A Provocative Late Medieval Portrait of English Dominican Friar, from the 15th Century (The wear in one particular spot reflects the toll of the owner?s ritual touching of the Virgin?s face in conjunction with his portrait, similar to the touching of a medallion or cross)

Beschreibung

It is unusual to find an English example, particularly one which so well demonstrates the unique factors at play in such pieces at the timeThroughout the Middle Ages, true visionaries put into place systems of intellectual and social organisation. Saint Dominic?s foundation of the Dominican Order responded to a need for a new kind of monasticism, as Medieval Europe shifted towards an increased urbanisation, which would give rise to the great cities that we now know. In the city of Toulouse, France, Dominic based his Order on the Rule of Saint Augustine? a system of tenets to organize the lives of the monks which focused heavily on salvation through preaching. Dominic?s order valued education as the vehicle for effective preaching, and therefore effective saving of souls. Dominic?s vision saw his followers establishing schools alongside newly burgeoning universities in Paris and Bologna, and later in Palencia, Montpellier, and even Oxford within his lifetime. Members of the Dominican Order took their message of educated understanding of God from the continent to the British Isles, settling in Oxford by 1221.Thomas Aquinas and Albertus Magnus were also of the Dominican Order.Given the wealth of expressions of interiority that arise in [later Medieval] arts, . scholars, philosophers, and ideologues have often turned to this era when seeking the putative origins of modern selfhood" (Sands 1); the inclusion of patron portraits acts as a reflection of the self reflecting on the divine, personalizes the book. After book productions shifted towards catering to the wealthy rather than the monastic, lay-patrons were able to emulate "monastic patterns of reading, prayer, and meditation" (Sands 15). Rather than allowing a wealthy lay patron to emulate the monastic way of life, the patron portrait of this Dominican monk is a glimpse into the monastic way of life and an individual's development of his sense of self.This leaf, from a Dominican?s personal prayer book, features a portrait of the owner himself. This little peak into a 15th century private sphere shows the book?s owner depicted in his traditional black cloak? which gave rise to the appellation of the Dominicans as ?the Black Friars?? over top his white habit and his tonsure to better allow God to see his thoughts and to demonstrate his renunciation of worldly aesthetics. From his outstretched hands, a banderole twirls upwards around a now faded woman?s face framed in the blue associated with the Virgin. The leaf is blank on the back. These two features? the heavy fading in a specific area and the blank verso? make suggestions about the production and the reception of the book.This portrait leaf was likely a bespoke product that was tipped into an on-spec, ready-to-buy book. That is to say, at this point, books were no longer being made entirely to the patron?s demand; books had become commodities that more people could afford, so a stationer would have books ready made with minor customization available (such as the addition of a patron portrait). This addition, without text on the back, would not interrupt the flow of the set selection of prayers in the Book of Hours. With this customization the owner literally sees himself in his daily worship of the Virgin Mary. Here is where the importance of the fading comes into play.This is likely not just the wear and tear of history, but the toll of the owner?s ritual touching of the Virgin?s face in conjunction with his portrait. This action is called ?affective piety,? and though chiefly associated with women?s rituals, it was not uncommon for men, particularly those aligned with mysticism, to engage in this method of worship. In the same way that Saint Dominic?s Order responded to the rise of cities in the thirteenth century, affective piety provides a new way of interacting with Christianity. As people moved towards understanding Christ as a man and through his bodily identity, they also moved towards an ?emotional understanding of.

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A Provocative Late Medieval Portrait of English Dominican Friar, from the 15th Century (The wear in one particular spot reflects the toll of the owner?s ritual touching of the Virgin?s face in conjunction with his portrait, similar to the touching of a medallion or cross)