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+--- Thread: Medieval nymph tendencies (/thread-1489.html)
Medieval nymph tendencies - davidjackson - 04-02-2017
One of the irritations of this manuscript is that we can't pin down a specific era or artistic tendency. In some ways it seems to be medieval; in others, Renaissance. Frankly, I would suggest that this is because it was created on the edge of two worlds, it is a book created in a Renaissance mindset but with medieval influences.
I've been looking at marginal medieval sources that could have inspired the artistic abilities of the scribe. I've mentioned before the You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. from the time of Alfonso X, which shares certain similarities with the Voynich nymphs.
Quote:Note the simple strong penmark for the face which does not show the closest cheek (admittedly many of the nymphs have no chin, but bear in the mind the small size of the image - larger ones often do), the sharp nose with eye and strong eyebrows. The same method is used to draw the face of You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. in the VM. Note also the simple hands without thumbs and long joined fingers. The inclined head which nonetheless displays the full face to the viewer in a somewhat distorted manner (there is no attempt at perspective here).
![[Image: 220px-gelmires_converted.jpg?w=640]](https://albertosolana.files.wordpress.com/2014/06/220px-gelmires_converted.jpg?w=640)
Here's a miniature of Theresa of Portugal (1080-1130) in the same tradition:
![[Image: Theresa_of_Portugal_(1080-1130)_mini.jpg]](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4a/Theresa_of_Portugal_(1080-1130)_mini.jpg)
(Taken from the Gothic codex of the monastery of Toxosoutos)
But this tendency of round faces with staring eyes carried over in Spanish religious icongraphy of the era. Here's a couple of photos of 14th century wooden carvings that I took in a Church museum in Cuenca recently (excuse bad photography, I wasn't supposed to be taking photos and the room was in darkness)
These images aren't here to be looked at. They are blank, staring, almost formless human beings. Because their intention is to remind us of our duty to God. Look how the second image has a massive hand which comes out at you, along with the missing hand. Originally the carving's focal point would have been what was held there, not the body itself which is simply a vehicle for the objects of devotion.
We see more Iberian influences in the book - the much quoted Alfonso X zodiac influences, for example. I am not suggesting an Iberian provenance for the book here, but rather calling attention to the artistic tradition. The scribe may have studied in Spain, which at the time of the early 15th century was a major calling port for itinerant scribes; he may have been otherwise exposed to the influences.
It's part of the Romanic medieval tendency. The human body is drawn to vague outlines, because the important thing is the symbology that surrounds the body - the religious iconography. Note the strong blue skies that call our attention to God, along with the devotion in the objects being held aloft, as well as the thrones temporal upon which the figures sit or stand. The Romanic medieval artistic influence is across Europe, but artistic interpretation varies from region to region. The Iberian tradition, especially in the northern states (along the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage routes) were much simpler than their French or Catalan cousins, who seem to have liked to add a lot of fruit salad to their pictures (ornate backgrounds and the like).
We see this medieval lack of interest in the Voynich human figures that corresponds to medieval tradition, rather than the anthropocentric interests of the Renaissance. There is no attempt at realism other than the generic outlines of a body - the figures are much more in the tradition of the medieval peasant grotesque than any attempt to depict actual humans.
There is no attempt at perspective in most if not all human figures - they are either shown face on or on one side. When shown inside a setting such as a river or a building, the perspective is flat on the page. The artist clearly has no idea of how to produce any attempt at a 3d depiction. It has been said that the images look innocent, as if drawn by a child - I suggest that they are simply a product of the artistic influences surrounding the scribe.
When we see a nymph holding an object aloft, or interacting, we are clearly in this medieval tradition - our attention is being called to the action displayed or symbology, rather than to the person.
Is the symbology Christian? It doesn't appear to be, which is why we can't pinpoint the artistic tendency. We're seeing the medieval influence but it's a vehicle for some other symbology that doesn't geld with what we know it should be. Which is why it's so perplexing.
The ideas in the book seem to be Renaissance. But the mindset is still medieval. It's as if the scribe were classically trained, but exploring new, exciting and perhaps taboo ideas.
RE: Medieval nymph tendencies - Koen G - 06-02-2017
I split the original replies to this thread, they are now here: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.
Please keep this thread in the spirit of the original post (more of a "note to self" really
)
RE: Medieval nymph tendencies - Koen G - 19-09-2019
I was reminded of David's thread when I came across, You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. (Haggadah; Spain, mid-14th century). One of the more similar ones to the weird nymph faces in Q13b (pools).
RE: Medieval nymph tendencies - -JKP- - 19-09-2019
(04-02-2017, 09:51 AM)davidjackson Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.One of the irritations of this manuscript is that we can't pin down a specific era or artistic tendency. In some ways it seems to be medieval; in others, Renaissance. Frankly, I would suggest that this is because it was created on the edge of two worlds, it is a book created in a Renaissance mindset but with medieval influences.
...
This encapsulates how I feel about the VMS, although I don't find it to be an irritation. Quite the opposite, it's what motivates me to keep studying it.
If the VMS really was created in the early 15th century, whoever did it was ahead of his time and it might be historically important for a number of reasons.