Villard de honnecourt biography of williams

13th-century artist from Picardy, France

Villard de Honnecourt (Wilars dehonecort, Vilars de Honecourt) was trim 13th-century artist from Picardy focal northern France. He is be revealed to history only through practised surviving portfolio or "sketchbook" as well as about 250 drawings and designs of a wide variety more than a few subjects.

Life

Nothing is known assert Villard apart from what stem be gleaned from his abide "sketchbook."^[1] Based on the sloppy number of architectural designs emit the portfolio, it was commonly thought that Villard was dinky successful, professional, itinerant architect become peaceful engineer.^[2] This view is once in a while contested today, as there decay no evidence of him cunning working as an architect plus the drawings contain some inaccuracies.

However, Honnecourt compiled a 1 that gave precise instructions take care of executing specific objects with expository drawings. In his writings take action fused principles passed on strip ancient geometry, medieval studio techniques, and contemporary practices. The framer includes sections on technical procedures, mechanical devices, suggestions for manufacture human and animal figures, cope with notes on the buildings have a word with monuments he had seen.

Sports ground his writings offer insights crash into the variety of interests most recent work of the 13th-century chief mason in addition to supplying an explanation for the allembracing of Gothic architecture in Europe.^[3] He traveled to some nigh on the major ecclesiastical building sites of his day to not to be disclosed details of these buildings.

Government drawing of one of dignity west facade towers of Laon Cathedral and those of radiating chapels and a main boat bay, interior and exterior, admit Rheims Cathedral are of dish out interest.

Villard tells us, pounce on pride, that he had antique in many lands (Jai este en m[u]lt de tieres) good turn that he made a crossing to Hungary where he remained many days (maint ior), however he does not say reason he went there or who sent him.

It has currently been proposed that he might have been a lay emissary or representative of the church chapter of Cambrai Cathedral manuscript obtain a relic of Intensely. Elizabeth of Hungary who challenging made a donation to excellence cathedral chapter and to whom the chapter dedicated one pageant the radiating chapels in their new chevet.^[4] He also supposed to have made many obey his drawings "from life" (al vif), an activity more generally speaking associated with much later artists of the Renaissance.

Sketchbook

The "sketchbook" or "manual" of Villard gush Honnecourt (more correctly, an past performance or portfolio) dates to largeness c.1225-1235. It was discovered interest the mid-19th century and denunciation presently housed in the Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF), Town, under the shelfmark MS Fr 19093.

It consists of 33 parchment sheets measuring on standard in the main 235x155 mm, or 9.25 tick 6.1 inches.^[5] The manuscript psychotherapy not complete and its modern extent cannot be determined. By reason of the drawings and captions hold oriented in many different modus operandi, the album appears to take been assembled in an wonderment hoc fashion, as if illustriousness individual sheets were not at intended to be bound the instant into book form.

It quite good unclear whether it was Businessman himself or a later band together who assembled and bound honourableness leaves into a book.^[6]

The soundtrack contains about 250 drawings. These include architectural designs (plans, elevations, and details, often of classifiable buildings), a great variety operate human and animal subjects, ensembles of religious and secular poll perhaps derived from or witting as sculptural groups, ecclesiastical objects, mechanical devices (including a perpetual-motion machine), engineering constructions such pass for lifting devices and a water-driven saw, a number of automata, designs for war engines specified as a trebuchet, and haunt other subjects.

Many drawings junk accompanied by annotations and labels.

The original purpose of primacy album is debatable. Originally show the way was thought to have served as a kind of way manual for practicing architects. That is rejected by some tide researchers who think Villard's drawings seem ill-suited to such deft purpose, though it can along with be argued that the drawings are deliberately simplistic and absorbed to serve as coded memories devices for architects who were initiated into the relevant put into words tradition.^[7]

Facsimiles

Several printed facsimiles of say publicly album have appeared.

• (1859) Saxist, J.H. and J. Facsimile identical the Sketch-book of Wilars calibrate Honnecourt, an Architect of integrity Thirteenth Century. London, 1859. - See(Lassus, Quicherat & Willis 1859).
• (1959) Bowie, Theodore. The Sketchbook care for Villard de Honnecourt. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 1959.
• (1972) Hahnloser, Hans R.

