Carlo Crivelli and the "Queen of Heaven"

 

Madonna with Saints Francis and Sebastian - 1491, Carlo Crivelli. Geometry: 2022, DS.

 

" Pacioli wrote Divina Proportione which is his name for the golden ratio...There is little new in Pacioli's book which merely restates (usually without proof) results which had been published by other authors. Of course the title is interesting and Pacioli writes:
'... it seems to me that the proper title for this treatise must be Divine Proportion. This is because there are very many similar attributes which I find in our proportion - all befitting God himself - which is the subject of our very useful discourse...

... just like God cannot be properly defined, nor can be understood through words, likewise this proportion of ours cannot ever be designated through intelligible numbers, nor can it be expressed through any rational quantity, but always remains occult and secret, and is called irrational by the mathematicians.''

- Via this Golden Ratio page from St. Andrew's University in Scotland. Luca Pacioli (1445-1517) was an Italian mathematician who was contemporary with a number of key artists... up to, and including Carlo Crivelli and Sandro Botticelli (whose Annunciation was created in the same year as Crivelli's Madonna, above). As it was, Pacioli chose his friend, Leonardo da Vinci, to illustrate Divina Proportione... (But, if you're thinking "da Vinci Code" - which, I confess, I've never read and only saw portions of the film - the actual pentagonal "code" in art and architecture  predated Christianity by, at least, several hundred years.) (And nobody had to die to keep it secret.)

 ***

The Golden Harp

Thus far, it seems we have two different time periods and two different countries in which a handful of artists were using the golden ratio - and predominately the pentagonal expression - in their work. There were the Dutch artists from the Baroque period (17th century) and the Italian artists from the (earlier) High Renaissance period (15th century). Of all the artists presented on this blog, however, Carlos Crivelli took pentagonal geometry to new heights with his Madonna with Saints Francis and Sebastian in that, he didn't merely use the geometry for structure in his design, he used it to encrypt information. He wasn't alone in this, but he was, perhaps, the most thorough and concise, as we shall see. But, we might not know any of this, if he didn't supply us with one important clue... a clue which other like-minded painters might also eventually use: the snail... which crawls enigmatically beneath St. Francis, and which has been the subject of debate over the years (detail, inset left).

We will begin our analysis with a large golden triangle... and immediately we see the "point" of Crivelli's exercise... and, by this, I mean literally: she is positioned - with her son - at the apex of the triangle; a triangle which intercepts our lowly snail. When we begin connecting the dots of the painting to the triangle, however - that is, finding  correspondences between the vertical and horizontal elements of the design - we discover a device I refer to as a "harp" (see here).

Is my harp perfect? No, it is not. If you look closely, the correspondences I made could've been tightened a tad. Then again, it's important to realize that while digital geometry is adequate, it can never be as spot-on as one might wish; circles and diagonals are not accurately supported by square pixels. On the other hand, without the advantage of digital tools I would never have discovered the pentagonal relationships presented here. So it goes.

That being said, note the basic correspondences between points on the harp and key elements of the overall image. It's as if the golden ratio - specifically based on the golden triangle - translates into visual art as elegantly - almost mystically - as it can in musical composition or architectural plans. Moreover, it gives the artist the benefit of encryption. For example, if one designates the harp as representing a musical scale, one might even encrypt sound into a visual image. How cool is that?

But, let's move on to Crivelli's next pentagonal manipulation - the harp is merely one of three - and I'm saving the best till last...

Judith Leyster and a Double Golden Spiral

 

A Boy and a Girl with a Cat and an Eel, 1635, Judith Leyster. Geometry: 2022, DS.

"Artist Judith Leyster wanted to follow her star as a painter. Her name even spelled it out - Leystar means "lodestar" or guiding star in Dutch. When she signed a painting, Judith made a visual pun, adding a JL monogram and attaching a star to it.

Born in 1609 in Haarlem, Judith won wide acclaim in her time - a reputation that went into eclipse at her marriage and, by her death (around 1668), had vanished almost completely. Funny, just like many of her paintings..."

