Circle of André Beauneveu (circa 1335-1400) North French, probably Berry, late 14th century

with Blumka Gallery, New York;
with Jan Dirven, Antwerp

Louvain, Cultureel centrum Romaanse Poort, Vlaamse miniaturen voor Van Eyk (ca. 1380-ca. 1420), 1993, no. 74

Vlaamse miniaturen voor Van Eyk (ca. 1380-ca. 1420), exh. cat. Cultureel centrum Romaanse Poort, Louvain, 1993, pp. 225-230, no. 74

Both hands are lost, and there is a wood insert placed where the proper left hand should be. Much of the proper right arm is reattached (in two sections), open joints are visible, as are wood inserts to the reverse (the arm is a little loose); there are some losses to the wood where the pieces have been reattached. There are some losses, including to the bottom around the feet. There are some original holes in the base, possibly for now lost animals. There is minor splitting to the wood, consistent with material, such as at the abdomen and top of the head. There is evidence of past worming, particularly to the reverse. Traces of original polychromy survive. There is a small hole to the top of the head and a larger one to the underside. Otherwise the condition is good given the age, with general wear. The beautiful carving in the face is well preserved.
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The sculptor of the present statue has masterfully created monumentality and expressiveness by arranging the drapery according to a clear structure, thereby employing light and shade to emphasise the figure’s pose.  The apostle wears a simple robe the edge of which can be seen below the neck and which falls over the base to the left and right. Over it a heavy cloak spirals up around the body from the lower left, over the figure’s proper left shoulder, over the head, and down the right arm. As the cloak sags over the left and right arms cascades of drapery meander down from the wrist and a pattern of deep V-shaped folds is formed along the torso creating weight, balance and dramatic play of light. Despite the strong presence of the clothing the subtle twist of the saint’s body is clearly visible underneath. The turned head with its beautifully rendered eyes and brow is framed both by the cloak and a broad flat beard with the same slightly upturned curls as the hair on the head.

The unembellished, strongly defined structure of drapery, overall balance, and soft facial features compare well to manuscript illuminations and drawings in the courtly style of Northern Europe around 1400. This particular aspect of the carving was highlighted in an exhibition on the topic in Belgium in 1993 (op.cit.). On that occasion the book of sketches and models of a Jacques Daliwe kept in the State Library in Berlin (A 74, no. 2) was juxtaposed with the sculpture as it contains figures with the same realistic faces framed by a folded swathe of drapery. The prophets and apostles painted in grisaille by the illuminator and sculptor André Beauneveu for the Psalter of Jean de Berry (BNF, Français 13091) were equally conceived in the same vein.

Beauneveu’s statuary relates closely to the present Apostle too. The 1993 exhibition catalogue mentions the kinship between the present statue and his cycle of apostles from the abbey church at Bec now in the Church of the Holy Cross in Bernay (op.cit., pp. 228-229). Each of these has the expressive pose and formally arranged drapery in common with the present statue as well as more unusual elements such as the uneven alignment of the shoulders. The V-folds at the abdomen of the Saint Catherine in Courtrai attributed to Beauneveu are equally related. Boccador (op.cit., fig. 65) illustrates one of the Prophets by the illuminator/ sculptor from the Hôtel Jacques Coeur in Bourges, which has a similar drapery scheme and an identical pose. Bourges was the seat of Jean de Berry, Beauneveu's patron from 1386 to circa 1400. In the decades prior to this the artist had worked for King Charles V, Philippa of Hainault, and a number of noble patrons in the Low Countries, thereby disseminating his accomplished courtly style throughout Northern Europe.

RELATED LITERATURE
J. Boccador, Statuaire médiévale en France de 1400 à 1530, Zoug, 1974, vol. II, p. 62, fig. 65