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Are the nymphs "puppets"?

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• Are the nymphs "puppets"?

• Are the nymphs "puppets"?

  Koen G > 27-05-2019, 09:48 PM

  So I just saw a picture of a medieval puppet show.
  
     
  
  And then found another one:
  
     
  
  At first it only reminded me of the "rainbows" and the inset image, but then it dawned on me. There are a lot of strange nymph properties that would suddenly make sense if they were thought of as "puppets". (This works better for the non-pool nymphs, i.e. Zodiac and half of Q13).
  
  1) They are almost always on or behind a horizontal line. This is actually really weird: the nymphs generally sink a bit behind the horizon. If they are puppets held behind a facade, this would make sense.
  
     
  
  2) Limited attributes, generally limited to one per nymph
  3) Limited poses that seem to adhere to certain "rules".
  4) Many nymphs move in an exaggerated way that's strange or impossible for human anatomy, but might be meant to evoke the movement of a puppet/marionette.
  
     
  
  Now I know this is just a weird proposal and in no way lives up to the kind of research I'm trying to deliver. And by no means I'm saying "they must be puppets". But if one day it does turn out that the illustrator meant to make them look and behave like puppets, it would explain a lot for me.

• RE: Are the nymphs "puppets"?

  -JKP- > 27-05-2019, 10:01 PM

  If it's expressing a classical story (many of which were turned into theater), then it's possible.

• RE: Are the nymphs "puppets"?

  davidjackson > 27-05-2019, 10:02 PM

  So according to point 1,they'd have to be Rod or finger puppets, right? Because the line indicates the screen under the stage the puppeteer hours within. 
  Puppets were in use throughout the middle ages for teaching and entertainment purposes, I think I remember reading that the church often used them to illustrate biblical stories for laymen.

• RE: Are the nymphs "puppets"?

  Koen G > 27-05-2019, 10:05 PM

  (27-05-2019, 10:02 PM)davidjackson Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.So according to point 1,they'd have to be Rod or finger puppets, right? 

  
  I think so, yeah. Maybe with some sticks to move the arms and a leg? That woud also explain why one leg is always stretched (I once called it contrapposto in a blog post) and the other can move freely.

• RE: Are the nymphs "puppets"?

  -JKP- > 27-05-2019, 10:09 PM

  The VMS nymphs have always had kind of an "animation" feel to me. Especially the ones in the ponds of water who look like they are scrubbing each others' backs. I thought maybe it was a comic-book style of explaining something, but puppets were used to explain also, so maybe it's a valid analogy.

• RE: Are the nymphs "puppets"?

  DONJCH > 28-05-2019, 02:49 AM

  Doesn't this fit rather nicely with your proposal of the star spirits playing out certain roles in ancient Greek myths and legends?

• RE: Are the nymphs "puppets"?

  Koen G > 28-05-2019, 07:22 AM

  It would fit, yes. I've always thought of them as "actors" so it's a small step from there. The idea of puppets is entirely motivated by formal considerations though. Nowadays puppets are a marginal affair but in the middle ages they would have been at the forefront of the entertainment industry. And like JKP says, there would have been education as well since entertainment without moral lesson is the domain of the devil.

• RE: Are the nymphs "puppets"?

  VViews > 28-05-2019, 09:47 AM

  This is such an interesting topic, as it opens up discussion of one of the more complex subjects in medieval/early renaissance art: the relationship between visual arts and theatrical representation.
  Although the topic would really require a much longer post, I'll try to sum up the main points here. I think the possibility of a relationship between theater (puppet or not) and the Voynich illustrations is definitely worth investigating, although it is somewhat complicated by some elements I will describe here.
  
  We have very little direct evidence of what medieval theater looked like. This applies to proper theater as well as puppet shows. Of course, the plays themselves remain in written form, and there is a great wealth of manuscripts of the text of various plays, but what the performance may have acutally looked like is something that has to be pieced back together mostly through conjecture.
  Masks, costumes, stage scenery and props: hardly any of it remains. Possibly the only representation of an actual stage set-up is the one I linked a long time ago in another You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view..
  
  The direct representation of theatrical performances in manuscripts is extremely rare. In addition to the puppet plays which can rarely be found in a handful of drolleries such as the ones shown by Koen G above, the examples below are pretty much the only images of performances that exist.
  
  BNF Latin 7907
    Bibliotheque de l'Arsenal ms 664
   BNF Francais 2813
    Hours of Etienne Chevalier, Chantilly
  
  Two important aspects should be understood when we are discussing this topic.
  First: the illustrations that are found in the manuscripts containing the text of plays illustrate the story, NOT the play. For example, many manuscripts of Terence's plays contain illuminations: these are episodes of the story itself as depicted by convention/the artist, and are not to be understood as direct illustrations or memories of what a performance of that scene in the play looked like on stage.
  Second, and I think this is the most important aspect: the theater was a huge influence on how things were represented in painting. Many artworks which are NOT illustrations of plays draw on things the artist had seen in a play. So even if we see things that draw from theatrical performances, it doesn't mean a play is being represented.
  These two points are explained in detail in the following article: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.
  
  One example of this: way back in my first year of art history classes, one of the first paintings we were given to study was Paolo Ucello's St George and the Dragon. In this painting, the representation of the cave is peculiar: our teacher explained that this is because it is not based on nature or convention, but most likely drawn from a stage scenery version of a cave. However, one should not conclude from this that Ucello's painting is an illustration of a theatrical performance of the scene. Theatrical representations were just something that he had experienced and thus had influenced his aesthetic.
  
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