- Via Uppity Women of the Renaissance, 1999, Vicki Leon.  Leon is referring to the fact that after Leyster's death her paintings were not identified for 200 years - and attributed to a male artist instead - despite the fact that her signature was present. In other words, that story... and we've heard it before.

"A Boy and a Girl with a Cat and an Eel is a 1635 oil painting by Judith Leyster that is now in the National Gallery, London.

Academic interpretation
There have been various interpretations of Judith Leyster's A Boy and a Girl with a Cat and an Eel by different scholars. Some, such as Neil McLaren, have argued that it represents the Dutch proverb "Een aal bij de staart hebben" (or "to hold an eel by the tail") meaning that you do not get to hold onto something just because you have it. This moralistic interpretation is supported, Cynthia Kortenhorst-Von Bogendorff Rupprath says, by the eye contact with the viewer made by the little girl in the painting as she wags her finger."

- Via the Wiki entry for the painting by Judith Leyster ((July 28, 1609 – February 10, 1660) above. Of course, this interpretation doesn't really fly... that is, if anyone (who isn't blind-folded) actually looks at the painting. For instance, does the woman (inset right) look remotely like a little girl? True, she is quite small and Leyster refers to her as a "girl," but if you look at the skin on her face and hands, you soon realize she can't be a day under 50. And you'll also notice that she is not looking directly at the viewer, but slightly off to the right side... as if she's pointing to something else - also to the viewer's right - and possibly out of the frame.

Then, there's the glass eel... held up - by it's neck (upper body), not it's tail (lower body) -  by a "boy" who may be her son... or grandson, although he doesn't look like a child either (note his teeth and hands). All in all, this painting may be another "pun" by Leyster... something about deceiving the eye... but it has nothing to do with morality... or with brutality towards cats (another academic theory). So much for expert opinions... similar to the expertise which somehow missed Leyster's signature on paintings for 200 years!

***

Wow, this is my 3rd (intensive) post this month; it must be the first time this has happened in 2 years (also known as the "plague" years). And, I'm back sooner than I expected... but, not because this is an ideal time for a new post. Hardly. The order of the day seems to be a strange chaotic brew - cooked up by trolls and served-up by artificially intelligent clowns -  under the Big Top. In other words, I seem to have my own personal Circus-from-Hell thing going on these days which defies all non-metaphorical description. The weird thing is, this existential maelstrom has it's perks. Perks that just happen to work in my creative life... but, not at all in my corporeal existence.

One perk is that I keep finding golden spirals in paintings... specifically from the Netherlands (in recent weeks)... and all of them from the 1600s (amongst some real Plague Years). Judith Leyster was a painter from an earlier part of that century, however, and one I didn't expect to find as it's unlikely that she and the other artists (who may be theoretically involved) ever crossed paths. While they were just blooming, Judith Leyster had already been cut down and claimed by matrimony, children, and, at the age of 50, death.

(Update 4/11/22) Note: Due to new information regarding the Italian painter, Caravaggio (1571-1610), Judith Leyster's involvement with pentagonal geometry becomes increasingly feasible. See here.)

She sometimes signed her paintings with a star. The reason given is that her surname means the "lode" or pole star. But don't you bet she loved stars anyway? A lot of people love star symbols and rarely think about their geometry, but I think Leyster may have...if the GTS in her painting (above) means anything.

Or, perhaps, I'm referring to the GTS below...

 

Same painting, flipped GTS. (Click to enlarge.)

Yes, it looks like there might be a double spiral thing happening - and its the first of its kind I've seen - a mirror spiral!

But, I wouldn't be convinced unless I found the correct spiral; one that could "mirror" itself. It'd have to be of identical size and level of placement in the painting to do so...

Five of One, One of Five

 

5 Golden Snails = 1 Star - 2021, DS

 

I haven't yet perfected my "golden" diagrams... which are not supposed to represent true gold metal, but more of a sheet of old brass... with color enameling. I think I'm coming closer, but I've no way of knowing how these images appear on anyone else's computer. I only know that they suffer at a lower resolution and smaller size.

Ultimately, I may have to rethink the whole concept. Perhaps, the Golden series isn't a digital enterprise. Or, perhaps, it isn't blog material.