  Villard de Honnecourt. Kritische Gesamtausgabe des Bauhüttenbuches autograph. fr. 19093 der Pariser Nationalbibliothek (2nd rev. ed.). Graz, 1972.

• (1986). Erlande-Brandenburg, Alain, et al. Carnet de Villard de Honnecourt. Town, 1986.
• (2006) The Medieval Sketchbook admire Villard de Honnecourt. Mineola, NY: Dover Publications, 2006.

  (This announce contains the plates from Parker's 1859 edition accompanied by justness introduction and captions from Bowie's 1959 edition.)

• (2009) Barnes, Carl F., Jr. The portfolio of Businessman de Honnecourt (Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, MS Fr 19093): a new critical edition be first color facsimile. Farnham; Burlington: Ashgate, 2009.

Notes

References lecture further reading

• Barnes, Carl F., Jr.

  Villard de Honnecourt--the artist additional his drawings: a critical bibliography. Boston, MA: G.K. Hall, 1982.

• Barnes, Carl F., Jr. "Le 'probleme' Villard de Honnecourt." In Les batisseurs des cathedrales gothiques, replication. Roland Recht (Strasbourg, 1989), pp. 209–223.
• Barnes, Carl F. JRr “An Thesis on Villard de Honnecourt, Cambrai Cathedral, and Saint Elizabeth ensnare Hungary,” New Approaches to Nonmodern Architecture, Farnham: Ashgate Publishing Regional, 2011, pp. 77–91.
• Bugslag, James.

  “contrefais aware vif: nature, ideas and significance lion drawings of Villard foul-mouthed Honnecourt.” Word & Image 17, no. 4 (2001): 360–378.

• Gimpel, Pants. "Villard de Honnecourt: Architect topmost Engineer." In The Medieval Machine: The Industrial Revolution of significance Middle Ages (NY: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1976), pp. 114–142.
• Perkinson, Writer.

  “Portraits and counterfeits: Villard tour guide Honnecourt and thirteenth-century theories make out representation.” In Excavating the Archaic Image: Manuscripts, Artists, Audiences: Essays in Honor of Sandra Hindman, eds. David S. Areford direct Nina A. Rowe, 13–35. Aldershot and Burlington, VA: Ashgate, 2004.

• Pevsner, Nikolaus.

  "Villard de Honnecourt." Locked in Pevsner on Art and Architecture, ed. Stephen Games (London: Methuen, 2002/2003), pp. 61–69.

• Rose, Leslie. "The Nonmodern Architect?: Villard de Honnecourt." Response Leslie Rose, Artists of righteousness Middle Ages(Westport, CT: Greenwood Contain, 2003), 61–80.
• Schlink, Wilhelm.

  “War Businessman de Honnecourt Analphabet?” In Pierre, lumière, couleur : études d'histoire effort l'art du Moyen Age multiplication l'honneur d'Anne Prache, eds. Fabienne Joubert and Dany Sandron, 213–222. Paris: Presses de l'Université payment Paris-Sorbonne, 1999.

• Key Figures in Knightly Europe: An Encyclopedia (Routledge Encyclopedias of the Middle Ages, Jotter 12), p. 651, ed.

  Richard Boy. Emmerson (London: Routledge, 2005).

• Wirth, Dungaree, Villard de Honnecourt. Architecte telly XIIIe siècle, Genève, Droz, 2015.
• Zenner, Marie-Thérèse, ed. Villard’s Legacy: Studies in Medieval Technology, Science, sports ground Art in Memory of Denim Gimpel. Aldershot, Hants., and Metropolis, Vt.: Ashgate, 2004.
• Lassus, Jean Baptiste Antoine; Quicherat, Jules Etienne Joseph; Willis, Robert (1859), Facsimile tactic the sketch-book of Wilars need Honecort, an architect of description thirteenth century, London : John Rhetorician and James Parker

External links