Modena

THANK YOU, Jake Backus!

In the article about St. Paul’s Church, Covent Gardens, I asked if anyone had more photos of Gibbons’ works. Jake Backus wrote that he visited the Gallerie Estensi museum in Modena, Italy in late 2016 and offered these wonderful photos.

“The Modena panel laments the triumph of death, in particular the death of kings and princes.”
— David Esterly

The panel, created around 1685, is a “momento mori” to Charles II. Charles’ brother, James II, followed him to the throne, and either James, or his wife Mary, commissioned the work. There are differing accounts of who the gift was given to in Modena. Esterly and Beard write that the panel was a gift to Mary’s father, Alfonso IV, the Duke of Modena.

The panel measures 49 inches by 69 inches, 125 cm by 175 cm.

A museum card near the panel today says that the gift was to Francesco II, or “from the collection of Francesco II.”  Both may be correct, as Francesco II is the son of Alfonso IV.

The central theme about the death of royalty is embodied in the musical score near the center of the panel. It represents the lyrics of a 17th funeral dirge by James Shirley, from his stage play “The Contention of Ajax and Ulysses.” 

THE GLORIES of our blood and state
Are shadows, not substantial things;
There is no armour against fate;
Death lays his icy hand on kings:
Sceptre and crown
Must tumble down,
And in the dust be equal made
With the poor crooked scythe and spade.

The chained skull and tumbled crown are tributes to death, as are the collection of coins above and to the left of the skull. Those coins represent other kings and princes claimed by the icy hand of death.

It is remarkable that of a woodcarving survives for over 300 years. It is not surprising that this one shows signs of wear and aging. If one looks closely, there are notable ghost areas on the background, where parts have disappeared. Esterly speculates that at one time the panel might also have included other objects such as a sceptre, scythe or spade (from the lyrics), perhaps in the open space above the skull. There’s also breakage on parts that extend most forward. For example, there are remnants of a chain across the musical score. What else might have been hanging from that chain? Maybe another portrait medallion?

Thanks Jake, for a closeup of Gibbon’s portrait medallion. Jake says it appears to be about 2 inches (5 cm) in diameter, quite a nice piece of detail carving. With the inscription, “GIBBONS INVENTOR ET SCULPIST,” Gibbons assures us he played both the role of designer and of sculptor.

By this stage of Gibbons’ career, he was hearing criticism that he was only a simple carver. In order to clear the air of these ideas, Gibbons included a banner in the Cosimo panel proclaiming himself as the “inventor” and prominently included this Modena portrait medallion where he again asserts his design and execution roles.

One of the legends about Gibbons concerns pea pods in his carvings. The legend is that if the pea pod is open, Gibbons was commissioned and paid for the work. If closed, he was not paid. At the far right edge of the panel, Jake found for us an open pea pod.

Thanks again, Jake, for bringing us more details of Gibbons’ work. Jake apologizes for what he considers poor quality due to glass reflections. Instead, I applaud his efforts to bring us striking details despite having to contend with glass, less than optimal lighting and ghost reflections of museum visitors. Well done, and I certainly appreciate them!

We can also thank Jake’s cousin who lives near Modena and made a special trip to the museum to gather the information on the museum card and to double check their photo policy.

BTW, Jake lives way down in the southwest corner of the UK, between Truro and Falmouth “looking out to sea” as he says.

Photography note: In case a sharp eyed photographer wonders about the color difference between the two full panel shots on this page, it is this: The one at the top of the page was taken with flash, while the one in the middle used no flash.