Works of Art

This is a fascinating example of work by the so-called “Belgian Forger” Ferdinand de Pape (1810-1885), the counterpart to the Spanish Forger but active in Bruges instead of Paris.  Like the oeuvre of the Spanish Forger, the work by de Pape’s witnesses the renewed appreciation for the arts of the Middle Ages that occurred in the mid- to late nineteenth century. Ferdinand established his workshop in Bruges in 1830 and began work as an “illuminator-painter and artist in old writing.” Over his career, Ferdinand worked with both his brother, François de Pape (1814-1863), and his son Charles (d. 1915). In 1927, his work featured in a major exhibition of medieval illuminations and bindings in Bruges (see Hubert 1928).

In recent years, scholarly interest has returned to Ferdinand and the de Papes, and some have speculated that a member of the family may even be identical with the infamous Spanish Forger. However, Christina Currie, Steven Saverwyns, and Dominique Vanwijnsberghe argue that this is unlikely (2018).  Ferdinand, the most well-known and active of the de Papes, was active far earlier than the Forger, and the two artists employ vastly different styles. While the Forger conjures up scenes of courtly love and chivalric romance tailor-made for the nineteenth-century imagination, Ferdinand’s work as intensely “religious and local,” and his main inspiration comes from illuminations and panel paintings by fifteenth-century Flemish painters, especially those active in his hometown of Bruges. 

When open, the present triptych displays the Lamentation:  portrayed in three quarter view, Saint John the Evangelist and one of the three Marys are on the left and Joseph of Arimathea is on the right, while the Virgin Mary holds the body of the dead Christ close to her breasts.  The wings depict Saint Agnes, with her symbol the lamb, on the left, and Saint Barbara, with her symbol of a chalice and host on the right.  Behind the scenes appears a verdant landscape and, in the distance, a blue sky and a band of light.         

As far as we can tell, the artist does not copy verbatim actual manuscripts or panel paintings, but is inspired by them, from which he transforms the compositions, borrowing figures and details.  For example, the central scene relates to Roger van der Weyden’s Lamentation (fig. 1) from earlier in the fifteenth century, whereas its treatment resembles more closely that of Gerard David, active in Bruges from c. 1500 to 1523 (fig 2).  Perhaps closer to de Pape is the Master of the Holy Blood, also working in Bruges between at least 1510 and 1520.  Compare the triptych for which he takes his name located in the Chapel of the Holy Blood in Bruges, as well as a pair of female saints, Catherine and Barbara, in the Cleveland Museum of Art (figs. 3 and 4).

When the wings are closed the reverse bears the opening lines of the Latin text of the Stabat Mater [dolorosa], or the “sorrowful mother was standing,” a thirteenth-century Christian hymn that portrays the suffering of Mary during the Crucifixion of her son Jesus Christ.  The words of the hymn are written in gold in very fine Gothic letters, reminding us of de Pape’s characterization as an “artist of old letters.”  The left panel reads:  Virgo virginum praeclara mihi iam non sis amara fac me tecum plangere (“Chosen Virgin of virgins, be not bitter with me, let me weep with thee”); and the right panel: Fac ut portem Christi mortem passionis fac consortem et plagas recolere (“Grant that I may bear the death of Christ, share his Passion, and commemorate His wounds”).

The triptych is signed on all three panels.  The wings are signed F. de Pape on the lower left and dated 1878 on the lower right.  The center panel is signed and dated “Ferdinand De Pape 1878” on the lower left and the location “Bruges” is indicated on the lower right.

Literature:

Dumon, Wilfried, “The Bruges Illuminator Ferdinand de Pape. His Workshop, Production and Methods,” in The Revival of Medieval Illumination. Nineteenth-Century Belgium Manuscripts and Illuminations from a European Perspective, ed. Thomas Coomans and Jan de Maeyer, Leuven University Press, 2007, pp. 244-264.

Hubert, Nelis, Tentoonstelling van miniature en boekbanden in Revue belge de philologie et d'histoire, tome 7, fasc. 2, 1928, pp. 735-738.

Currie, Christina, Steven Saverwyns, and Dominique Vanwijnsberghe, “The Spanish Forger Exposed: an Interdisciplinary Study of Two of His Paintings,” in Manuscripts in the Making Art & Science, ed. Stella Panayotova and Paolo Ricciardi, London, Harvey Miller Publishers, 2018, pp. 190-202.

WOA 23-01