Pictured above is the Well of Moses, the centerpiece of the Charterhouse of Champmol. The Well of Moses was sculpted by Claus Sluter with help from his nephew Claus de Werve and painted by Jan Maelwael. All three men were Dutch artists in the employ of Philip the Bold. The left figure is King David while the right one is the Prophet Jeramiah, sculpted to resemble Philip himself. The Charterhouse was a Carthusian Monestary commissioned by Philip to be a resting place for his nascent Burgundian Dynasty.
The Court of Philip the Good was known as one of the foremost centers of art patronage in the late middle ages. But Philip the Good did not start from scratch. The Burgundian Court of Dukes Philip the Bold and John the Fearless were centers of art and culture and set the stage for the opulence and grandeur of the later dukes.
Features Artists and Art
Tres Riches Heurs of John of Berry (The Limbourg Brothers)
The Tres Riches Heurs du Duc de Berry was a book of hours or prayer book created for John Duke of Berry by the Limburg Brothers and is seen as one of the finest illuminated manuscripts of the middle ages. The slideshow above shows the 12 month cycle of the year with each month getting a corresponding illuminated page.
The Romance of the Rose
The Romance of the Rose was one of the most popular works of Courtly Romance during the Burgundian Period. You can view a full illuminated manuscript of the Romance of the Rose on the University of Chicago Library website here.
Christine de Pisan (The Book of the City of Ladies, The Treasure of the City of Ladies, The Tale of the Rose)
Christine de Pisan was an advocate of Women’s education in the middle ages. She is shown here presenting a manuscript to Queen Isabeau.De Pisan became a court writer to support her family. Her works include history, philosophy, and political treatises.
Tapestry
Shown above is a tapestry depicting the Biblical figures Joshua and King David. This tapestry is a part of a series of tapestries depicting the Nine Worthies: Prince Hector, Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, Joshua, King David and Judah Maccabee, King Arthur, Charlemagne and Godfrey of Bouillon. A tenth tapestry in this style was created depicting Bertrand Du Guesclin.
Melchior Broederlam
Melchior Broederlam was a Dutch Painter in the service of Philip the Bold and is considered to be a forefather of the Flemish Primitive school of art. Shown here is an exterior panel of an Altarpiece at the Charterhouse of Champmol painted by Broederlam.
Jan Maelwael
Jan Maelwael (Jean Malouel) was another Dutch Painter in the service of Philip the Bold and uncle of the Limbourg Brothers. Shown above is a Pieta painted by Maelwael currently in the Louvre Museum.
Claus Sluter
Claus Sluter was a Dutch Sculptor who worked for Philip the Bold. Sluter’s best known work is at the Charterhouse of Champmol. Sluter died before much of his work could be completed so the finishing touches were made by his nephew and protégé Claus de Werve. The top image shows a series of Pleurants or Mourning Figures while the bottom shows sculpture decorating the entrance to Charterhouse.
Other Art and Artists Mentioned:
The Song of Roland, Jean Gerson, The Order of the Golden Tree, Cour d’Amour (Court of Love), The Castle of Hesdin
Sources
Philip the Bold by Richard Vaughan
The Golden Age of Burgundy by Joseph Calmette
Magnanimous Dukes and Rising States by Robert Stein
The Waning of the Middle Ages by John Huizinga
The Court of Burgundy by Otto Cartellieri
The Burgundians by Bart Van Loo
The City, the Duke, and their Banker by Bart Lambert
The Order of the Golden Tree: The Gift Giving Objectives of Duke Philip the Bold of Burgundy by Carol Chattaway
The Book of the City of Ladies and Other Writings by Christine de Pisan translated by Ineke Hardy
Debate of the “Romance of the Rose” by Christine de Pisan Edited and Translated by David F. Hult
Medieval Costume in England and France by Mary G. Houston
Grand Dukes of the West 