Johanna Scheel | Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main (original) (raw)
Books by Johanna Scheel
For english abstract see pdf below.
Papers by Johanna Scheel
Orte der Imagination – Räume des Affekts, 2016
Picturing Death 1200–1600, 2020
A 15th-century Middle English devotional compilation of Carthusian origin (London, British Librar... more A 15th-century Middle English devotional compilation of Carthusian origin (London, British Library, MS Additional 37049) conveys a rather interesting piece of poetry to us: 'A disputacion betwyx þe body and wormes', which is illustrated by pen drawings of a female corpse arguing with worms that want to feed on her. Departing from this illuminated text and comparing it to other depictions of animated corpses, the chapter ponders the paradox of the decaying but still interacting corpse: a paradox because Christian theology states clearly that the soul leaves the body immediately after death. So who or what animates the body and what are its capabilities to still feel and suffer its decay? My research shows that there are (1) distinctions between depictions of Death personified and a corpse, that (2) worms are no signs of sins or symbols of vices contrary to snakes or toads, that furthermore (3) bodily decay or being eaten by worms were not understood as parts of the tortures in purgatory or hell (neither in texts nor in iconography). Indeed, there usually is no infliction of pain or punishment implied in the motif of the decaying corpse. Thus, its function cannot be just to convey fear and intimidate the beholder. The decaying corpse rather transmits the need for Salvation of the depicted person in a most accentuated way as it begs to be restored as the image of Christ on the day of resurrection. It even suggests a parallel to the martyred and destroyed body of Christ. Both topics are united in the practice of personal piety in the later middle ages where the decaying corpse is depicted and contemplated alongside the penitential psalms, the office of the dead and other prayers in books of hours or in small panel paintings or diptychs. My research shows that a new appreciation of the physical body arises as its contemplation is seen as a tool to exercise pious emotions and shaping the Christian self in personal prayer. That theological trend is matched by the depictions of the beholder’s individualized animated corpse: Looking at his own decaying but hopefully praying corpse during his personal prayer he will, as contemporary treatises of prayer tell us, meditate on his own still living and sound body and soul in contrast to that other body of his. This mirroring enables him to put himself (in all these aspects) in relation to the Imago Dei that he was designed to be and that he strives towards again. If we look at the worm-eaten, animated corpses from this perspective, the paradox seems to resolve as a “logic of practice”, the practice of personal piety, is preferred to the bare logic of theological theory.
Neue Frankfurter Forschungen zur Kunst, 2015
Stephen Perkinson & Noa Turel: Picturing:Death 1200–1600, 2020
A 15th-century Middle English devotional compilation of Carthusian origin (London, British Librar... more A 15th-century Middle English devotional compilation of Carthusian origin (London, British Library, MS Additional 37049) conveys a rather interesting piece of poetry to us: 'A disputacion betwyx þe body and wormes', which is illustrated by pen drawings of a female corpse arguing with worms that want to feed on her. Departing from this illuminated text and comparing it to other depictions of animated corpses, the chapter ponders the paradox of the decaying but still interacting corpse: a paradox because Christian theology states clearly that the soul leaves the body immediately after death. So who or what animates the body and what are its capabilities to still feel and suffer its decay? My research shows that there are (1) distinctions between depictions of Death personified and a corpse, that (2) worms are no signs of sins or symbols of vices contrary to snakes or toads, that furthermore (3) bodily decay or being eaten by worms were not understood as parts of the tortures in purgatory or hell (neither in texts nor in iconography). Indeed, there usually is no infliction of pain or punishment implied in the motif of the decaying corpse. Thus, its function cannot be just to convey fear and intimidate the beholder.
The decaying corpse rather transmits the need for Salvation of the depicted person in a most accentuated way as it begs to be restored as the image of Christ on the day of resurrection. It even suggests a parallel to the martyred and destroyed body of Christ. Both topics are united in the practice of personal piety in the later middle ages where the decaying corpse is depicted and contemplated alongside the penitential psalms, the office of the dead and other prayers in books of hours or in small panel paintings or diptychs. My research shows that a new appreciation of the physical body arises as its contemplation is seen as a tool to exercise pious emotions and shaping the Christian self in personal prayer. That theological trend is matched by the depictions of the beholder’s individualized animated corpse: Looking at his own decaying but hopefully praying corpse during his personal prayer he will, as contemporary treatises of prayer tell us, meditate on his own still living and sound body and soul in contrast to that other body of his. This mirroring enables him to put himself (in all these aspects) in relation to the Imago Dei that he was designed to be and that he strives towards again. If we look at the worm-eaten, animated corpses from this perspective, the paradox seems to resolve as a “logic of practice”, the practice of personal piety, is preferred to the bare logic of theological theory.
