Isenheim Altarpiece, the Ancient Feminine, Agrarian Science, and Art History

362 Pages·2015·46.79 MB·English

Florida State University Libraries
Electronic Theses, Treatises and Dissertations The Graduate School
2010
Grunewald's Isenheim Altarpiece, the
Ancient Feminine, Agrarian Science, and
Art History
Cynthia Yvonne Kent-Toussaint
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THE FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY

COLLEGE OF VISUAL ARTS, THEATER AND DANCE

GRUNEWALD'S ISENHEIM ALTARPIECE, THE ANCIENT FEMININE, AGRARIAN

SCIENCE, AND ART HISTORY

By

CYNTHIA YVONNE KENT-TOUSSAINT

A Dissertation submitted to the
Department of Art Education
in partial fulfillment of the
requirements for the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy

Degree Awarded:
Summer Semester, 2010
The members of the committee approve the dissertation of Cynthia Yvonne Kent-Toussaint
defended in April 28, 2010.

_______________________________________
Thomas Anderson
Professor Co-Directing Dissertation

_______________________________________
Svetla Slaveva-Griffin
Professor Co-Directing Dissertation

_______________________________________
Ralph Berry
University Representative

_______________________________________
David Gussak
Committee Member

Approved:

_____________________________________
David Gussak, Chair Department of Art Education

_____________________________________
Sally E. McRorie, College of Visual Arts
The Graduate School has verified and approved the above-named committee members.
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Christina Rose Marie

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This dissertation is dedicated to my daughter Christina Rose Marie, whose constant observation:
“No one cares, Mom,” has prompted me to respond accordingly, because I do.
For her and me I moved from studio arts to art history, leaving behind good and honest
friends who I have come to regard as a sort of tribe, a particular type of artists. I want to protect
these curious characters, for them, because Christina stands in earnest on the divide between
their great world and popular culture and deserves better from both, and because I have learned
to recognize in certain individuals from other academic fields similar attributes as those reflected
by my friends. Thank you, Jack Tyndall. With that said, my very best regards to art therapist and
educator Barbara Kazanis and my friends Stan Gregory, Joseph McCann, Julio Mateo, Nathanial,
Roger, and of course Thomas Franklin Howell. I am also deeply indebted to my MFA chair,
Mernet Larsen.
From the department of art history I acknowledge my indebtedness to my MA chair,
Patricia Rose, who introduced me to FSU art history, herbal manuscripts, the Northern
Renaissance, and the value of studying iconography. Thanks also to Paula Gerson, Daniel Pullen,
and Carrie Leverenz. Together, these four scholars molded what would become the form and
function of the concerns expressed herein.
From the department of humanities, where I worked after attaining my MA in art history
for one year, I thank Leon Golden for further reinforcing in me the value of studying Hesiod.
From art education I thank my first doctoral chair, the late aesthetician Charles Dorn, my
second, Tom Anderson, and David Gussak. From the department of English I thank Ralph Berry,
who has kindly served as my outside committee member from the very beginning. From classics
I thank my co-chair Svetla Griffin. With her kind and persistent assistance, and that of Dorn,
Anderson, and the others, I have gratefully struggled to frame my concerns within the perimeters
of their respective fields of discipline. Dorn introduced me to how formalism was related to
problems in art education, thus enabling me to broaden my concerns; Anderson’s knowledge of
feminist theory changed my perspective on how to frame them; and Griffin, with her expertise in
classical literature and ancient science, acted critically as a much needed sounding board. Dorn,
Anderson, and Griffin in particular have together strengthened my efforts to envision a bridge
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big enough to politically accommodate the ever widening gap between art education and the fine
arts, art history, classics, the sciences, and religion.
Anderson's approach to how to organize an art historical analysis is the application I used
to frame my study, and he and Griffin have both spent many hours helping me with
organizational and editing problems. Thanks also to Carol Thoma of A-1 Editing LC. for having
put so many hours into editing Chapters two through five and my bibliography. Her role, as the
educated, concerned, and very demanding Episcopalean voice to which I have consistently
responded in good faith from the perspective of a practicing Catholic, was an unexpected gift.
Thanks to my librarian friends, especially Chuck McCann and Giesele Towells, who
went beyond the call of duty to help me implement editorial corrections so that I could finish this
task.
Perhaps most significantly, I put academia aside and pay a sincere debt of gratitude to the
many people and institutions which have so generously helped me and my daughter remain
healthy and focused enough to live this effort out. Special thanks to Co-Cathedral of Saint
Thomas More, the Angie Deeb Cancer Unit, Stewart Street Elementary, and Turnabout,
particularly Drs. Rost, Chu, and McNutt; Principal Ellis; and Benetta and Kim.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

List of Figures ..................................................................................................................................x
Abstract ...................................................................................................................................... xxiii
1. CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION .....................................................................................1

