Vanitas: Vanities and Their Bonfires

Detail from The Repentant Madeleine by Caravaggio, 1597.

Baubles, bangles, bright shiny beads, and that wasn't all. Vanitas, or the vanities, covered every earthly delight that one could imagine. In the detail above, we see the jewels that a repentant Marie Madeleine cast aside, as she sat with her head bowed thinking of what was truly important in life - supposedly not her jeweled adornments. The Baroque period was a time in Europe when the Church wished to reclaim its adherents by reminding them that though Europe was getting wealthy from all the new found treasures in other parts of the world (America and Africa), the day would come when nothing mattered but the goodness of the soul, so you'd better repent while you had the chance. This theme, of course, appeared in the Middle Ages, carried through the Renaissance (think of Florence in the 1490s with Savonarola and his bonfires of the vanities) into Mannerism (1500s) and spiked again in the Baroque. With all those centuries of preaching about the evil of possessions, wouldn't the message have been received? Well, we humans like our earthly goods, and those members of the clergy in their fine robes, miters of gold and silver, jeweled rings, etc. may not have set a good example. As for the painters, well it was good business painting the richly dressed who were supposedly casting aside vanity while showing off what they had. Just take a look at the gentlemen below.

The Ambassadors by Hans Holbein the Younger, 1533

The two fine men represented here are commonly identified as Jean de Dinteville (on the left) and Georges de Selve (on the right), though there is some debate about the exact identities. The former was the French Ambassador to the Court of Henry VIII of England and the latter was the Bishop of Lavaur. The two were also probably brothers (you can see a slight resemblance). There they stand in their great dignity, fine robes, furs even. Between the two of them, they cover the secular and the religious worlds. Behind them a patterned drapery in rich cloth and between them instruments that show they are well traveled, knowledgeable, and aware of both the sciences (globes, various mechanical instruments) and the arts (the lute and the open books). Being ambassadors and therefore diplomats, the lute has a broken string, which was a symbol of discord, here between the secular world and the religious authorities. These guys have all bases covered and don't step on anybody's toes.

Restored Anamorphic Skull from The Ambassadors, restored in 1998

And just to make sure that everyone knows they are not what they wear, they have Holbein sneak in what is known as an anamorphic skull, that is a skull painted so that a side view of it is necessary for it to reveal itself. Perhaps it was meant to hang at an angle (some suggest on a stairway), so the skull would leap out at the viewer. Though it is also suggested that Holbein was just showing off his skills as a painter. He did the whole painting in oils in the style of the Flemish masters with great attention to detail. At any rate, one can see how intent these men were to show their wealth and achievement while also claiming piety. After all one never knows when the Grim Reaper will show up, so better have your act together.

Still Life with Large Roemer, Lemons and Grapes by Pieter Claez, 1646.

However, such paintings of the wealthy and important were not the only way for the vanities to show up. Pieter Claesz was a 17th century master of the "banketje" or painting of a banquet scene. We have all seen those paintings of Dutch tables laden with all kinds of edibles, wine glasses, and lovely dinnerware. Great displays of wealth for sure, but something else as well. Notice the cut flowers, lovely but only for a short while, since once cut they will soon wind up in the trash bin. The half peeled lemon is also a symbol of life's entropy, the unraveling and falling apart. The bread is partially eaten, and one of the glasses is turned over. All this luxury and beauty is presented in refined detail and with the appropriately pious message that it all will change and move to some final end. Now as a painter, I look at this and understand the symbolic meanings, but I also just know in my artist's soul that Claesz, who made a good living doing these paintings, also probably really enjoyed creating the luminosity in the glass, the reflections in the wine, the dimpled skin of the lemon peel, and the shine on those grape skins. Was it this kind of painter's vanity that caused Botticelli to throw some of his paintings into Savonarola's bonfires?

Detail of The Lute Player by Caravaggio, 1596-1597

Of course, Caravaggio was the real bad boy when it came to showing vanities while subtly reveling in a dissolute life. His chiaroscuro style of painting garnered a number of followers and worked so well with the themes of the Baroque, which wanted to contrast life (and its riches) with death. Here we have the lute again and the sheet music. It seems that music was a symbol of the ephemeral, as it happened in a moment. Of course, in those days it was not recorded, so it came and it went, not unlike human existence. Weighty stuff, I know, but even so, life is to be lived, and all of the vanities clearly show that, even while they give a symbolic nod to the inevitable. So as we come upon the season of tricks and treats, All Souls Day, and the Day of the Dead, I leave you with a joyful Caravaggio, Amor Victorious (1602), arrows of love, musical instruments, and lots of flesh. Remember to live while the living is good, for tomorrow...

Amor Victorious by Caravaggio, 1602

Do you think that we still see Vanitas today? How do they appear?

Paintings are from public domain sources, including Creative Commons for the National Gallery of London and Wiki Commons.

#vanitas #vanitaspaintings #caravaggio #pieterclaesz #hansholbein

For more on Marjorie Vernelle, see the author page at amazon.com/author/marjorievernelle

She also has an engaging art history blog that talks of painting and wine on ofartandwine.com

© Marjorie Vernelle 2019

Caravaggio's Angel

Rest on the Flight to Egypt by Caravaggio, c.1597

It is my favorite Caravaggio, a family taking a rest in an oddly somber but verdant landscape where they are being serenaded by an angel. Divine! Well, it is the Holy Family. Of course they are running for their lives in order to escape King Herod's fury, as his troops go about massacring the innocents. Rest on the Flight to Egypt it is called, and this is not a layover at a Red Sea resort. Nothing in this landscape looks like the deserts of ancient Israel or Egypt. This is an Italian setting, somewhere in Lombardy perhaps, and not unlike some of Giorgione's landscapes in the early 1500s. The family seems settled on the banks of a little lake (see the water in the distance on the right) under the shelter of trees, with various plants all around them. They are weary, and Mary's slumped head and limp right hand would indicate that she and the baby are both napping. Joseph, being much older, bears the weariness of his age as well as his travels. They are not shabbily dressed, but they are humble people sitting on the bare earth.

