

The Mornauer portrait before cleaning, showing a 'Holbein blue background, and reworking of the hat

He was given a plain blue ‘Holbein’ background that has been removed, as being a later addition, to reveal one that is of much more interesting texture and of a sort of puce colour. The painter of this picture is simply called ‘The Master of the Mornauer Portrait’, thought to be from ‘South Germany’.

If we now place this Mornauer portrait between two other images, the Portrait of a Stout Man from the Thyssen Collection in Madrid (ascribed to Robert Campin) and the two onlookers beside the Bad Thief to the Left of Christ from the panel at Frankfurt (Staedel Institut), generally considered a work by Campin, do we not see similarities, in this second case, nearly as compelling as the very different similarities in the first?

Left to Right: The Mornauer Portrait; Portrait of a Stout Man, attrib. Campin, Museo Thyssen, Madrid; detail and full image of The Bad Thief to the Left of Christ, attrib. Campin, Staedel Museum, Frankfurt

The Mornauer portrait clearly predates both the Thyssen Head of a Man and the Frankfurt Crucifixion, which one takes to be late work by the artist; that said, we can see an earlier manifestation of the same extraordinarily bold facial modelling, the same eyes and eyebrows, the same fine brushwork in the brown hair and the hairs of fur, and, in the detail of the two onlookers to the Crucifixion, very similar and distinctive hands displaying all their veins and joint-creases.

Much work remains to be done on the oeuvres of two men who were clearly the stars of the generation after the Van Eycks, but what these comparisons already suggest is that their styles are very distinct from each other. It appears that two portraits have got linked with Robert Campin when they are much more likely to be by Rogier van der Weyden, and a fine work by Campin in the same Gallery has gone unrecognised, relegated to ‘South Germany’. There is evidence here of the muddle that surrounds these two names.

I do not believe that we have many works anywhere by Robert Campin, but what there is strikes me as of remarkably high quality. His hyper-realism may not appeal to all tastes today, but it belongs to its time and makes a superlative link between Jan van Eyck and Dürer in the tradition that leads on to Holbein, and eventually Ingres. Of work by Rogier van der Weyden we have more, including two masterpieces, the Beaune Altarpiece and the Madrid Deposition, but his work likewise has to be distinguished from that of numerous artists of his time, mostly of lesser talent, who spent their careers in workshops such as those headed by himself and Campin.

Left to RIght: The Mornauer Portrait; Portrait of a Man, attributed to the same artist, Kupferstichkabinett, Berlin; in BW; Reflectogram of the Mornauer Portrait, revealing the same style of folds in the clothing and vein details in the hands

I wish to draw attention at this point to two drawings. The first is a portrait of a man of middle age with black curly hair, wearing a hat and holding his hands together with the two thumbs abutted. This remarkable image is held at the Kupferstichkabinett in Berlin and attributed to the same hand as the Mornauer. The penmanship in the modelling of the man’s shirt is superlative and the vividness of his presence is all the greater for the addition of watercolour to his face, neck and hands.

The connection, as I see it, with Campin is made by a very helpful infrared reflectogram of the Mornauer portrait in a publication (2010) by the National Gallery, entitled A Closer Look: Deceptions and Discoveries. The underdrawing of that painting is so close to the treatment of the folds in the sleeves of the shirt in the drawing that I think it very likely that they are by the same artist. Note the veins in the hands of both painting and drawing; Dürer could not have observed them better.

Left: 'Le Christ Bénissant', attrib. Toussaint Dubreuil, the Louvre; Right from Top: Detail from Campin's Throne of Mercy; Detail from Campin's Bad Thief; Detail from Campin's Madonna by a Firescreen, National Gallery, London

The second drawing - an image at the Louvre entitled Christ Blessing - I also think is by Campin, though probably from a different period of his career. Here the penmanship is bolder and looser than in the drawing just mentioned, but the dense cross-hatching and other mark-making is very similar. Below are some juxtapositions that help to link this drawing with the Mornauer portrait and other Campins in the treatment of facial features, hands and hair-curls.

Left to Right: Faces of Mornauer; Christ; the Stout Man

Hair and fingers from the Bad Thief (left) and Christ Bénissant (right)

Hand details: VIrgin and Child, Campin (top); Saint Veronica, Campin (left) both Staedl Museum, Frankfurt; The Mornauer (middle); The Bad Thief (bottom)

That two paintings by Rogier van der Weyden can be taken for work by Campin when the two artists are so completely different is concerning. The focus of the present Study has been limited to three paintings in the London National Gallery, the stylistic connection of two of them, the paired portraits of A Man and A Woman, with Rogier’s Beaune Altarpiece, and a third, the Mornauer Portrait, with Crucifixion and other panels at Frankfurt. On the evidence even of these few works we can see Campin as a master capable of projecting a very powerful image with hyper-realistic attention to texture and fine detail. The Rogier portraits are realistic too, but less forceful and arguably more sympathetic depictions of individuals with faces easily associated as those of husband and wife.