Schütte, Ulrich/Locher, Hubert u.a. (Hrsg.): Mittelalterliche Retabel in Hessen, Bd. I Bildsprache, Bildgestalt, Bildgebrauch, 2019
Struktur: Stifterbilder - auf den Spuren der Stifter - Stifterdarstellungen als historische Quel... more Struktur:
Stifterbilder - auf den Spuren der Stifter - Stifterdarstellungen als historische Quellen? - Probleme bei der Erfassung von Stifterdarstellungen - ikonografische Beobachtungen - Charakteristik und Merkmale - Interessante Abweichungen: Zwei Beispiele und die Frage von Form und Funktion
Verwendete Werke:
- Sog. Wildunger Flügelaltärchen, um 1480, ehemalige Benediktinerabtei, heute im Dommuseum Fritzlar.
- Hans Memling, Diptychon des Marten van Nieuwenhove, 1487, Musea Brugge, Hospitaalmuseum Sint-Janshospitaal
- Derick Baegert, Lukas malt die Madonna, um 1470, Westfälisches Landesmuseum Münster
- Meister von Frankfurt, Kreuzigungstriptychon der Familie Humbracht, 1504, Frankfurt, Städel Museum
- Gebetbuch des Claus Humbracht, 1508, Ms. germ. oct. 3, fol. 82v-83r, Universitätsbibliothek Johann Christian Senckenberg, Frankfurt am Main
Mit einer Übersetzung von Hugo von St. Viktor: De meditando. PL 176, 993–99
Gedruckt mit freundlicher Unterstützung der Fritz Thyssen Stiftung für Wissenschaftsförderung. Um... more Gedruckt mit freundlicher Unterstützung der Fritz Thyssen Stiftung für Wissenschaftsförderung. Umschlagabbildung: Giotto di Bondone, Capella degli Scrovegni, Padua (Detail). Bibliografische Information der Deutschen Nationalbibliothek Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek verzeichnet diese Publikation in der Deutschen Nationalbibliografie; detaillierte bibliografische Daten sind im Internet über http://dnb.d-nb.de abrufbar. Alle Rechte, auch die des auszugsweisen Nachdrucks, der fotomechanischen Wiedergabe und der Übersetzung, vorbehalten. Dies betrifft auch die Vervielfältigung und Übertragung einzelner Textabschnitte, Zeichnungen oder Bilder durch alle Verfahren wie Speicherung und Übertragung auf Papier, Transparente, Filme, Bänder, Platten und andere Medien, soweit es nicht § § 53 und 54 UrhG ausdrücklich gestatten.
![Research paper thumbnail of Persönlichere Frömmigkeit im Spätmittelalter. Das altniederländische Stifterbild im Kontext von Selbst- und Gotteserkenntnis. In: Persönliche Frömmigkeit - Funktion und Bedeutung individueller Gotteskontakte im interdisziplinären Dialog [Sonderband: Hephaistos], Münster 2011, S. 185-201.](https://attachments.academia-assets.com/45992485/thumbnails/1.jpg)
](In considering the function of the donor portrait in Early Netherlandish painting for the praying... more In considering the function of the donor portrait in Early Netherlandish painting for the praying beholder, this study tries to give the term „personal piety“ a more distinctive shape. Early Netherlandish painting is created to match the contemporary instructions for meditation and prayer by displaying different emotional models for the beholder to imitiate. But this does not seem to affect the portrait of the kneeling donor, who ist bare of every definable pathognomic expression. As an identification figure it seems to hold no value for the beholder. I argue however, that it does have that function: The analysis of written sources from the Modern Devotion, especially Gerhard Zerbolt van Zuthpens ‚De spiritualibus Ascensionibus‘, shows that the donor portrait is able to provide with its face a blank surface upon which the praying viewer may project the demanded course of emotions – and does not only provide a model of a single emotion. The sources speak of ‚personae‘ the praying man has to adapt. He has to transform (‚formare‘) himself, or more precisely: his self, according to these personas, then experience and feel (‚sentire‘) this transformation and from this point go further in his prayers. Thus the praying beholder is not entering the picture via the donor portrait by watching it, but he is thrown back to evaluate his own emotions and status before God.
