Art and Artists in Gwynedd
shi...@my-dejanews.com
I've decided it's time for a new thread. I've been perusing my Codex
recently, and one of the people I'd like to meet most is Moreen, the youngest
of King Malcolm's natural daughters by his mistress Glorvina Conliff.
According to the Codex, she was renowned as an artist, and did several
portraits of her father and of other members of her family. She was also
commissioned to produce the banner bearing the Haldane Arms that hangs in the
Great Hall of Rhemuth Castle, and was simultaneously created Baroness
Doonreen in her own right. (Just as an aside, where the heck IS the Barony
of Doonreen, or did any actual land accompany the honor?) Moreen must have
been very special since King Malcolm didn't make any of his other natural
daughters peeresses in their own right. Maybe he was very attatched to his
mistress, and of all his children by Glorvina, Moreen was the most like her
mother. Will we ever get to "see" Moreen's work in any of the future novels?
If not in KKB, then perhaps in the Childe Morgan books? (Sigh.) I mean,
there must be a portrait gallery of the Royal family somewhere in Rhemuth
castle.
The second part of my question is, will Kelson and Araxie have their
wedding portraits painted by a well known artist of their day? KK's focus
hasn't really been on the artistic life of the XI kingdoms, it's true. But
she mentions frescoes on church and chapel walls in various places, and
Dhugal saw a miniature portrait of Maryse when he was a young child. And
someone must have given Moreen some basic instruction in drawing and painting
at some point in her life.Also at that point, oil paints didn't come in handy
little tubes, they had to be mixed by the artist, and Moreen would have had
to know how to do that, too.
So there was an artistic community in Gwynedd at some level. In our own
world, it wasn't until the Renaissance that art became a vehicle to fame.
Maybe the visual arts were more developed in the Forcinn states, and artists
went there for training. And to what degree was art advanced and/or
patronized by the Torenthi court?
Oops! I'm out of time! :)
Melissa
Felicitations from the Department of Wishful Thinking
-----------== Posted via Deja News, The Discussion Network ==----------
http://www.dejanews.com/ Search, Read, Discuss, or Start Your Own
Unicorn636
<<I've been perusing my Codex
recently, and one of the people I'd like to meet most is Moreen, the youngest
of King Malcolm's natural daughters by his mistress Glorvina Conliff.
According to the Codex, she was renowned as an artist, and did several
portraits of her father and of other members of her family. She was also
commissioned to produce the banner bearing the Haldane Arms that hangs in the
Great Hall of Rhemuth Castle, and was simultaneously created Baroness
Doonreen in her own right. (Just as an aside, where the heck IS the Barony
of Doonreen, or did any actual land accompany the honor?) Moreen must have
been very special since King Malcolm didn't make any of his other natural
daughters peeresses in their own right. Maybe he was very attatched to his
mistress, and of all his children by Glorvina, Moreen was the most like her
mother. Will we ever get to "see" Moreen's work in any of the future novels?
If not in KKB, then perhaps in the Childe Morgan books? (Sigh.) I mean,
there must be a portrait gallery of the Royal family somewhere in Rhemuth
castle.>>
I'm not sure about that. Portraiture, in real world Europe, didn't come into
much use until the the late 12th century, because the Church considered it
vanity and sinful to have a portrait made of oneself. Death masks and statues
were permitted, though. I remember reading this in a medieval history course
back in college and immediately thinking: "But Bronwyn had a likeness in 1120
that Rimmel took to Bethane for the spell!" Of course, KK may have taken a few
historical liberties....maybe the Deryni introduced the arts and hence they
didn't flourish during the persecution times?
We have a Haldane artist (who would be part Deryni) and Ariella II, who is
also Deryni...so that could hold true.
<< The second part of my question is, will Kelson and Araxie have their
wedding portraits painted by a well known artist of their day? KK's focus
hasn't really been on the artistic life of the XI kingdoms, it's true. But
she mentions frescoes on church and chapel walls in various places, and
Dhugal saw a miniature portrait of Maryse when he was a young child. And
someone must have given Moreen some basic instruction in drawing and painting
at some point in her life.Also at that point, oil paints didn't come in handy
little tubes, they had to be mixed by the artist, and Moreen would have had
to know how to do that, too.>>
Were they using oils or something else? Herbal concoctions or something?
That, too, smacks of Deryni...or am I just thinking of magical paints in
_Golden Key__?
KK did say (I think it's in the CC Prologue) that art and architecture were
flourishing in 905 as they wouldn't again until "late in the reign of Kelson
I." So perhaps Kelson and Araxie would have wedding portraits...maybe they
could discover some of Moreen's work and then decide to have a portrait made.
<< So there was an artistic community in Gwynedd at some level. In our own
world, it wasn't until the Renaissance that art became a vehicle to fame.
Maybe the visual arts were more developed in the Forcinn states, and artists
went there for training. And to what degree was art advanced and/or patronized
by the Torenthi court?>>
Well if art is patronized by the Torenthi court and not the Haldane one, that
backs up my theory about art being linked to the Deryni. Or at least someone
in power (like the Church) seeing a connection there. Or perhaps the
materials needed to make paints are more readily available in Torenth?
Susan -- Mistress of Complications
Rebldavis
> Were they using oils or something else? Herbal concoctions or
something?
>That, too, smacks of Deryni...
Nothing Deryni about pre-oil paints. Before oils Tempra paints were the paints
of choice. They were made from ground minerals (for color, like oils) and
mixed with egg whites for cohesion and water.
Rebecca
rebl...@aol.com
"Nothing happens in contradicition to nature, only in contradiction to what we
know."
-- Dana Scully in "Herrenvolk" (episode 4x01 of "The X-files")
Unicorn636
In article <19990314100206...@ng109.aol.com>, rebl...@aol.com
wrote:
<<> Were they using oils or something else? Herbal concoctions or
something?
>That, too, smacks of Deryni...
Nothing Deryni about pre-oil paints. Before oils Tempra paints were the paints
of choice. They were made from ground minerals (for color, like oils) and
mixed with egg whites for cohesion and water.
>>
Ah, but are those minerals more available in Torenth than in Gwynedd? The
aspiring artist would still need a tutor with knowledge of making
paints...unless he/she invents paint on his/her own. And there still has to be
a market for the work...or else the artist is wealthy and has time on his/her
hands. Court patronage seems likely, but we've never heard about a court
artist in Rhemuth. Unless one appears in KKB?
Seems to me a Deryni might paint clues into his/her artwork, telling others
where to flee during the persecutions...but apparently that didn't happen.
Seems to me the cathredal in Rhemuth has stained glass windows (one of the
cathredal's did anyway) and that's an artform too.
Ooh! In rereading the Jodotha entry to write my "blockers" post, I noticed
that Evaine, Joram, and Queron found a medallion on Jodotha containing her
portrait...so portraiture was practiced in Gwynedd in the late 600s. Could
that have been an Airsid talent which fell out of use in the persecutions
following the Llarik incident?
I think we need a few facts, here, before we can build any theories.
Rob...can you drop a few hints for us, please? <G>
Susan