Familiars

Emmy Klinker
Portrait of a Young Woman
ca. 1920
oil on cardboard
Von der Heydt Museum, Wuppertal

Ernst Barlach
Lilith
1923
woodcut
(illustration to Goethe's Faust)
Goethe Haus, Frankfurt

Jan Sadeler the Elder after Marten de Vos the Elder
Geometry
(series, Seven Liberal Arts)
ca. 1590
engraving
Museum für Angewandte Kunst, Vienna

Georg Pencz
Superbia
(series, Seven Deadly Sins)
ca. 1541
engraving
Graphische Sammlung, ETH Zürich

Hieronymus Wierix
Allegory of Wisdom and Innocence
ca. 1573
engraving
Herzog August Bibliothek, Wulfenbüttel

Ditlev Conrad Blunck
The Nightmare
1846
oil on canvas
Nivaagaard Museum, Denmark

Francesco Salviati
Portrait of a Young Man
ca. 1543-48
oil on panel
Liechtenstein Museum, Vienna

Emil Orlik
Woman on a Sofa
ca. 1900
color etching
Kupferstichkabinett, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin

Félix Vallotton
La Flûte
(series, Les Instruments de Musique)
ca. 1895
woodcut
Cabinet d'Arts Graphiques
des Musées d'Art et d'Histoire, Genève

Jacob Jordaens
Old Man and Young Woman feeding a Parrot
ca. 1638-40
oil on canvas
Liechtenstein Museum, Vienna

Hans Wechtlin
The Owl
ca. 1515
woodcut
Graphische Sammlung Albertina, Vienna

Jost Amman after Johann Melchior Bocksberger
St Luke writing his Gospel
ca. 1570
hand-colored woodcut
Herzog August Bibliothek, Wulfenbüttel

Rembrandt
St Jerome reading at the Foot of a Tree
1634
etching
Graphische Sammlung Albertina, Vienna

Cavaliere d'Arpino (Giuseppe Cesari)
St Jerome
ca. 1600
oil on canvas
Musée des Beaux-Arts de Brest

Bartholome Zeitblom
St Anthony Abbot
ca. 1482-85
oil on panel
Staatsgalerie im Hohes Schloss Füssen

Artus Wolfaerts
The Four Evangelists
ca. 1620
oil on canvas
Musée des Beaux-Arts de Bordeaux

One of the most influential teachers of art in nineteenth-century France, Lecoq de Boisbaudran, who was an ardent reformer and advocate of memory training, provides another instance of this interaction.  Critical of accepted life-class routines and eager to guide the student toward "the immense field, almost unexplored, of living action, of changing, fugitive effects," he obtained permission to let models pose in the open air and made them move freely, as Rodin was to do: "Once our admiration rose to the height of enthusiasm.  One of our models, a man of splendid stature with a great sweeping beard, lay at rest upon the bank of the pond, close to a group of rushes, in an attitude at once easy and beautiful.  The illusion was complete – mythology made true lived before our eyes, for there, before us was a river god of old, ruling in quiet dignity over the course of his waters . . ."

What an opportunity, we may infer, to test tradition and improve upon it.  It is examples such as these which explain the gradual nature of all artistic changes, for variations can be controlled and checked only against a set of invariants. 

Does not the experience of Lecoq de Boisbaudran suggest the revolutionary work of a much greater innovator, Manet's Déjeuner sur l'herbe?  It is well known that this daring exploit of naturalism was based, not on an incident in the environs of Paris as the scandalized public believed, but on a print from Raphael's circle which none other than Fréart de Chambray had extolled as a masterpiece of composition.  Seen from our point of view this borrowing loses much of its puzzling nature.  The systematic explorer can afford less than any one else to rely on random actions.  He cannot just splash colors about to see what happens, for even if he should like the effect he could never repeat it.  The naturalistic image, as we have seen, is a very closely knit configuration of relationships which cannot be varied beyond certain limits without becoming unintelligible to artist and public alike.  Manet's action in modifying a compositional schema of Raphael's shows that he knew the value of the adage "One thing at a time."  Language grows by introducing new words, but a language consisting only of new words and a new syntax would be indistinguishable from gibberish.