This effect is even stronger, if the beholder is the pictured donor himself, for example in a devotional portrait diptych. His own face shown to him in this mirroring way is like a catalyst to a process of cognition, a mutual growth from selfknowledge to a knowledge of God. Again written sources can affirm this argument: One may find these thoughts that were developed by the authors of the Modern Devotion absorbed in later writings like the speculum literature of the 15th century and thus in the librarys of the same donors.
Selfknowledge as presented by these sources and with the donor portrait as its ‚device‘ can be identified as the specific feature of late medieval personal piety.
Conference Presentations by Johanna Scheel
Reflective Meditation – Mirroring the Self in the Late Middle Ages Johanna Scheel A Low-German t... more Reflective Meditation – Mirroring the Self in the Late Middle Ages
Johanna Scheel
A Low-German treatise from the second half of the 15th century, the Lectulus Liber Floridus by Johannes Veghe, a member of the so-called Modern Devotion, opens up a metaphor of the inner man: One should furnish one’s own interior as a chamber – for example with an adorned bed, other pieces of furniture and accessories that Johannes links to lessons of virtues and exercises in morals. After the bed – the lectulus floridus – has been treated thoroughly, the chapter „Woe dane kleynoden dat wy in unse kamerken sullen hebben“ presents devices and activities of the morning’s grooming routine that has to be placed in this inner chamber. These are always real objects which keep their normal uses: The look into the mirror, washing the face and brushing the hair are metaphorically transposed and described as acts of self-examination and grooming of the soul. The sight of the own face in the mirror reveals the blemishes of the sinful self that have to be cleaned off; after that the comb with virtues as its prongs should be used to systematically comb out one’s sins, etc… All these metaphors of daily exercises center on the restoration of the pre-lapsed condition of the self. And without doubt they are targeted on the real and common grooming customs of the female readers – probably a community of pious women from Münster.
There is a new trend – especially in 15th century Netherlands under the influence of the modern devotion – to revaluate and contemplate one’s own body with its physical and – foremost – emotional state: The everyday care of the soul through self-examination und -reflection becomes a common habit even for lay people. Seeing oneself is strongly linked to self-knowledge, as can be traced through written sources from Antiquity to the Late Middle Ages. The concepts of self-knowledge naturally vary and develop over this huge span of time, but these strands come together again and are integrated into the theology of the Modern Devotion in the 15th century Netherlands. Self-examination (of the outer and inner man) now forms an essential part of the techniques of daily prayer and meditation; it is the key to the ability of shaping the right emotions in this process.
Thus, the resulting self-knowledge is not to be understood as a detached or universal theological concept within a hypothetical ascent to God, but as a practical tool in order to shape one’s own self through emotion in order to lead a virtuous life.
That discourse “rubs” off on real objects for personal use and toiletries like the mirror; if such an object is then again represented in works of art it conveys this metaphorical meaning and capacity. I‘d like to show that the mirror is a metaphor and device for gaining self-knowledge through devout exercises – and as such it has a prominent place in late medieval theological and moral treatises, in instructions of meditation and in 15th-century prayer texts that originate in the Burgundian Netherlands. They use descriptions of the praying man’s body and emotional expression, so that in the moment in which he speaks them aloud they mirror his posture and behavior at that very moment, steering his attention to them and enhancing them. There are depicted figures in medieval art which may be used to this end, too, as they mirror the praying beholder and let him reflect on his prayer and his emotions. Depicted mirrors may induce the same process, and there are strong indications that even actual mirrors were used in a context of personal piety to the same end.
Mirrors existed in various shapes for multiple uses. They were also used in religious contexts as they were integrated in a special form of pilgrims’ badges, and there were more and more mirror boxes with religious iconography in the 15th century, originating from France and the Netherlands. Burgundian ducal inventories show us that the dukes owned a mass of mirrors or objects with mirrors, not only with religious iconography or inscriptions, but combined with reliquaries, religious paintings or other objects that were distinctively used for personal piety. One could already suggest that mirrors could fulfill a certain function in a religious context. Consequently, depicted mirrors may be considered as depicted artifacts and thus could be seen as sources to draw conclusions from regarding their function in their depicted setting. Comparisons between paintings and book illuminations reveal the same similar constellation of objects and suggest that mirrors could have been used as devices of prayer like prints, books or paintings. Depicted mirrors – oriented on the physical properties of a real mirror – can (at least) be seen as metaphors of knowledge and reflection and are thus able to remind the beholder to reflect upon and get to know himself.
