The Mourners are guesting Paris this spring before returning to Dijon
Since March 2010 the Mourners: Tomb Sculptures from the Court of Burgundy have been touring US and Europe, while the Dijon museum has been undergoing extensive renovations. Until now more than 500.000 have enjoyed the spectacular possibility of getting a closer look at these precious small statuettes. Finally – before they are returned to Dijon – they will be exhibited at the Musée de Cluny in Paris from the 27th of February.
The sculptures, known as the mourners, are made of alabaster in the workshop of Claus Sluter. He was master sculptor to the Valois Dukes of Burgundy. He and his apprentices produced some of the most evocative and original pieces of art during this period. Masterpieces are the magnificent funerary monuments of Philip the Bold and John the Fearless.
During the 14th and 15th centuries, the Valois dukes of Burgundy ruled over extensive territories in present day France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands from their capital in Dijon. The ducal tombs were conceived for the Charterhouse of Champmol, founded in 1384 by Philippe the Bold as a burial place for the new dynasty of the Valois dukes. Originally, the tombs were installed in the choir. Today the tombs are placed in the Musée des Beaux Arts in Dijon in France.
Each tomb includes an effigy placed on top of the roof of elaborate arcades. Created in a flamboyant gothic style, these arcades are populated by a solemn processional of alabaster figurines of monks and clerics. The sculptures are small-scale embodiments of late medieval devotion. They appear to circulate the tomb as if it were a cloister. The exhibition in Paris invites the visitors to take part in this procession. Thus it strives to create an evocative atmosphere whereby visitors are guided into the physical and captivating experience of what a late medieval mourning procession might have felt like. Finally the object is also to let each and everyone reflect on how they personally grieve. By wringing their hands, drying their tears or hiding their faces in the deeply carved folds of their robes, they represent at least 39 different ways of encountering grief.
Larmes d’albatre – Les pleurants de tombeau de jean sans Peur, duc de Bourgogne
Musée de Cluny
27.02.2013 – 03.06.2013
6. place Paul Painlevé
75005 Paris
READ MORE:
In connection with the American Tour, a special website, The Mourners, was developed. Additional material is available here:
- The Making of the Tomb (Animation)
- Learning Games for All Ages (from FRAME)
- A Fête Champêtre at the Burgundy Court (PDF)
- The Charterhouse of Champmol (PDF)
- The Dukes of Burgundy (PDF)
- The Guard Room – home of the tombs (PDF)
- The Palace of the Dukes of Burgundy (PDF)
- Tombs of the Dukes of Burgundy (PDF)
Images: © FRAME 2010. Photographs by Jared Bendis and François Jay
Les tombeaux des ducs de Bourgogne