2. CHAPTER TWO: THE PROBLEM FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF ART HISTORY ...13
2.1 My Analysis of Art History .........................................................................................18
2.1.1 Stage One: Formalism and Instrumentalism Defined .......................................18
2.1.2 Stage Two: More Recent Views, Including an Overlooked Version
of the Ancient Feminine ..............................................................................................22
2.1.3 Stage Three: My Art Historical Analysis of Rituals in Ancient Medical
Manuscripts .................................................................................................................27
2.2 Overlooking the Feminine ...........................................................................................34
2.3 Prounoun use of “I” Signifies Ritual Empowerment .................................................35
2.4 Rationale for a New Approach to Art History .............................................................44

3. CHAPTER THREE: GRUNEWALD’S ALTARPIECE: BACKGROUND, FUNCTION,
AND PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION ......................................................................................50
3.1 Background on Grunewald .........................................................................................51
3.2 Function of the Isenheim Altarpiece ............................................................................52
3.3 Physcial Description of the Altarpiece ........................................................................55
3.3.1 Detailed Description of the Closed Position .....................................................56
3.3.2 Detailed Description of the Middle Position ....................................................59
3.3.3 Detailed Description of the Open State ............................................................61

4. CHAPTER FOUR: ICONOGRAPHICAL TOOLBOX OF DEFINITIONS ......................65
4.1 The Significance of Hesiod ..........................................................................................65
4.2 Hesiod’s Erides ............................................................................................................70
4.3 “Muddled” Texts and Imagery .....................................................................................70
4.3.1 Simple Nouns ...................................................................................................71
4.3.2 Simple Adjectives and Adverbs .......................................................................72
4.3.3 Metaphorical Language in Myth and Narrative ...............................................73
4.4 Three Scholarly “Misunderstandings” ........................................................................77
4.4.1 Misunderstanding Ritual Prayer Aspects of Classic Scientific Manuscripts ...77
4.4.2 Misunderstanding Magico Religious Healing Rituals .....................................82
4.4.3 Misunderstanding the Ritual and Magic Behind Mary and Magdeline ...........85
4.5 Agrarian Astronomy, Ritual Cleansing, and Catharsis ...............................................92
4.5.1 “Mooncrafters,” “Moist” Brains, Humoural Theory, Meloncholia, and
Syzygy..............................................................................................................95
4.5.2 The Agrarian Moon and Historical Mary ......................................................102
4.5.3 Mary and the Pearl in Relation to the Moon ..................................................103
4.5.4 Astronomical Implications of the Number Seven ..........................................106
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4.6 Agrarian Chemistry or Alchemy ...............................................................................107
4.6.1 The Unicorn .....................................................................................................107
4.6.2 The Lion ...........................................................................................................110
4.6.3 Binary Opposites and the Origin of Women....................................................111
4.7 Feminine Antidotal Medicine: Linking Astronomy and Chemistry .........................112
4.7.1 Linking Medical Manuscripts from Egypt and Greece ....................................113
4.7.2 Saint Anthony, the Serpent, “I” Metamorphosis, and Mensa ..........................114
4.8 Synthemata: Another Means of Looking at Mary and Magdeline ..........................118
4.8.1 Isis and Nephthys as Synthemata .....................................................................120
4.8.2 Wisdom and Her Errant Twin as Synthemata ..................................................121
4.8.3 Wisdom, Jesus Christ, Mary, and Magdalene..................................................122
4.9 The Errant Feminine .................................................................................................124
4.9.1 The Definition of Oracle .................................................................................125
4.9.2 The Oracle’s Evolution ....................................................................................125
4.9.3 Scholarly Problems Related to the Oracle .......................................................127
4.9.4 Sexuality and Apollo’s Oracle .........................................................................134
4.10 Dionysian Sexuality and Apollo’s Oracle .................................................................136
4.10.1 Three Forms of Dionysian Frenzy Associated with Oracular Inspiration ...138
4.10.2 Semele Allows us to Bridge Oracular Messengers with Mary … …..……....139
4.11 Definition of the Androgyne … …………………………………………………….141
4.12 The Oracles Relationship to the Androgyn … ……………………………………..143

5. CHAPTER FIVE: ANALYSIS OF THE ISENHEIM ALTARPIECE, PART ONE:
THE GOOD DIMENSION OF MARY… .……………………………………..…………145
5.1 Grunewald’s Feminine Raven… …….…………………………………..…………146
5.2 Feminine Water… ………………………………………………………..…………149
5.3 Grunewald’s Feminine Animals ………………………………………..…………154
5.3.1 The Male and Female Deer ………………………………………..…………155
5.3.2 The Small Black Dog …………….………………………………..…………155
5.3.3 The Baboon God Thoth. … ………………………………………..…………156
5.4 Iris as Pontifex… ……………………….………………………………..…………159
5.4.1 Thoth's Caduceus ………………...………………………………..…………160
5.4.2 Thoth and Iris have a Caduceus. Where is Mary's?… ……………..…………162