The mirror may function simultaneously as a symbol and a device of a moral appeal. That is also the case if it is shown in combination with virtues and vices, a combination which also occurs more frequently in the 15th century: The moralizing layers of mirror metaphors remind the beholder to examine himself thoroughly according to his own virtuous or vicious life. This is all the more true if this reference to reflect on oneself is integrated into a painting in another immediate way, namely if the mirror is combined with iconography of death. Not only is Death depicted as a corpse or skeleton holding the mirror for the still living characters of paintings, illuminations and prints, but the skull appears on the convex surfaces of depicted mirrors, showing the painted and real beholder his future face. This self-reflexive appeal then again “sticks” to depictions of the skull itself and urges the beholder to meditate on himself in his actual and future state and to exercise and form his emotions according to his newly gained knowledge.
Art is subject to change – but not only “art” itself, but single works of art too. Besides the no... more Art is subject to change – but not only “art” itself, but single works of art too. Besides the normal process of adapting works of art to contemporary fashion, color etc. there are changes that also occur within a more programmatic frame: When the owner of such an object, e.g. a retable, changes, he or she often adds a donor portrait of him- or herself. This addition is normally not only a simple proclamation of ownership like the seal on a document, neither is it just an act of installing one’s own memoria, but seeing oneself mirrored in his portrait may serve the donor in performing his personal piety. But an even more interesting phenomenon are the adapted donor portraits: Here the former portrait is erased; overpainted by the new one, regardless of the memoria or social representation of the former donor. The whole function of these works of arts is altered and these changes are conducted at remarkable artistic and monetary costs. This makes adapted donor portraits a perfect case study to think about the creative dealing with memoria in the late middle ages.
A 15th century middle English devotional compilation (British Library Ms Add. 37049) conveys a ra... more A 15th century middle English devotional compilation (British Library Ms Add. 37049) conveys a rather interesting piece of poetry to us: ‘A disputacion betwyx þe body and wormes’, which is illustrated by pen drawings of a female corpse arguing with worms that want to feed on her. Some folios earlier, we find that noble lady in a tomb, while below her skeleton is devoured by worms and insects, too. Departing from the texts and illuminations of this manuscript, the paper aims to show how and to what end the decaying but still interacting corpse was contemplated – and how being eaten and digested was understood as part of the tortures of hell.
Orte der Imagination – Räume des Affekts, 2016
Picturing Death 1200–1600, 2020
A 15th-century Middle English devotional compilation of Carthusian origin (London, British Librar... more A 15th-century Middle English devotional compilation of Carthusian origin (London, British Library, MS Additional 37049) conveys a rather interesting piece of poetry to us: 'A disputacion betwyx þe body and wormes', which is illustrated by pen drawings of a female corpse arguing with worms that want to feed on her. Departing from this illuminated text and comparing it to other depictions of animated corpses, the chapter ponders the paradox of the decaying but still interacting corpse: a paradox because Christian theology states clearly that the soul leaves the body immediately after death. So who or what animates the body and what are its capabilities to still feel and suffer its decay? My research shows that there are (1) distinctions between depictions of Death personified and a corpse, that (2) worms are no signs of sins or symbols of vices contrary to snakes or toads, that furthermore (3) bodily decay or being eaten by worms were not understood as parts of the tortures in purgatory or hell (neither in texts nor in iconography). Indeed, there usually is no infliction of pain or punishment implied in the motif of the decaying corpse. Thus, its function cannot be just to convey fear and intimidate the beholder. The decaying corpse rather transmits the need for Salvation of the depicted person in a most accentuated way as it begs to be restored as the image of Christ on the day of resurrection. It even suggests a parallel to the martyred and destroyed body of Christ. Both topics are united in the practice of personal piety in the later middle ages where the decaying corpse is depicted and contemplated alongside the penitential psalms, the office of the dead and other prayers in books of hours or in small panel paintings or diptychs. My research shows that a new appreciation of the physical body arises as its contemplation is seen as a tool to exercise pious emotions and shaping the Christian self in personal prayer. That theological trend is matched by the depictions of the beholder’s individualized animated corpse: Looking at his own decaying but hopefully praying corpse during his personal prayer he will, as contemporary treatises of prayer tell us, meditate on his own still living and sound body and soul in contrast to that other body of his. This mirroring enables him to put himself (in all these aspects) in relation to the Imago Dei that he was designed to be and that he strives towards again. If we look at the worm-eaten, animated corpses from this perspective, the paradox seems to resolve as a “logic of practice”, the practice of personal piety, is preferred to the bare logic of theological theory.
