THEY TOO MAKE RICHES CIRCULATE
AND THEY TOO ARE KEPT IN CHECK
Standing or seated,
their image is static
• Crowns and heavy robes keep them from moving.
Holding emblems of power,
they cannot use their hands
 |
All photos from the Internet unless otherwise said
Alphonso X, Castille
|
 |
British Museum
Saint-Jean d'Acre
|
 |
| Westminster Abbey
Richard II, England
|
 |
| Bible cover
Louis IX and Blanche de Castille, France
|
 |
| Altarpiece of Ghent by Jan van Eyck, 1532 |
 |
| Ramsay Rawson
Venice
|
• Western iconography's likely origin:
Crusaders' discovery of the Byzantine Jesus
• The concept is universal
• But in 16th-century Europe...
 |
| Tapestry (detail), Renaissance Museum
King David, Brussels, about 1520
|
He is not dressed for combat.
Vassals surround him so he cannot fight, as in parts of the African savannah.
Yet he's on horseback.
Riding a horse implies action:
To be continued.
To be continued.
* * *
Next,
Commercial peoples' highlighted subordination
No comments:
Post a Comment