Compositions of time in the art of Rogier van der Weyden / Alfred J. Acres.

Format:

Book

Manuscript

Microformat

Thesis/Dissertation

Author/Creator:

Acres, Alfred J.

Contributor:

Minott, Charles I., advisor.

University of Pennsylvania.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Penn dissertations--History of Art.

History of Art--Penn dissertations.

Local Subjects:

Penn dissertations--History of Art.

History of Art--Penn dissertations.

Physical Description:

xvii, 588 leaves : illustrations ; 29 cm

Production:

1992.

Summary:

The dissertation describes the singular concentration of temporal representation and implication in the work of Rogier van der Weyden. Pictorial expressions of time assume an unexpected variety of forms. In isolating and comparing these forms in the work of a painter so persistently and inventively concerned with them, we are able to examine the multiple mechanisms of pictorial time in unusually specific terms.

The study comprises three essays, each of which frames several related dimensions of temporal implication apportioned on the analogy of size: large, intermediate, and small time. These correspond generally to expressions of broad anachronous conjunction, episodic sequence, and momentary motion or change, respectively. Thus large time involves Rogier's unique concern for such theologically inspired collocations as the Crucifixion occurring in a church nave or the donor allowed unprecedented proximity to the events of the Bible. Intermediate time finds him working in the realm of narrative repetition, be it in the strategically edited episodes of his lost scenes of just judgement, or the variably measured sequences among scenes in the lives of Christ, Mary, and the saints. In expressions of small time, the painter cues the expansion of an apparent moment so that its immediate past and future are clear. In some instances this involves subtly compelling indications of figures' origins or destinations; in others, it is the effort to convey the finest perceptual textures of momentary experience.

Though divided among three essays, the constituent motives of these three provisionally defined dimensions are seen to be interdependent, often cooperative elements. Problems and solutions of temporal expression fundamentally shape not only explicitly episodic narrative efforts, but also more basic structures of iconography and representation. Selective comparison with predecessors, contemporaries, and immediate followers brings Rogier's sophisticated and influential temporal style into relief and helps further to articulate the elusive and manifold workings of pictorial time.

Notes:

Supervisor: Charles I. Minott.

Thesis (Ph.D. in History of Art) -- Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, University of Pennsylvania, 1992.

Includes bibliography.

Local Notes:

University Microfilms order no.: 93-05106.

OCLC:

244970024