Neue Frankfurter Forschungen zur Kunst, 2015
Stephen Perkinson & Noa Turel: Picturing:Death 1200–1600, 2020
A 15th-century Middle English devotional compilation of Carthusian origin (London, British Librar... more A 15th-century Middle English devotional compilation of Carthusian origin (London, British Library, MS Additional 37049) conveys a rather interesting piece of poetry to us: 'A disputacion betwyx þe body and wormes', which is illustrated by pen drawings of a female corpse arguing with worms that want to feed on her. Departing from this illuminated text and comparing it to other depictions of animated corpses, the chapter ponders the paradox of the decaying but still interacting corpse: a paradox because Christian theology states clearly that the soul leaves the body immediately after death. So who or what animates the body and what are its capabilities to still feel and suffer its decay? My research shows that there are (1) distinctions between depictions of Death personified and a corpse, that (2) worms are no signs of sins or symbols of vices contrary to snakes or toads, that furthermore (3) bodily decay or being eaten by worms were not understood as parts of the tortures in purgatory or hell (neither in texts nor in iconography). Indeed, there usually is no infliction of pain or punishment implied in the motif of the decaying corpse. Thus, its function cannot be just to convey fear and intimidate the beholder.
The decaying corpse rather transmits the need for Salvation of the depicted person in a most accentuated way as it begs to be restored as the image of Christ on the day of resurrection. It even suggests a parallel to the martyred and destroyed body of Christ. Both topics are united in the practice of personal piety in the later middle ages where the decaying corpse is depicted and contemplated alongside the penitential psalms, the office of the dead and other prayers in books of hours or in small panel paintings or diptychs. My research shows that a new appreciation of the physical body arises as its contemplation is seen as a tool to exercise pious emotions and shaping the Christian self in personal prayer. That theological trend is matched by the depictions of the beholder’s individualized animated corpse: Looking at his own decaying but hopefully praying corpse during his personal prayer he will, as contemporary treatises of prayer tell us, meditate on his own still living and sound body and soul in contrast to that other body of his. This mirroring enables him to put himself (in all these aspects) in relation to the Imago Dei that he was designed to be and that he strives towards again. If we look at the worm-eaten, animated corpses from this perspective, the paradox seems to resolve as a “logic of practice”, the practice of personal piety, is preferred to the bare logic of theological theory.
Schütte, Ulrich/Locher, Hubert u.a. (Hrsg.): Mittelalterliche Retabel in Hessen, Bd. I Bildsprache, Bildgestalt, Bildgebrauch, 2019
Struktur: Stifterbilder - auf den Spuren der Stifter - Stifterdarstellungen als historische Quel... more Struktur:
Stifterbilder - auf den Spuren der Stifter - Stifterdarstellungen als historische Quellen? - Probleme bei der Erfassung von Stifterdarstellungen - ikonografische Beobachtungen - Charakteristik und Merkmale - Interessante Abweichungen: Zwei Beispiele und die Frage von Form und Funktion
Verwendete Werke:
- Sog. Wildunger Flügelaltärchen, um 1480, ehemalige Benediktinerabtei, heute im Dommuseum Fritzlar.
- Hans Memling, Diptychon des Marten van Nieuwenhove, 1487, Musea Brugge, Hospitaalmuseum Sint-Janshospitaal
- Derick Baegert, Lukas malt die Madonna, um 1470, Westfälisches Landesmuseum Münster
- Meister von Frankfurt, Kreuzigungstriptychon der Familie Humbracht, 1504, Frankfurt, Städel Museum
- Gebetbuch des Claus Humbracht, 1508, Ms. germ. oct. 3, fol. 82v-83r, Universitätsbibliothek Johann Christian Senckenberg, Frankfurt am Main
Mit einer Übersetzung von Hugo von St. Viktor: De meditando. PL 176, 993–99
Gedruckt mit freundlicher Unterstützung der Fritz Thyssen Stiftung für Wissenschaftsförderung. Um... more Gedruckt mit freundlicher Unterstützung der Fritz Thyssen Stiftung für Wissenschaftsförderung. Umschlagabbildung: Giotto di Bondone, Capella degli Scrovegni, Padua (Detail). Bibliografische Information der Deutschen Nationalbibliothek Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek verzeichnet diese Publikation in der Deutschen Nationalbibliografie; detaillierte bibliografische Daten sind im Internet über http://dnb.d-nb.de abrufbar. Alle Rechte, auch die des auszugsweisen Nachdrucks, der fotomechanischen Wiedergabe und der Übersetzung, vorbehalten. Dies betrifft auch die Vervielfältigung und Übertragung einzelner Textabschnitte, Zeichnungen oder Bilder durch alle Verfahren wie Speicherung und Übertragung auf Papier, Transparente, Filme, Bänder, Platten und andere Medien, soweit es nicht § § 53 und 54 UrhG ausdrücklich gestatten.