– E.H. Gombrich, Art and Illusion: a Study in the Psychology of Pictorial Representation (Princeton University Press, 1960)

L'Allegro - III

Georg Lemberger
The Opening of the Seventh Seal
1524
hand-colored woodcut
(illustration to the "Luther" Bible)
Graphische Sammlung Albertina, Vienna

Georg Pecham
Neptune in Shell Chariot
1594
etching
Herzog Anton Ulrich Museum, Braunschweig

Philip Galle after Johannes Stradanus
Fishing with Nets in the Arno
ca. 1578-80
engraving
Herzog August Bibliothek, Wulfenbüttel

Gentile da Fabriano
St Nicholas of Bari saving a Ship from sinking
1425
tempera on panel
(predella fragment)
Pinacoteca Vaticana, Rome

Michaelina Woutiers
Bacchanal
(self-portrait in pink at extreme right)
before 1659
oil on canvas
Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna

Lorenzo de Caro
Israelites worshipping the Golden Calf
ca. 1758
oil on canvas
Detroit Institute of Arts

Cesare Nebbia
Athena teaching Women to Weave
before 1614
drawing
Graphische Sammlung Albertina, Vienna

Martin Baes
Falling Icarus with Rearing Horse
1633
engraving
(leaf from Emblem Book)
Herzog August Bibliothek, Wulfenbüttel

Jost Amman
Abduction of Ganymede
1578
woodcut
Herzog Anton Ulrich Museum, Braunschweig

Nicolas Tournier
Drinkers at an Inn
ca. 1620-25
oil on canvas
Musée de Tessé, Le Mans

Anonymous French Artist
Triumph of Henri IV
ca. 1610
oil on canvas
Musée des Beaux-Art d'Orléans

Jacques-Louis David
Napoleon crossing the Alps
1801
oil on canvas
(looted from France by Prussian troops in 1814)
Schloss Charlottenburg, Berlin

Cherubino Alberti 
Statue of Prometheus
1590
engraving
(after Polidoro da Caravaggio)
Hamburger Kunsthalle

attributed to Giulio Benso
Two Men playing Racquet Game in an Interior
ca. 1630
drawing
Princeton University Art Museum

Francesco Guardi
Festivities to honor the Russian Heir in Piazza San Marco, Venice
1782
drawing
Kupferstichkabinett, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin

Anders Zorn
The Waltz
1891
etching
Zornmuseet, Mora, Sweden

It lightened sweet beauty; see how he flasheth flame from his eyes.  Hath Love produced a boy armed with the bolt of heaven?  Hail! Myiscus, who bringest to mortals the fire of thy Loves, and mayest thou shine on earth, a torch befriending me. 

If I came to thee in revel, Archinus, willingly, load me with ten thousand reproaches; but if I am here against my will, consider the vehemence of the cause.  Strong wine and love compelled me; one of them pulled me and the other would not let me be sober-minded.  But when I came I did not cry who I was or whose, but I kissed the door-post: if that be a sin, I sinned.

I shall bear, Bacchus, thy boldness, I swear it by thyself; lead on, begin the revel; thou art a god; govern a mortal heart.  Born in the flame, thou lovest the flame love hath, and again leadest me, thy suppliant, in bonds.  Of a truth thou art a traitor and faithless, and while thou biddest us hide thy mysteries, thou wouldst now bring mine to light.

Tell me, Cleonicus, did the bright Graces meet thee walking in a narrow lane and take thee in their rosy arms, dear boy, that thou hast become such a Grace as thou art?  From afar I bid thee all hail, but ah! dear, it is not safe for a dry corn-stalk to draw nearer to the fire. 

When Menecharmus, Anticles' son, won the boxing match, I crowned him with ten soft fillets, and thrice I kissed him all dabbled with blood as he was, but the blood was sweeter to me than myrrh. 

