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拍品专文
The Old Testament story of Judith and Holofernes became a popular subject for artists in the early seventeenth century, with its macabre drama and daring heroine lending themselves perfectly to the Baroque mindset.
Architectural pendants became popular from the middle of the 16th century. They had an architectonic framework with a Renaissance palace façade or a small platform acting as a stage-set for the miniature enameled figures as on this pendant, and set with gems. This model of pendant was developed by the Augsburg goldsmith Erasmus Hornick (1524-1583).
This architectural pendant borrows from the designs of Etienne Delaune (1518-1583) who worked in small-scale formats, making his models easy to transpose and adapt to jewels. In this instance, the pendant's symmetrical composition framing the central figures beneath a canopy is reminiscent of the series of allegories of the arts and sciences on black grounds with grotesque motifs that he executed before 1573.
Delaune's designs were hugely popular with decorative arts craftsmen and notably goldsmiths probably because Delaune was himself apprenticed to a goldsmith and even worked for a time as a journeyman. However, unable to become a master, he ended up devoting himself entirely to engraving in order to earn a living.
Religious subjects make up a large part of his work, with a clear preference for the Old Testament and especially Genesis, which can be explained by his religious choices. Indeed although he claimed to be a Catholic, he was likely a Protestant, working mainly with Huguenot goldsmiths. Following the St Bartholomew's Day massacre on 24 August 1572 and the religious tensions that ensued, he fled in 1573 to Strasbourg, a reformed city, where he was granted the right to 'practise his art and trade'. From there, Delaune led an itinerant life, taking on commissions that influenced his style and his models, taking him to Augsburg and Nuremberg before returning to Strasbourg around 1577 and then Paris around 1580, where he died around 1583.
Architectural pendants became popular from the middle of the 16th century. They had an architectonic framework with a Renaissance palace façade or a small platform acting as a stage-set for the miniature enameled figures as on this pendant, and set with gems. This model of pendant was developed by the Augsburg goldsmith Erasmus Hornick (1524-1583).
This architectural pendant borrows from the designs of Etienne Delaune (1518-1583) who worked in small-scale formats, making his models easy to transpose and adapt to jewels. In this instance, the pendant's symmetrical composition framing the central figures beneath a canopy is reminiscent of the series of allegories of the arts and sciences on black grounds with grotesque motifs that he executed before 1573.
Delaune's designs were hugely popular with decorative arts craftsmen and notably goldsmiths probably because Delaune was himself apprenticed to a goldsmith and even worked for a time as a journeyman. However, unable to become a master, he ended up devoting himself entirely to engraving in order to earn a living.
Religious subjects make up a large part of his work, with a clear preference for the Old Testament and especially Genesis, which can be explained by his religious choices. Indeed although he claimed to be a Catholic, he was likely a Protestant, working mainly with Huguenot goldsmiths. Following the St Bartholomew's Day massacre on 24 August 1572 and the religious tensions that ensued, he fled in 1573 to Strasbourg, a reformed city, where he was granted the right to 'practise his art and trade'. From there, Delaune led an itinerant life, taking on commissions that influenced his style and his models, taking him to Augsburg and Nuremberg before returning to Strasbourg around 1577 and then Paris around 1580, where he died around 1583.