In considering the function of the donor portrait in Early Netherlandish painting for the praying... more In considering the function of the donor portrait in Early Netherlandish painting for the praying beholder, this study tries to give the term „personal piety“ a more distinctive shape. Early Netherlandish painting is created to match the contemporary instructions for meditation and prayer by displaying different emotional models for the beholder to imitiate. But this does not seem to affect the portrait of the kneeling donor, who ist bare of every definable pathognomic expression. As an identification figure it seems to hold no value for the beholder. I argue however, that it does have that function: The analysis of written sources from the Modern Devotion, especially Gerhard Zerbolt van Zuthpens ‚De spiritualibus Ascensionibus‘, shows that the donor portrait is able to provide with its face a blank surface upon which the praying viewer may project the demanded course of emotions – and does not only provide a model of a single emotion. The sources speak of ‚personae‘ the praying man has to adapt. He has to transform (‚formare‘) himself, or more precisely: his self, according to these personas, then experience and feel (‚sentire‘) this transformation and from this point go further in his prayers. Thus the praying beholder is not entering the picture via the donor portrait by watching it, but he is thrown back to evaluate his own emotions and status before God.
This effect is even stronger, if the beholder is the pictured donor himself, for example in a devotional portrait diptych. His own face shown to him in this mirroring way is like a catalyst to a process of cognition, a mutual growth from selfknowledge to a knowledge of God. Again written sources can affirm this argument: One may find these thoughts that were developed by the authors of the Modern Devotion absorbed in later writings like the speculum literature of the 15th century and thus in the librarys of the same donors.
Selfknowledge as presented by these sources and with the donor portrait as its ‚device‘ can be identified as the specific feature of late medieval personal piety.
Reflective Meditation – Mirroring the Self in the Late Middle Ages Johanna Scheel A Low-German t... more Reflective Meditation – Mirroring the Self in the Late Middle Ages
Johanna Scheel
A Low-German treatise from the second half of the 15th century, the Lectulus Liber Floridus by Johannes Veghe, a member of the so-called Modern Devotion, opens up a metaphor of the inner man: One should furnish one’s own interior as a chamber – for example with an adorned bed, other pieces of furniture and accessories that Johannes links to lessons of virtues and exercises in morals. After the bed – the lectulus floridus – has been treated thoroughly, the chapter „Woe dane kleynoden dat wy in unse kamerken sullen hebben“ presents devices and activities of the morning’s grooming routine that has to be placed in this inner chamber. These are always real objects which keep their normal uses: The look into the mirror, washing the face and brushing the hair are metaphorically transposed and described as acts of self-examination and grooming of the soul. The sight of the own face in the mirror reveals the blemishes of the sinful self that have to be cleaned off; after that the comb with virtues as its prongs should be used to systematically comb out one’s sins, etc… All these metaphors of daily exercises center on the restoration of the pre-lapsed condition of the self. And without doubt they are targeted on the real and common grooming customs of the female readers – probably a community of pious women from Münster.
There is a new trend – especially in 15th century Netherlands under the influence of the modern devotion – to revaluate and contemplate one’s own body with its physical and – foremost – emotional state: The everyday care of the soul through self-examination und -reflection becomes a common habit even for lay people. Seeing oneself is strongly linked to self-knowledge, as can be traced through written sources from Antiquity to the Late Middle Ages. The concepts of self-knowledge naturally vary and develop over this huge span of time, but these strands come together again and are integrated into the theology of the Modern Devotion in the 15th century Netherlands. Self-examination (of the outer and inner man) now forms an essential part of the techniques of daily prayer and meditation; it is the key to the ability of shaping the right emotions in this process.