Anyway, I'm probably going to be away from this blog for several weeks. My lifestyle (or, my excuse for one) doesn't allow me time for calm, careful contemplation... unless I check into a motel.*

I check out tomorrow.

Till next time, then!

Music: Alt-J (Adeline)  Film: Andy Hardy.

(3/24/22) I've just posted lyrics for Adeline after the jump...

Nicolaes Lachtropius & the Golden Spiral

Still Life with Flowers, Nicolaes Lachtropius, 1667   (Geometry: DS, 2022)

 

"In the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, this flower still life is one of the paintings made by Nicolaes Lachtropius. This painter was active from 1656-1700 in Amsterdam, and Alphen aan den Rijn. The description says “On a marble plinth a vase with a bouquet of roses and poppies. Between the flowers some butterflies, on the [edge of the] plinth a snail.” This oil-painting is signed “N. Lachtropius Anº 1667.″

The snail is very naturalistically painted, and is a dextral specimen of Cepaea nemoralis (L., 1758)."

- Via this page from a wonderful blog by a Dutch Malacologist entitled "Hunting for Snails" which charts the extensive history of snail images going back as far as the Roman Empire. In other words, it is the PERFECT blog! It was also one of my early influences when charting the course of this "golden" journey (so, Bram, I thank you).

 

"According to the RKD he was a flower still life painter who followed Otto Marseus van Schrieck.. He worked in Amsterdam, The Hague and in Leiden and was last registered in Alphen aan den Rijn."

- The sum total of Wiki's entry for Nicoleas Lachtropius.

 

 ***

 

Well, three's the charm (as I've said in the past) and, between the time I uploaded the image (above) and finished this third attempt at the accompanying text, I made another possible discovery. That is, it seems that several Dutch artists from this period (17th century)- and each of them (historically) in contact with the other - were not using the Golden Rectangle Spiral (GRS) as I had first concluded, but were utilizing the Golden Triangle Spiral (GTS) which I had neglected to substantially test because, at the time, I did not have an accurate GTS template.* Afterwards, when I finally did, I did a quick analysis but, after much labor with the GRS, I almost didn't want to know. Anyway, the "big reveal" will take place later in the finished series. This post exists just to give you an idea of what I'm aiming for, and to show another way in which the GTS can be utilized. See the (Botticelli spiral). (Don't worry, there won't be a quiz.)

That being said, the image above has been modified from the original: I gave it more space at the top.** But, don't be alarmed. Below is the actual .jpg of Nicolaes Lachtropius's painting from the museum's collection. And, as you see, there is no deception; the GTS still stands and in a very similar relationship. In fact, it's a gem. It connects almost every major element of the painting - excluding one red poppy (possibly an imitation) and a yellow snail - and it even curls through the artist's decorative signature. And, yet, it is the presence of the lowly snail which - if my hypothesis  is correct - gives the game away... and is the key to the artist's ulterior motive. Its ornate shell is, in fact, the symbol of the artist's modus operandi: "I have followed the spiral" or, what Albrecht Dürer referred to - two hundred years previously and in the "craftsmen language" - as the "Schneckenlinie" (the "snail-line"). (Via Dürer's Wiki entry.) (And, yes, I'll be discussing Dürer later, too.)

Inset right is a reduced version of the spiral (in the original painting). Note that it's innermost coil no longer winds around the pale pink rose but wraps around the small inset bud.

Which is the beauty of the Golden Spiral. You can size it and shift it, but the porportions, and its relationship to the image and design stays the same. Apparently, when the design is Golden, it's always Golden and the gold is found evenly distributed throughout the painting.

And, yet, it must be said, one might not find Lachtropius's design particularly harmonious or pleasing to the eye. Instead it might seem oddly unsettling, although intriguing (and somewhat kinetic)... but, if we can agree the artist did utilize the spiral, we might still question: why?

First of all, try not to see this as a contrived, mechanical design. It isn't. But, it might be in code... a code which impresses upon certain viewers - those in "the know" (specifically other artists) - the expertise of the artist in achieving an almost arcane and "sacred" harmony with a secret, embedded spiral.

Can we test this?