Cabinet of Curiosities

This week’s Cabinet of Curiosity comes from the Rijksmuseum; Apothecary Cabinet from Delft, 1730.  The contents complete with a myriad of glass containers and pottery.  Obviously something highly prized considering the condition of all the accessories, some complete with their original contents.

In 1543, a Rouen potter made a large number of drug pots for a local apothecary and decorated in the Italian style.  The art of enameling was introduced to The Netherlands in the 16^th century by Italian potters who settled in Antwerp.  The Dutch town of Delft became famous for the manufacture of tin-glazed earthenware decorated in the blue and white imitation of Chinese porcelain, then being imported by the Dutch East India Company.

Due to the overwhelming success of the Dutch potters, the general term Delftware eventually replaced the terms majolica and faience for the tin-glazed earthenware of Holland.  The most typical of Delft apothecary jars is the peacock motif consisting of two peacocks standing on either side of a basket of fruit with an angel’s head below.  Three examples can be seen on a stamp from Belgium.  The ewer is labeled MERCURIAL, for Oxymel of Mercury; the Delft pot with a metal cover is labeled GENTAINE, for Extract of Gentian; and the third pot is inscribed PHILO(N) ROM(ANUM), a name given to a widely used confection of opium.

Let us look inside the drawers and imagine some curiosities contained therein:

A prayer nut was an extravagant devotional object from the late Middle Ages; two silver plated pieces of carved wood with a diameter of 4.8cm joined together form the round nut.  The small ball was carried around by the wealthy on a silver chain.  The nut was not used exclusively for prayer, but also displayed as a status symbol and admired for the extremely detailed carvings found inside.  Turpenoids (aromatic fragrances) had been inserted within the delicate filigree.  These fragrances were intended to heighten the emotional experience for the person using the Prayer Nut.

For the latest in technology to view this microcosm of art, Augmented Reality offers a new virtual tour.  By printing the barcode and holding it up to your webcam, you will be able to navigate the interior of the Rijksmuseum’s Prayer Nut, examining the carvings in minute detail.  Better than holding it in your hand!

Another personal item small enough to fit in this cabinet would be the ancient curse tablet.  Currently on view at the Getty Villa, this tablet was thrown into a pit in the sanctuary of the Gods of the Underworld at Morgantina around 100 BC.  In total, 10 curse tables have been excavated from the pit.  Incredibly, four of these all curse the same woman!  Using almost exactly the same wording, the four call on the Gods of the Underworld to take a slave-girl named Venusta back with them to the realm of the dead – in other words, for her to go to hell.  The one on view at the Getty reads:

Gaia, Hermes, Gods of the Underworld, receive Venusta, slave of Rufus.

The final item in this week’s cabinet cannot be contained in any of these small spaces.  A huge undertaking by the Scottish National Galleries to digitize their entire collection into a searchable database is now complete.  Digital initiatives such as this are great exposure for the treasures a museum holds in their vast storage rooms.  One small setback to this leap into virtual tourism can be the difficulty in searching the database.  The Scottish National Gallery has solved this problem with a tab call “Hitlist.”  Navigating the top searches opens other tabs to etours, and related images.  My favorite discovery to date is George Morland’s “The Misery of Idleness”, 1790.

Morland’s work of the 1780s highlighted the moral shortcomings of domestic life, influenced by William Hogarth (1697-1764).  A notoriously heavy drinker and debtor, Morland spent the final years of his life enduring intermittent bouts in prison and eventually died of alcoholism at age 41.  His flamboyant lifestyle became the subject of four anecdotal biographies immediately after his death.

This concludes a full year of my Cabinet of Curiosities.  I really enjoy putting these together from the bits of research I find on the web, and they have taken on a life of their own through other readers.  Do you have any suggestions for the Cabinet?  I will be happy to chat with you about Curiosities!

Cheers to the New Year!

