He has “skin so black it’s almost blue”, his hair is “dense, tight-curled stuff, the kind of hair that needs to be shaped if it’s to look stylish”, and he is “whipcord thin”.
“This peice was found in ye Ruines in A house att … near York Procur’d & Beautiefiy’d by William Richardson of Northbierley 1689”
The carved alabaster panel of The Ascension (you can see the feet of Christ just disappearing out of the top) was made c.1400-1425, reframed in a case dated 1689. Victoria and Albert Museum, London.
An alabaster statue of a kneeling angel, from c. 1430-40. The statue was made in Burgundy and stands at only 14.5 inches high. The angel was originally part of a collection made by a group of anonymous sculptors that depicted either the Annunciation or Christ as the Man of Sorrows.
Claus de Werve (Netherlandish, 1380-1439) Mourner from the Tomb of Philip the Bold, Duke of Burgundy 1404-1410 Alabaster
“Throughout most of their history these alabaster mourners have evoked a sense of awe and mystery as well as curiosity and admiration. They were originally arranged in processional order around the sides of the ducal tomb within a marble arcade in the Chartreuse de Champmol. The realistically carved mourners remain the most famous elements from Philip the Bold’s tomb. Carved by Claus de Werve, no two are alike. They retain minute details of costume and features, and the faces of some are nearly portrait-like in their depiction of facial creases and expression, suggesting actual individuals, while the faces of others are partly obscured by their cowls.”
One of three mourners currently in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Image and description from the Cleveland Museum of Art’s online collection pages (1,2, and 3 (shown here)).
Claus de Werve (Netherlandish, 1380-1439) Mourner from the Tomb of Philip the Bold, Duke of Burgundy 1404-1410 Alabaster
“Throughout most of their history these alabaster mourners have evoked a sense of awe and mystery as well as curiosity and admiration. They were originally arranged in processional order around the sides of the ducal tomb within a marble arcade in the Chartreuse de Champmol. The realistically carved mourners remain the most famous elements from Philip the Bold’s tomb. Carved by Claus de Werve, no two are alike. They retain minute details of costume and features, and the faces of some are nearly portrait-like in their depiction of facial creases and expression, suggesting actual individuals, while the faces of others are partly obscured by their cowls.”
One of three mourners currently in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Image and description from the Cleveland Museum of Art’s online collection pages (1,2 (shown here), and 3).
Claus de Werve (Netherlandish, 1380-1439) Mourner from the Tomb of Philip the Bold, Duke of Burgundy 1404-1410 Alabaster
“Throughout most of their history these alabaster mourners have evoked a sense of awe and mystery as well as curiosity and admiration. They were originally arranged in processional order around the sides of the ducal tomb within a marble arcade in the Chartreuse de Champmol. The realistically carved mourners remain the most famous elements from Philip the Bold’s tomb. Carved by Claus de Werve, no two are alike. They retain minute details of costume and features, and the faces of some are nearly portrait-like in their depiction of facial creases and expression, suggesting actual individuals, while the faces of others are partly obscured by their cowls.”
One of three mourners currently in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Image and description from the Cleveland Museum of Art’s online collection pages (1 (shown here),2, and 3).
