The Mourners at the DMA

Today I got my medieval fix by visiting the Dallas Museum of Art to see the special exhibit of The Mourners, a collection of 40 sculptures carved for the tomb of the Dukes of Burgundy in the 15th century.

Carved by Jean de la Huerta and Antoine le Moiturier between 1443 and 1456/57, the unique devotional figures, known as “mourners,” were commissioned for the elaborate tomb of the second duke of Burgundy. Crafted with astonishing detail, the alabaster sculptures exemplify some of the most important artistic innovations of the late Middle Ages.

The "phenomenal" works "capture the entire spectrum of emotions connected with human loss," he said. "When the sculptures are grouped together, the viewer is transfixed."

During the 14th and 15th centuries, the Valois dukes of Burgundy were among

the most powerful rulers in the Western world, presiding over vast territories in present-day Luxembourg, Belgium and the Netherlands from their capital in Dijon. The significant artistic patronage of the dukes drew artists, musicians and writers to Dijon, which became a major center of creativity and artistic patronage.

In their normal setting in Dijon they are only partially seen as they blend in between miniature Gothic arches lacing the base of the wealthy and powerful couple's black marble tomb. This prolific creativity and innovation extended to the ducal court’s sculpture workshop, which produced some of the most significant art of the period. The tombs of the first two Burgundian dukes, John the Fearless and

his father, Philip the Bold, are among the best examples. Both tombs were originally commissioned for the family’s monastic complex outside of Dijon, the Charterhouse of Champmol, and were moved following the French Revolution to the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Dijon.

Tuesday's Teaser

Wow, has it been a week already? How did that happen? :)

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly meme hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading.

Grab your current read

Open to a random page

Share two (2) "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page.

BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS!! You wouldn't want to give too much away!

Include the book title and author so that other Tuesday's Teaser participants can add the book to their TBR lists if they like the teaser.

The Queen's Gambit

by Diana A. S. Stuckart

page 1

"Crimson flowered against the alabaster brocade, the vivid hue spreading and dulling to claret along its petal-like edges."

page 75

"Even with my chemise serving as shirt beneath it, and the plain brown jerkin tied over it, the borrowed tunic clung to my female curves in a manner that made my sex evident."

Ok, so I don't quite follow the rules. Instead of 2 teaser sentences from my current page, I try to find 2 sentences that are great teasers for the book. :)

Tuesday's Teaser

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly meme hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading.

Grab your current read

Open to a random page

Share two (2) "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page.

BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS!! You wouldn't want to give too much away!

Include the book title and author so that other Tuesday's Teaser participants can add the book to their TBR lists if they like the teaser.

Jerusalem

by Cecelia Holland

Page 14-15

If what the Templars said were true, and the Saracens were coming out of Egypt, the Kingdom of Jerusalem lay naked before them: she knew all the Christian armies were far away to the north, near Homs and Aleppo. She had to get to Ascalon, to do whatever she could.