MJ

Drunken tourist herds at the Sistine Chapel

Vatican Museum

The New Year will mark the anniversary of Michelangelo’s completion of the ceiling at the Sistine Chapel.  The Vatican worries about the future of these frescoes, and may restrict visitor numbers, citing safety and preservation of the art their paramount motivators.

Time will tell how the custodians of these great works will employ technology to keep the Sistine Chapel works viable to future generations.  It is a shame that art such as this will be viewed by fewer individuals, ones that will be vacuumed and cooled according to the Vatican, but preservation of these masterpieces is the critical factor in such decisions.  A bit of online debate has gone to greater lengths at The Guardian regarding how the Vatican has treated the frescoes over their 500 year history, referring to visitors as “drunken tourist herds.”

Drunken tourist herds?

According to the director of Vatican Museums, Antonio Paolucci, 20,000 visitors a day has produced “dust, temperature, humidity and carbon dioxide, the great enemies of these paintings.”

The Chapel features 300 figures painted across 2,500 square meters by artists including Botticelli, Perugino and Pinturicchio as well as Michelangelo.  I cannot imagine viewing these beautiful works while being jostled by crowds pushing through the room.  The sheer number of visitors is criticized for giving the space the feel of a busy train station.

One recent step forward is the virtual experience of the Sistine Chapel; a great view of the ceiling and surrounding walls.  Perhaps collaboration with the Google Art Project will propel this virtual site into the mega-pixel display that these frescoes deserve.

Built in the 1470s under Pope Sixtus IV, from whom it takes its name, the Sistine Chapel is more than just Vatican City’s most popular tourist destination.  Beginning in 1492, the building has hosted numerous papal conclaves, during which cardinals gather to vote on a new pope.  A special chimney in the roof of the chapel broadcasts the conclave’s results, white smoke indicating the election of a pope and black smoke signaling that no candidate has received the two-thirds majority.

Michelangelo wanted nothing to do with the Sistine Chapel’s ceiling; he was busy working on Pope Julius II’s marble tomb in Rome’s San Pietro in Vincoli church.  When Julius asked the artist to switch gears and decorate the Sistine Chapel’s ceiling, Michelangelo balked; he considered himself a sculptor rather than a painter; he had no experience with frescoes.  He reluctantly accepted the commission as funding for the tomb dwindled, money being a great motivator, signing the contract on May 10, 1508.  The artist spent the next four years of his life perched on scaffolding with a brush in his hand.  He did return to Julius’ monumental tomb over the next decade.

Tomb of Pope Julius II

The artist and his assistants used wooden scaffolds that allowed them to stand upright and reach above their heads.  Michelangelo designed the unique systems of platforms, and attached to the walls with brackets.  The legend that Michelangelo painted on his back may come from the 1965 movie “The Agony and the Ecstasy”, with Charlton Heston portraying the genius painting on his back.

Evidence of the scaffolding on the Lunette

Michelangelo described the physical strain of the Sistine Chapel project to his friend Giovanni da Pistoria, in a poem from 1509.  “I’ve already grown a goiter from this torture,” and “I am not in the right place-I am not a painter.”

Michelangelo’s depiction of work accompanying poem

The frescoed ceiling has held up remarkably well in the five centuries since completion.  Part of the sky in the panel depicting Noah’s escape from the great biblical flood is missing.  The section of plaster fell to the floor and shattered following an explosion at a nearby gunpowder depot in 1797.

Work in the 1980s and 1990s restored selected artworks in the Sistine Chapel, including the ceiling and Michelangelo’s famed fresco known as “The Last Judgement.”  The restoration also undid the work of Pope Pius IV, who ordered the placement of fig leaves and loincloths on Michelangelo’s nudes during the 1560s.

Creation of Adam

Rabbit-hole of research:

The New York Times archive contains an interesting article regarding the Spark of Life in Michelangelo’s painting “The Creation of Adam.”  Was the artist allegorically portraying the moment when God bestowed Adam with intelligence?  Read more to draw your own conclusions.

What are your views on the preservation of art?  Is the virtual museum experience a necessary step for museums?  I look forward to chatting with you.

Cheers,

MJ