"Dukes and Angels: Art from the Court of Burgundy (1364-1419)"
2004-10-24 until 2004-01-09
Cleveland Museum of Art
Cleveland, OH, USA

This international loan exhibition assesses for the first time the artistic legacy of the first two Valois dukes of Burgundy, Philip the Bold (1364-1404) and his son John the Fearless (1404-1419). Related to the French royal house of Valois, the dukes were active patrons of the arts, attracting to their service the most accomplished artists of their time: Claus Sluter, Claus de Werve, the Limbourg Brothers, Melchior Broederlam, and Henri Bellechose. Their elaborate palatial complex at Dijon was supplemented by dozens of residences throughout Burgundy and the Netherlands, all enlivened with costly furnishings, silver and gold plate, sculpture, tapestries, and panel paintings.

Not restricting their artistic interests to secular art alone, Burgundian court artists were often directed to supply ducal religious foundations and chapels with sculpture, altarpieces, liturgical vessels, and illuminated manuscripts. The most prominent of these was the Carthusian monastery at Champmol, constructed to house the ducal tombs, famous for their exquisite mourning figures called pleurants (of which CMA has four). This exhibition of about 150 objects, co-organized with the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Dijon, will take advantage of recent research to assemble the finest examples of Burgundian court patronage (sculpture, panel paintings, illuminated manuscripts, textiles, gold and silversmith works, jewelry, enamels, and ivories) and illustrate the development of a what art historians call the "Burgundian court style".

Organized by the Cleveland Museum of Art and the Ville de Dijon. The exhibition is supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities and by an indemnity from the Direction des Musées de France and the Conseil Régional de Bourgogne. Support for this project has been received from the Samuel H. Kress Foundation and from the International Partnerships Among Museums (IPAM) program of the American Association of Museums (AAM), through the generosity of The Florence Gould Foundation. Promotional support provided by The Wave 107.3, The Plain Dealer and City Visitor Publications.

Related Links:

Indepth Arts Resources for the State of Ohio

Other Important Exhibitions in Cleveland