Love in the night brought me under my mantle the sweet dream of a softly laughing boy of eighteen, still wearing the chlamys; and I, pressing his tender flesh to my breast, culled empty hopes.  Still does the desire of the memory heat me, and in my eyes still abideth sleep that caught for me in the chase that winged phantom.  O soul, ill-starred in love, cease at last even in dreams to be warmed all in vain by beauty's images. 

– from Book XII (Strato's Musa Puerilis) in the Greek Anthology, translated and edited by W.R. Paton (1917)

Forces II

Leon Golub
Orator
1965
lithograph
Amon Carter Museum, Fort Worth, Texas

Josef Hegenbarth
Trapeze Artists
ca. 1944-45
oil on board
Galerie Neue Meister (Albertinum), Dresden

Ernst Ludwig Kirchner
Hungarian Dancer with Partner
ca. 1909-10
ink and oil crayon
Kupferstichkabinett, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin

Carl Jacob Malmberg
Untitled
ca. 1875
albumen print
Moderna Museet, Stockholm

Anonymous British Artist
Macfadden Physical Development, London
1895
lithograph (poster)
Graphische Sammlung Albertina, Vienna

Anonymous Austrian Artist
Electric Railway, Linz
ca. 1895-1905
lithograph (poster)
Graphische Sammlung Albertina, Vienna

Paul Burck
Licht und Kraft
Union Deutsche Verlagsgesellschaft
ca. 1900
lithograph (poster)
Kunstbibliothek, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin

Henri Meunier
Le Noyé
1898
lithograph
Graphische Sammlung Albertina, Vienna

Amédée Ozenfant
Celestial Bodies
cxa. 1927
tempera on paper
Von der Heydt Museum, Wuppertal

Élie Delaunay
Plague in Rome
1859
oil on canvas
Musée des Beaux-Arts de Brest

Honoré Daumier
The Phantom
1835
lithograph
Graphische Sammlung, ETH Zürich

Albrecht Dürer
The hero Freydal defeating Niklas von Firmian in a Joust
ca. 1512
woodcut
Graphische Sammlung Albertina, Vienna

Max Ernst
The Virgin chastising the Christ Child
before Three Witnesses:
André Breton, Paul Éluard and the Painter
1926
oil on canvas
Museum Ludwig, Cologne

Ancient Greek Culture
Hermes and Helios abducting a Woman
410 BC
marble votive relief
(excavated in Attica)
National Archaeological Museum, Athens

J. Ellsworth Gross
Bravo!
1906
halftone print (postcard)
Amon Carter Museum, Fort Worth, Texas

Wenceslaus Hollar
 Civilis Seditio
(emblem of civil discord)
1643
etching
Herzog Anton Ulrich Museum, Braunschweig

I will weave a snowdrop; I will weave a tender narcissus in with myrtles; I will weave the laughing lilies too, and I will weave sweet saffron. Onto these I will weave a purple hyacinth, and I will weave roses, friends to lovers, so that my garland, on the brow of Heliodora with her perfumed curls, may scatter flowers on her beautiful hair.

Heliodora's garland is wilting upon her brow, but she is glowing, a garland to her garland.

Garland, stay hanging for me here by these double doors and do not prematurely shake off your leaves; I drenched you with my tears (for lovers' eyes are stormy). But when the door opens, and you see him, shed my rain over his head, so that at least his blond hair may drink my tears.

I am not fond of wine, but if you want to make me drunk, taste the cup first and offer it, and I will accept. Once you touch it to your lips, it is no longer easy to abstain or to flee from that sweet wine steward, for the cup ferries the kiss from you to me and tells me what joy it had.

The raging flame is extinguished; I suffer no longer but am dying, chilled by the Paphian goddess. For this bitter Love, panting its all-consuming breath, has gone past my flesh and now creeps through my bones and vitals. So the altar fire, when it has lapped up all the sacrifice, cools down of its own accord for lack of fuel.

