Pleurants

iddeleeuwse sculpturen zijn notoir moeilijk te bestuderen. Al te vaak is hun oorspronkelijke context en functie door eeuwen van slijtage, veranderingen of verwaarlozing verloren gegaan. Hierdoor ontgaat hun esthetische impact, betekenis of symbolische complexiteit ons soms volledig en kunnen nuances er slechts met moeite uit worden afgeleid of gereconstrueerd. Gelukkig is dit niet het geval voor de twee prachtige pleurants - of treurfiguren - in de collectie van The Phoebus Foundation. Deze Phoebus Focus neemt je mee op een queeste vol vragen en ontdekkingen: wie waren deze mannen, voor wie werden deze beelden gemaakt en waarom? Matthew Reeves vertelt het verhaal van een van Frankrijks rijkste prinsen, Jan van Berry, zijn intense liefde voor de kunst en de manieren waarop beeldhouwkunst gebruikt werd om te herdenken, tot gebed aan te sporen en politieke doeleinden te dienen. Matthew Reeves is directeur van een van ’s werelds meest toonaangevende galerieën voor Europese, middeleeuwse kunst. Hij coördineert het internationale tentoonstellingsprogramma van de galerie en publiceert artikels en tentoonstellingscatalogi over diverse onderwerpen, waaronder glas-in-lood ramen, textiel, keramiek, sculptuur en paneelschilderkunst uit de late middeleeuwen en de renaissance. Hij is gespecialiseerd in het artistieke mecenaat van hertog Jan van Berry (1340-1416), en meer bepaald in zijn Sainte-Chapelle, het bijhorende decoratieve programma en het grafmonument.

"Give me a few more million years and my strandbeests will live completely independently." THEO JANSEN. The artist Theo Jansen (born 1948) from The Hague has become world-famous for his imposing and ingenious beach animals or strandbeests. He was inspired by the theory of evolution to gradually teach them to move in the wind so that they could travel down the beach unaided. By imitating earthly creation in his own highly distinctive way, Jansen hopes to acquire wisdom from nature, encountering in the course of his quest the same problems as the real Creator. This book describes Jansen's experiences as God and builds on his previous books, repeating, scrapping and supplementing. Theo Jansen began studying physics in Delft, then started work as an artist. Between 1986 and 2008 he was the author of a regular column in de Volkskrant. He also wrote the book The Great Pretender, about the process of developing his strandbeests. Jansen was named Artist of the Year 2018 in November 2017 and received The Hague's Culture Award in 2018. Theo Jansen's strandbeests can be admired in the Kunstmuseum Den Haag from 26 February 2022.

"Give me a few more million years and my strandbeests will live completely independently." THEO JANSEN. The artist Theo Jansen (born 1948) from The Hague has become world-famous for his imposing and ingenious beach animals or strandbeests. He was inspired by the theory of evolution to gradually teach them to move in the wind so that they could travel down the beach unaided. By imitating earthly creation in his own highly distinctive way, Jansen hopes to acquire wisdom from nature, encountering in the course of his quest the same problems as the real Creator. This book describes Jansen's experiences as God and builds on his previous books, repeating, scrapping and supplementing. Theo Jansen began studying physics in Delft, then started work as an artist. Between 1986 and 2008 he was the author of a regular column in de Volkskrant. He also wrote the book The Great Pretender, about the process of developing his strandbeests. Jansen was named Artist of the Year 2018 in November 2017 and received The Hague's Culture Award in 2018. Theo Jansen's strandbeests can be admired in the Kunstmuseum Den Haag from 26 February 2022.