Thus, the resulting self-knowledge is not to be understood as a detached or universal theological concept within a hypothetical ascent to God, but as a practical tool in order to shape one’s own self through emotion in order to lead a virtuous life.
That discourse “rubs” off on real objects for personal use and toiletries like the mirror; if such an object is then again represented in works of art it conveys this metaphorical meaning and capacity. I‘d like to show that the mirror is a metaphor and device for gaining self-knowledge through devout exercises – and as such it has a prominent place in late medieval theological and moral treatises, in instructions of meditation and in 15th-century prayer texts that originate in the Burgundian Netherlands. They use descriptions of the praying man’s body and emotional expression, so that in the moment in which he speaks them aloud they mirror his posture and behavior at that very moment, steering his attention to them and enhancing them. There are depicted figures in medieval art which may be used to this end, too, as they mirror the praying beholder and let him reflect on his prayer and his emotions. Depicted mirrors may induce the same process, and there are strong indications that even actual mirrors were used in a context of personal piety to the same end.
Mirrors existed in various shapes for multiple uses. They were also used in religious contexts as they were integrated in a special form of pilgrims’ badges, and there were more and more mirror boxes with religious iconography in the 15th century, originating from France and the Netherlands. Burgundian ducal inventories show us that the dukes owned a mass of mirrors or objects with mirrors, not only with religious iconography or inscriptions, but combined with reliquaries, religious paintings or other objects that were distinctively used for personal piety. One could already suggest that mirrors could fulfill a certain function in a religious context. Consequently, depicted mirrors may be considered as depicted artifacts and thus could be seen as sources to draw conclusions from regarding their function in their depicted setting. Comparisons between paintings and book illuminations reveal the same similar constellation of objects and suggest that mirrors could have been used as devices of prayer like prints, books or paintings. Depicted mirrors – oriented on the physical properties of a real mirror – can (at least) be seen as metaphors of knowledge and reflection and are thus able to remind the beholder to reflect upon and get to know himself.
The mirror may function simultaneously as a symbol and a device of a moral appeal. That is also the case if it is shown in combination with virtues and vices, a combination which also occurs more frequently in the 15th century: The moralizing layers of mirror metaphors remind the beholder to examine himself thoroughly according to his own virtuous or vicious life. This is all the more true if this reference to reflect on oneself is integrated into a painting in another immediate way, namely if the mirror is combined with iconography of death. Not only is Death depicted as a corpse or skeleton holding the mirror for the still living characters of paintings, illuminations and prints, but the skull appears on the convex surfaces of depicted mirrors, showing the painted and real beholder his future face. This self-reflexive appeal then again “sticks” to depictions of the skull itself and urges the beholder to meditate on himself in his actual and future state and to exercise and form his emotions according to his newly gained knowledge.
Art is subject to change – but not only “art” itself, but single works of art too. Besides the no... more Art is subject to change – but not only “art” itself, but single works of art too. Besides the normal process of adapting works of art to contemporary fashion, color etc. there are changes that also occur within a more programmatic frame: When the owner of such an object, e.g. a retable, changes, he or she often adds a donor portrait of him- or herself. This addition is normally not only a simple proclamation of ownership like the seal on a document, neither is it just an act of installing one’s own memoria, but seeing oneself mirrored in his portrait may serve the donor in performing his personal piety. But an even more interesting phenomenon are the adapted donor portraits: Here the former portrait is erased; overpainted by the new one, regardless of the memoria or social representation of the former donor. The whole function of these works of arts is altered and these changes are conducted at remarkable artistic and monetary costs. This makes adapted donor portraits a perfect case study to think about the creative dealing with memoria in the late middle ages.
A 15th century middle English devotional compilation (British Library Ms Add. 37049) conveys a ra... more A 15th century middle English devotional compilation (British Library Ms Add. 37049) conveys a rather interesting piece of poetry to us: ‘A disputacion betwyx þe body and wormes’, which is illustrated by pen drawings of a female corpse arguing with worms that want to feed on her. Some folios earlier, we find that noble lady in a tomb, while below her skeleton is devoured by worms and insects, too. Departing from the texts and illuminations of this manuscript, the paper aims to show how and to what end the decaying but still interacting corpse was contemplated – and how being eaten and digested was understood as part of the tortures of hell.
Vortrag und Workshoporganisation zusammen mit Anselm Rau, Uni Frankfurt.
Workshop und Vortrag zusammen mit PD Dr. Heike Schlie