Clearly there is scope for a wider discussion of the oeuvres of these two very important painters. I hope a future Study can attempt to address that much more complex issue

[luxe-pauvre]

In your book, Jude, you asked, How could I become a better smeller? I like how you shifted away from questions of connoisseurship. You didn’t want to cultivate better aesthetic taste than other people. You just wanted to take in more of the world. Fredric Jameson once said, paraphrasing Adorno, that when you’re doing aesthetics as a Marxist, you can’t get away from the fact that art is a luxury item. It shouldn’t be, but that’s the guilt of the art object for certain critics. There’s an anecdote I’ve heard about Herbert Marcuse being interviewed at his home in La Jolla, California. The interviewer says something challenging, like, “Herbert Marcuse, you’re a Marxist thinker, but I’m looking at all this luxury. We’re lounging around your swimming pool. What do you say to that?” And Marcuse supposedly replies, “Nothing is too good for the people.” That’s a great response to the guilt thing.

Sianne Ngai, How to Choose Your Perfume: A Conversation with Sianne Ngai and Anna Kornbluh

[seantaitbircher-blog]

D&D-style winemaker adventure seeds:

Negotiate with a dryad/treant/korred/druid circle to harvest oak from their grove(s) for barrels

Learn the secrets of glassblowing from an ancient eleven master and/or recruit a gnomish inventor to create mass production of bottles

Travel to a distant city to purchase barrels from dwarvish masters and then guard a caravan of nothing but empty barrels from bandits

Deal with a dragon/archfey/wizard/weird critter with expensive but sinister taste in wine who has taken a liking to your wares

Protect the vineyard from birds/deer/monstrosities that are eating the berries (possibly by introducing a predator species like tressym)

Travel halfway across the world/to ancient elvish ruins/dungeon delve to procure a new varietal

Protect your investments from a predatory trading coster or merchant alliance like the Zhentarim (could also be a church that dominates local agriculture)

Try to establish a unique identity in a world that hasn’t actually embraced wine connoisseurship yet and everything is just indistinguishable village wines

Fight an overreaching lord and/or prejudiced population who is/are trying to mass deport your nomadic orc laborers and their hunky firebrand labor organizer leader

Expose an alchemist creating artificially-flavored wine from subpar materials

Confront a rival who is learning from all your experimentation but can do everything cheaper/doesn’t have to worry about money because they’re the scion of a noble house

Deal with a mysterious being (actual wine angel) that is stealing a share of the wine in the barrel

Cellar (dire/were)rats

Kill an invasive plant (monster) species without destroying your vineyard

Drunk-ass bridal party (possibly adventurers) and/or fey (satyrs, centaurs) wreak havoc at a party at your place

Establish an inn/tavern/fest hall to sell your wares in the nearest large settlement

Establish alliances/partnerships with other vineyards/winemakers/sellers to protect each other from unexpected emergencies

Raise funds

Environmentally destructive monster like a bulette or the fucking tarrasque

Deity takes an interest in your operation

Visit strange lands/other cultures to learn/taste different techniques

(Do dwarves use stainless steel barrels or concrete? Do halflings use clay vessels? How long do elves age their wine?)

Dungeon delve for exotic yeasts?

[lesb0]

You plan on moving to Italy for work Miss Terra? I promise, not a stalker but I am from Milan.

It's possible, but the most advanced specialized renaissance scholarship is actually done in the US. most italian institutions aren't ranked and do not produce much of the leading PhD level art historical research, and that work is very conservative and rarely feminist. most feminist art historians move to america or the UK. Italian curatorial is also very traditional, they are still discoursing connoisseurship from 100 years ago while America is on postcolonial. last night a major Italian museum director discussed how consistent goodwill loans and curation to and for America is extremely important to preservation of diplomatic relationships! so a large portion of Italian curatorial work is done here too.

[pussypopstiel]

Wheres the post that was talking about the spn 2021 revival and its like “the level of connoisseurship” cause really it was a level of connoisseurship

[dearorpheus]

“The aesthetic necrophilia of nineteenth-century painting finds its apotheosis in the subject of the anatomy class, a theme vying in popularity with the battlefield and distinguished by some of the same hierarchic categories (the great commander/the great surgeon, the massed ranks of soldiers/the packed theatre of anatomy, the killed/the cadaver). The sacrificial body is posed naked on a table, and the table intuitively evokes the bed (there are also sheets, and the white sheet, like the bridal gown, possesses its own ambiguities). Onto the as-yet unviolated corpse (conventionally female) the collective gaze of the students (conventionally male) is drawn with that ferocity or detached connoisseurship redolent of an aroused sexuality. For their delectation the surgeon flourishes the scalpel with which he will conduct operations as the general in the field wields maps or staffs. The cadaver of the female, formerly inviolable, formerly independent and, while provocative, untouchable in the public sphere, is now the property (and since he may dispose her limbs, the sexual property) of him who now assumes the right to intrude into her flesh (bloodless flesh, since the anatomical subject is never fresh but kept sufficiently long to eliminate the potential shock of bleeding) by that surgical technique known now as then as invasive. In the anatomy class the sexual character of the corpse is revealed as nowhere else as a provocative surface. What permeates her stillness is the prospect of infinite permission, something strangely akin to the absolute permission granted only through the intimacy of the greatest loves... a permission subject to revocation in the living, and decay in the dead.”

— Howard Barker in the afterword for Eroticism and Death in Theatre and Performance