– from Book V (Amorous Epigrams) of the Greek Anthology, translated and edited by W.R. Paton (1916), revised by Michael A. Tueller (2014)

Eskrich / Alciati

Pierre Eskrich
Numquam Procrastinandum
(never procrastinate)
ca. 1540-50
woodcut
(illustration to Emblematum Liber of Andrea Alciati)
Herzog August Bibliothek, Wulfenbüttel

An elk holds the motto of the Aliciati family; this states in Greek, "nothing should be postponed."  To one who asked how he achieved so much in so short a time, Alexander the Great famously replied, "by never postponing things."  That quality is represented by the elk: you would be hard-pressed to decide whether it is stronger or swifter.

Pierre Eskrich
Sapientia Humana, Stultitia Est Apud Deum
(human wisdom is folly to God)
ca. 1540-50
woodcut
(illustration to Emblematum Liber of Andrea Alciati)
Herzog August Bibliothek, Wulfenbüttel

What can I say?  What name shall I give to this double-form monster, it being neither a man nor a snake?  It is instead a man without feet.  It could be called a man with serpent feet or a serpent with human head.  The man farted the serpent and the serpent belched out the man: it has no human ending and no beastly beginning.  Such was Cecrops, who formerly ruled over learned Athens, and thus the giants were given birth by Mother Earth.  This image refers to one who is crafty but lacking religion, only attending to worldly things. 

Pierre Eskrich
Ficta Religio
(false religion)
ca. 1540-50
woodcut
(illustration to Emblematum Liber of Andrea Alciati)
Herzog August Bibliothek, Wulfenbüttel

A most beautiful whore occupies a royal chair and wears the purple peplum of honor.  She distributes wine to all, pouring from a full vessel.  All around her, people fall down drunk.  This is how Babylon is pictured, she who traps the foolish with her seductive beauty and false religion.    

Pierre Eskrich
Silentium
(silence)
ca. 1540-50
woodcut
(illustration to Emblematum Liber of Andrea Alciati)
Herzog August Bibliothek, Wulfenbüttel

As long as he remains silent, in no way can the fool be distinguished from the wise man.  His tongue and his voice are the proclaimers of his stupidity.  Therefore let him press his lips together and with his finger make the sign of silence like the Egyptian god Harpocrates. 

Pierre Eskrich
Nec Quaestioni Quidem Cedendum
(never yield under questioning)
ca. 1540-50
woodcut
(illustration to Emblematum Liber of Andrea Alciati)
Herzog August Bibliothek, Wulfenbüttel

Leaena of Athens is represented as a lioness because of her fierce spirit.  Though tortured on the rack, she betrayed no one.

Pierre Eskrich
Bonus A Divitibus Nihil Timendum
(the good should not need to fear the rich)
ca. 1540-50
woodcut
(illustration to Emblematum Liber of Andrea Alciati)
Herzog August Bibliothek, Wulfenbüttel

Marius and Subbardus have their houses on either side of mine.  Since they are disgracefully rich they are continuously building higher and bigger, depriving me of daylight.  These twin harpies intend to plunder me like those who plagued Phineas.  They would drive me out altogether were it not for my integrity and determination.  Seeking only honesty, my resolution will be like Zetes and Calaїs, the Boreads who banished the harpies.  

Pierre Eskrich
In Fraudulentos
(concerning deceivers)
ca. 1540-50
woodcut
(illustration to Emblematum Liber of Andrea Alciati)
Herzog August Bibliothek, Wulfenbüttel

The spotted newt, living hidden and praying at empty tombs, represents jealousy and crooked deceit.  Whoever drinks wine in which this lizard has been dipped will soon discover ugly spots on his face.  Such wine is often the means of revenge for deceived mistresses and wives.  

Pierre Eskrich
In Temerarios
(concerning the reckless)
ca. 1540-50
woodcut
(illustration to Emblematum Liber of Andrea Alciati)
Herzog August Bibliothek, Wulfenbüttel

Phaeton dared to drive the horses of the sun.  He scorched the earth, spreading damage, and at last fell from the chariot he had recklessly appropriated.  Much the same often happens to rulers, driven toward the stars by overweening ambition.  Spreading misfortune, they bring ruin upon themselves – and ultimately must pay for their crimes. 