6. CHAPTER SIX: ANALYSIS OF THE ISENHEIM A LTARPIECE, PART TWO
THE ERRANT AND SEXUAL DIMENSION OF MARY ………………………………168
. 6.1 The Peacock Feathered Creatu…re… ……….……………………………..…………170
6.1.1 How Scholars See The Peacock Creature ………………………….………171
6.1.2 How I See the Peacock Creatu1r7e1 …….……………..………………….……173
6.1.3 The creature’s colors and alchemical proc…ess…es…. ….……………..…………174
6.1.4 The peacock creature and oracular pr…ide…. ………….……………..…………175
6.1.5 The peacock creature and thunder ……………………………..…………175
6.2. Spiders, Sparrows, Peacocks, and… th…e s…pi…ral…. …………………………..…………176
6.2.1 Sparrows and divination ………………………………………………....…177
6.2.2 Scientific and medical accounts associated with peacocks. … …………… ...178
6.2.3 Another possible… in…te…rpr…eta…tio…n …is …tha…t G…ru…ne…w…ald…'s …pe.a.…co…ck …is …a p…ee.w…it . ..…179
…………………………………………………….……180
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6.3. Medieval Wild Man Lore
6.3.1 Characteristics of Wild People………………………………………………180
6.3.2 Wild People Metamorphosis… .……………………………………..………181
6.3 3 Wild Men’s Innate Knowledge of Roots, Herbs, and Venoms ……….……183
6.3.4 Wild People and Animals ………………………………………..…………183
6.3.5 The Wild Man’s Altruistic Impulses ……………………………..…..……185
6.4 The Flame-Crowned Figure ……………………………………………..…..……187
6.5 Grunewald’s Chamber Pot …………….………………………………..…..……190
6.5.1 The Ayin Hora, or Evil Eye on Grunewald's chamber pot. … ………………191
6.5.2. The pot's Evil Eye is also a Good Eye. ………………..…………………192
6.5.3. Mary, the Evil Eye, and the Christian Annunciation. ……………..………193
6.6. Mary's Evil Eye, the flame crowned figure, and Mary h…old…in…g t…he… C…hri…st …Ch…ild.…. 194
6.6.1. Flaming Mary and alchemical "…aur..e…ol…es.…" ………..…………………….…194
6.6.2. Alchemical transcendence also related binarily to disintegration. …………195
6.7. Mary and the Infant Christ dynamic … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … ..…….196
6.8 John the Baptist… ….……….……………………………………………….…….196
6.8.1 John the Baptist’s Tousled, Dirty, Bodiless Head ……………..……….…196
6.8.2 Prophecy’s Lineage in Relation to John the Baptist ………………………197
6.8.3 Scholarly Interpretations of Grunewald’s John the Baptist ………………..203
6.8.4 John the Baptist’s Biographical Information …………………………....…204
6.8.5 Iconography and John the Baptist … … ……………………………………..204
6.9 Synopsis and Inferences …………………………………………………………..207

7. CHAPTER SEVEN: ERRANT MARY'S RELATIONSHIP WITH ACHILLIAN
WATER" AND HEROIC TRANSCENDENCE, PART THREE ………………….…...210
7.1. Affection and aversion precipitated Feminine transcendence. ………………..…210
7.1.1 Achilles, his Ashen Spear, and the Mannerbund. ………………….........…213
7.1.2 Ash is "Meli"… …………………………………………………………..…214
7.1.3 Ash and Witchcraft ……………………………………………………..…216
. 7.2. Achilles' Relationship to Water and Ash, based upon his relationship with his
mother and his instructor, Chiron. ………………………………..………………216
7.3. Achilles, the numb…er …nin…e,… m…ed…ici…ne…, a…nd… ar…che…oa…st…ron…om…y…. ……………..…….219
7.3.1. The Number Nine, as Related to Ancient Calendars & Archeoastronomy
Hephaestus' Daemon Children, the Kabeiroi Warriors ………………..…..226
7.3.3. The Labyrinth… ……………………………………………………….…...228
7.4. Feminine Cursing Traditions ………………………………………………..…...229
7.4.1. Dragon Pearls ………………………………………………………...…...233
7.4.2. Pearls… ……………………………………………………………….…...235
7.4.3. Dragon Bones and Teeth ……………………………………………..…...235
7.4.4. Dragon…s ……………………………………………………………. .…...236
7.4.5. Dragon Pearls are thunder …………………………………………….....237

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Conclusion ….……………………………………..………………………………..................240
Appendix: Images ….……………………………………..……………………………….....246
References … …….………………………………………………………………………........314
Bibliographic Sketch… ………………………………………………………………..………337

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