Friday, April 14, 2017

Passion of Christ

Salve,
it is the Good Friday before Easter
MET, my most favorite museum in the US, has this blog article about Passion, analyzing a bit the amazing illuminations by the Limbourg brothers painted for Jean, duke de Berry, devoted to the hours of Passion.
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Nota benem the Limbourgs painted this beautiful illumination showing Saint George slaying the dragon, curiously he is using a falchion? langes messer? as his sidearm.

The mount is not white/gray, but a light chestnut or light roan, but as it was typical for the dextrarius opertus it is ridden with the aid of a long-shanked curb-bit. The lance is already broken, and it seems there is no Saint George cross on the pennon, but then we find it painted on the buckler carried on the left arm of the Saint.
The horse's caparison is a curious one, perhaps it is meant to be an animal pelt with scissored adornments. 

Upright red tassel, attached to the covered crouper, it is to be popular  during the early modern equestrian history.
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ps
do watch Mel Gibson's Passion - IMHO the best movie on this most important part of the Gospels  (here Mel's interview with Ms Sawyer) - I hope the sequel will be made eventually - pertinent interview with Mel.

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