Pierre Eskrich
In Eos Qui Supra Vires Quicquam Audent
(concerning those who dare beyond their powers)
ca. 1540-50
woodcut
(illustration to Emblematum Liber of Andrea Alciati)
Herzog August Bibliothek, Wulfenbüttel

Seeing Hercules asleep, a tribe of pygmies believe they have a chance to overcome him.  But they do not recognize the limits of their powers.  Once awakened, Hercules crushes these enemies like fleas. 

Pierre Eskrich
Philautia
(self-love)
ca. 1540-50
woodcut
(illustration to Emblematum Liber of Andrea Alciati)
Herzog August Bibliothek, Wulfenbüttel

Narcissus, taking excessive pleasure in his own beauty, was changed into a flower that induces stupor.  Self-love is the scourge of genius and has ruined many learned men.  Unappreciative of the ways of the ancients and seeking novelty, they pass on nothing but their own fantasies. 

Pierre Eskrich
In Avaros
(concerning the avaricious)
ca. 1540-50
woodcut
(illustration to Emblematum Liber of Andrea Alciati)
Herzog August Bibliothek, Wulfenbüttel

Strangers can be kinder than those we know.  Riding on a dolphin, Arion sings this song: "The minds of beasts are not as cruel as are the minds of miserly men.  Those they rob and throw overboard are rescued by the fish."   

Pierre Eskrich
In Parasitos
(concerning parasites)
ca. 1540-50
woodcut
(illustration to Emblematum Liber of Andrea Alciati)
Herzog August Bibliothek, Wulfenbüttel

Accept these crabs we give to you, for such gifts are appropriate to your character.  They have vigilant eyes and several rows of feet armed with claws, and their bellies are enormous.  

Pierre Eskrich
In Nothos
(concerning bastards)
ca. 1540-50
woodcut
(illustration to Emblematum Liber of Andrea Alciati)
Herzog August Bibliothek, Wulfenbüttel

Oh bastards, forever celebrate the honor of Hercules, for he was the first of your spurious race.  After his birth he could not become a god until Jupiter and Alcmena had tricked Juno into supplying him with her own milk. 

Pierre Eskrich
Aemulatio Impar
(unequal rivalry)
ca. 1540-50
woodcut
(illustration to Emblematum Liber of Andrea Alciati)
Herzog August Bibliothek, Wulfenbüttel

The degenerate kite accompanies the high-flying eagle, sometimes able to snatch a falling scrap.  The bream pursues the mullet, the former eagerly devouring what the latter rejects.  And this is what a certain drunken fool also does to me.  After I have left the lecture-hall, the students make use of that blind man as a guide.     

Pierre Eskrich
Cum Larvis Non Luctandum
(do not fight with ghosts)
ca. 1540-50
woodcut
(illustration to Emblematum Liber of Andrea Alciati)
Herzog August Bibliothek, Wulfenbüttel

The great Hector, mortally wounded by Achilles, addressed those tying reins around his ankles in order to drag him behind the enemy chariot: "Tear me apart, since this is your desire.  Thus do even cowardly rabbits pull out the whiskers of a dead lion."   

Pierre Eskrich
Pax
(peace)
ca. 1540-50
woodcut
(illustration to Emblematum Liber of Andrea Alciati)
Herzog August Bibliothek, Wulfenbüttel

The fierce elephant, accustomed to victory in battle, must also submit its neck to the yoke.  Disciplined by the goad, it draws the chariots of emperors.  Even a beast such as this recognizes the authority of its masters, relinquishing its weapons and undertaking the obligations of peace.

Pierre Eskrich
Antiquissima Quaeque Commentitia
(that which is most ancient is imaginary)
ca. 1540-50
woodcut
(illustration to Emblematum Liber of Andrea Alciati)
Herzog August Bibliothek, Wulfenbüttel

"Old man from Pallenia, oh Proteus, you have as many shapes as an actor has roles.  Why are your members sometimes that of a man and sometimes that of an animal?  Why have you no fixed figure of your own?"

 "I reveal the signs belonging to the most remote ages.  Each man imagines then according to his fancy."