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Record Number:
3642
Author(s)/Creator(s):
Guest , Gerald B.
Contributor(s):
Title:
A Discourse on the Poor: The Hours of Jeanne d'Evreux
Source:
Viator 26, ( 1995): Pages 153 - 180. Published under the auspices of the Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies, University of California, Los Angeles
Description:
Article Type:
Journal Article
Subject
(See Also)
:
Alms and Almsgiving
Art History- Painting
Beggars
Books of Hours
Illumination of Manuscripts
Jean Pucelle, Illuminator
Jeanne d'Evreux, Queen-Consort of Charles IV, King of France
Louis IX, King of France, Saint
Marginalia
Poverty
Award Note:
Geographic Area:
France
Century:
14
Primary Evidence:
Manuscript; New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Cloisters, Collection 1954, Hours of Jeanne d' Evreux.
Illustrations:
Ten figures. Five pages from the Hours of Jeanne d'Evreux representing Saint Louis and marginalia. Five other manuscript scenes of almsgiving, ranging from the ninth century to the fourteenth century.
Table:
Abstract:
This paper takes as its object of study three scenes from the life of Louis IX in the Hours of Jeanne d' Evreux (New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Cloisters Collection), ca. 1324. The miniatures, inspired by contemporary "Lives" of Louis, show the saint aiding the poor. Surrounding each of the scenes is a series of marginal figures that form a kind of pictorial "gloss" on the central pictures. It is argued that this original juxtaposition of miniature and marginalia constitutes a discourse on the problems of poor relief, revealing some of the ambivalence with which the poor were regarded in the fourteenth century. The margins function repeatedly as a site of exclusion from the charitable activities occurring within the pictorial frame. Thus, the book depicts not only the beneficiaries of Louis's charity, but also (in theory) those unworthy of the king's compassion. In this light, the pictures function not merely as an exhortation for Queen Jeanne to give alms to the poor, but also as a warning to give discriminately, recognizing that not all people were deserving of charity. [Reproduced by permission of the University of California Press.]
Related Resources:
Author's Affiliation:
Institute of Fine Arts, New York University
Conference Info:
- , -
Year of Publication:
1995.
Language:
English
ISSN/ISBN:
00835897