Art History

In order to analyse the taste, character and content collector of Modern collections, Julius von Schlosser’s study should be mentioned. The historian of the Vienna School was the first who developed the interest and critical interpretations of the issue of collections, mainly in the case of the Habsburg’s court. In his book Die Kunst- und Wunderkammern der Spätrenaissance: ein Beitrag zur Geschichte des Sammelwesens published in 1908, he popularised ex- amples of studies of the modern collecting phenome- non.
Based on the study of Schlosser many historians de- veloped their research, providing information about the most important collectors of modern age. This ar- ticle resumed the historiography of the collecting in the Early Modern Age and focused on the case of the Dukes of Burgundy and Flanders in the second half of the fifteenth century, when their Court inherited the tradition of collecting initiated by the Duke John of Berry. With this fact it gave an example of wealth and splendour for all Europeans courts. Through the catalogue of the art pieces, analysis of the historical context and iconography, the aspects of taste and representing value of the artefacts from the ducal collection were defined.

RESUMEN: The aim of this paper is to investigate and describe the construction of the visual glory of the duke by the analysis of chronicles that describe celebrations of the ducal entry to the city. The comparison between the iconographical analysis of the manuscripts, tapestries and other pieces from the collection of the duke and the chronicles of Jean Froissart, Georges Chastellain and Enguerrand de Monstrelet allows a deep understanding of the image of mightiness created by the court around the figure of the duke of Burgundy in relations to the collapsed cities. The result will finally show how was constructed the image of the early modern city in peace with a sovereign dominating it and if it corespond to the ducal ideology of justice, equity and common good.

ABSTRACT: At the end of the fourteenth century the county of Flanders held by Luis of Male was inherited by his daughter Margaret and her husband Philip the Bold, duke of Burgundy. The new sovereigns had to prove their authority against the strong privileges previously gained by the cities of that county, one of the most developed territories in Europe. The revolt of Gent and the Battle of Roosebeke (1384) won by the ruler, confirmed the control of the Valois Burgundy dynasty on the recently acquired lands. The conflict between cities and the political aspirations of dukes of Burgundy would be a constant problem throughout the fifteenth century in the Low Countries as showed many other riots and revolts in Gent and Bruges. Every conflict between the city and the sovereign inspired the court to celebrate the victory and to applaud the ducal control on Flemish cities. Ducal control was expressed by the iconography of art works, emphasised during the spectacular entry of the duke to the humiliated city.

La conocida como Virgen de la Cuchillada es una tabla de origen flamenco que se conserva en el Monasterio de las Descalzas Reales de Madrid, dentro de su relicario. El objetivo del presente estudio es realizar una aproximación a la misma a través de dos principales ejes de investigación. Por un lado, un análisis de sus características formales mediante el que se realiza una primera propuesta de atribución, ubicando el estilo de esta tabla en el contexto de producción europea de la segunda mitad del siglo XVI y el protagonismo de los artistas que trabajaron en la ciudad de Amberes. Por otro lado, se ha llevado a cabo una recopilación de las fuentes que se hacen eco de su presencia entre la colección del cenobio desde sus orígenes (tanto inventarios como crónicas o, incluso, los datos escritos que la propia tabla incorpora en su reverso). El estudio de esta variada tipología de fuentes documentales ha permitido elaborar un marco de comprensión directamente relacionado con la problemática desarrollada en la Europa cristiana, y posconciliar, en torno a las imágenes oprobiadas. Dentro de este contexto, encontramos implicada la figura de una de las monjas más influyentes de la comunidad madrileña, sor Margarita de la Cruz (1567-1633), responsable de su acomodo entre las imágenes veneradas en las Descalzas Reales.