Well, so much for the obvious; now for the oddities. Mary and the Christ Child have no halos. This was done during the beginning of the Baroque period; all holy figures had halos.

Close up of Joseph, the donkey and the angel from Caravaggio's Rest on the Flight to Egypt

As well, look at the size of the donkey. He's an enormous beast; donkeys are small animals. Was it done so in order to get that magnificent head into a close frame with Joseph and the Angel, a portrait of three existences: man, beast, and a divine entity? And, of course, the most outstanding character here is in fact the angel playing the music. His placement in front of the family, all sitting in a row with the donkey in the background, puts the angel in a dominant position. He is extremely pale, with little of the flesh colors of the humans in the picture, which indicates his other-worldliness. The angel is rather scantily clad, with the front of his body only covered at the waist and below the knee, as his white garb flows elegantly around his limbs. He stands with the right foot slightly elevated, throwing his weight (angels have weight?) onto his left side causing the left hip to curve slightly outward. His face is intent upon his violin and the sheet music. Yes, sheet music, held by Joseph no less, indicating that Joseph indeed sees this angel. What is going on here?

Concert Champetre by Giorgione, c.1509 (This painting is sometimes credited to Titian who may have finished it after Giorgione's death in 1510.)

Well I had to go digging through my art history notes looking for some answers. I kept looking at that donkey, and finally it came to me. It seems a reference to the classical images of the birth of Jesus, in which the shepherds are present and along with them a cow and a donkey. Here, because of their travel, the faithful donkey, probably taken from the stable in all those nativity scenes, is still with them. Of course, his calm intent regard seems to show he is soothed by the music. Ah yes, the music. In the picture here, we see Giorgione's (maybe Titian's) Concert Champetre in which two musicians sit thoroughly engaged in music and conversation while naked women loll about. Well, not exactly. The females are muses who are inspiring the musicians from the unseen, hence why these guys are oblivious to their presence. We can also see here the way a gown of some sort has draped itself around one of the muses. Caravaggio's angel has a touch of this, though in a more elegant style, just hinting at the angel's nudity. The main thing for me, though, is that Joseph is holding the sheet music. Is this the way that Caravaggio substitutes for not having halos? If Joseph's family is specially blessed, why would they not be able to see an angel and hold his divine composition?

Now, though Caravaggio painted this ethereally innocent angel, he, Caravaggio, lived a life far from the divine. He was a master of chiaroscuro, or the use of contrast of light and dark. His life seems to have followed the same course. When we look at his representation of the young men with whom he obviously "partied," as he represents himself as The Young Sick Bacchus, we see quite a difference between them and the angel.

Young Sick Bacchus by Caravaggio, 1593-1594

Boy Bitten by a Lizard by Caravaggio, 1595.

Boy with a Basket of Fruit by Caravaggio, 1593-1594

Close up of the Angel and Joseph in Caravaggio's Rest on the Flight to Egypt, 1597.

These young men are all quite sensual, though in different ways. His young Bacchus character, the young man bitten by a lizard, and the young man with a basket of fruit are all done with a keen eye for human character and imperfection. Their coloring, of course, is that of flesh and blood. Their mouths are open, which heightens the sensuality. A sexual tone is quite evident as they handle ripe fruits, symbolic of their own youth and beauty. The angel's mouth is closed, and he shows none of the flush of humanity. His eyes look down at his violin and the sheet music. His body has the allure of a purely beautiful form. He has come to earth in a perfect body, unashamed to be naked, as his sash covers little. He is divine innocence in all its beauty, untouched and untouchable.

The angel's contrast with the seated figures, holy humans in this story, sets him apart from them but is not done using the strong contrast in dark and light that Caravaggio was so famous for. The toning down of the sharp contrasts allows for the scene to have a far gentler feel than many of his paintings of high drama. The style used here provides for a peaceful interlude during an otherwise harrowing trip, and the viewer can appreciate Caravaggio's appropriate choice of subtlety to match the theme of the painting.

Caravaggio was many things, an enfant terrible, a murderer, and a hard-living capricious man, who was also a great painter. A painter as full of darkness and light as the chiaroscuro techniques he used, his brutal life perhaps only adds to the beauty of his paintings. What he knew of the divine; whether he believed in it or not; whether he mocked religion or prayed fervently, we truly don't know. However, they say all painters paint themselves. He certainly did that when he painted his own self portrait as the head of Goliath after decapitation by David. I wonder what part of him was that divinely beautiful musical angel for whom Joseph holds the sheet music?

David with the Head of Goliath by Caravaggio, 1610.

For more on Caravaggio's life, here is a link to Simon Schama's Power of Art segment on Caravaggio https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BiH_ootDtTs

#caravaggio #powerofartcaravaggio #restontheflighttoegypt #baroqueart

For more on Marjorie Vernelle, see the author page at amazon.com/author/marjorievernelle

She also has an engaging art history blog that talks of painting and wine on ofartandwine.com

© Marjorie Vernelle 2019

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