_1446_52+Rogier+van+der+Weyden.jpg)
Dear all, we are at the end of this year's course and we will have a very full and interesting week. We will begin on May 20th with a lecture about "Law and Iconography" held by Prof. Georges Martyn from the Ghent University and we will end on May 21st and 22nd with two quite spectacular "Law and Music" lectures, where Prof. Giorgio Resta, from the University of Bari, will explain the links between legal theory and musical interpretation with the help of the pianist Enrico Maria Polimanti. First, some information about Wednesday's lecture:
LAW AND ICONOGRAPHY:
Readings:
1) A. H. Manchester and M. A. Becker-Moelands: "An Introduction to Iconographical Studies of Legal History", in W.M. Gordon-T.D. Fergus (eds.), "Legal History in the Making". Proceedings of the ninth British Legal History Conference, Glasgow, 1989, London, 1991, pp. 85-94 (Chap. 6).
2) G. Martyn, "Painted Exempla Iustitiae in Southern Netherlands", in "Symbolische Kommunikation vor Gericht in der Fruehn Neuzeit", hrsg. von R. Schulze, Berlin, 2006, pp. 335-356.
Prof. Martyn's CV:
Georges Martyn (Avelgem (B), 1966) studied Law (1984-89) and Medieval Studies (1989-91) in Leuven and received his Ph.D. in Legal History at the Catholic University of Leuven in 1996. He has been an ‘advocaat’ (barrister/lawyer) between 1992 and 2008 and is a substitute justice of the peace in Kortrijk (B) since 1999. He is professor at the University of Ghent (Department of Jurisprudence and Legal History) since 1999. He teaches and published books on ‘History of Politics and Public Law’, ‘General Introduction to Belgian Law’ and ‘Legal Methodology’. His scientific articles consider the history of legislation in the Netherlands in early modern times, the reception of Roman law, the evolution of the sources of the law in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and legal iconography (http://www.rechtsgeschiedenis.be/).
13 commenti:
Hy everybody!
I just want to add another image from Bosch that actually is in the private collection of Museo del Prado in Madrid: The Garden of delights!
It's a very beautiful triptic that represents Heaven, Hell and Purgatory in fantastic way, with respect to the classical iconography of 15 century!I think it's the best painting by Bosch and it deals with a lot of points we stressed today in our lecture:Religious representation, fiamming artist, and capital sins!
http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trittico_del_Giardino_delle_Delizie_(Bosch)
See you tomorrow!
Hi everybody.
I did'nt image that a lesson about legal iconography could be so interesting!
During the lesson, and looking at the images the prof. Martyn's show us I had, once again the impression of an huge fracture between tha concept of law and the concept of justice.
The law and the lawyers are always been rappresented as something in opposition with the JUSTICE.
The world of LAW is crowded of evils, money-hungry and tricky people that does not shere anything with the eroes , religious martyres and myths that display the JUSTICE.
Moreover a lot of icons, painting and drowns about justice represent warnings toward the lawyers and the judges!
According to me all these aspects mirror the hostility and the suspect that is still the foundation of many common places.
Today, towards the end of the lesson, Prof. Martyn said that very often the image of justice and all the legal images are associated with some religious icons and symbols.
The religious "blessing" to the decisions of courts and judges has often been represented from the 14/15th century around Europe's cities, especially in northern Europe (Netherlands, Germany, France).
I think that one of the reasons of this association can be the "justification" that since ever (just think about the "divine" power that the egyptian Pharaohs claimed to have received directly from Ra, the divine representation of the sun) all kings and monarchs, and then governments and all sorts of authorities, have given to themselves to strike fear and respect among the people, and more specifically to explain the iniquity that some wrong decisions could have lead to.
Probably this divine justification for courts' decisions did, for a long time, avoid possible rebellions of subjects against their leaders.
It would be interesting to make a comparison of different forms of images and icons that leaders used through centuries to symbolize their power and to give it legitimacy.
Pietro Giuliani
Hi everybody,
today prof. Martyn has given a very interesting lesson about Law and Iconography!
The term “legal iconography” is linked to the study of images, symbols and artistic expressions ,representing law and justice ,used in juridical activities; it’s closely related to legal archeology, nearly related to legal folklore and mostly studied by legal historians. Prof. Martyn tried to explain all this connections ,he showed us a lot of images in which the Justice is represented in different ways :for example statues of angels, paintings with people that have in their hands a stick(symbol of Justice),or satirical images in which most of the time we can find judges, “advocates” or prosecutors depicted near a lot of money because their professions symbolized the power and the wealth, in some paintings there was also a negative conception of money used as a means to corrupt judges .I didn’t use the term lawyers because one of the best thing to remember when we consider an iconography of the fifteenth -sixteenth century ,is that we still have two different legal figures: the “ advocatus “ who has a university degree, who usually gives advices for the case, writes the argumentations, pleads the Court, is independent and decides how much moneys he can asks and the “procurator” who instead is involved for the formal aspects like taxes and who doesn’t have a degree or a private office. Both are represented in different ways and we must be careful to don’t confuse them , some time to understand their presence , we need some clues, like the document that testifies a real case of law, pending at the Great Council of Malines in the 1530,that we can see in one of the paintings which prof. Martyn has shown . At the end of the lesson we saw other images related more to the aspect of punishment for legal violations: stones around the neck for woman who reported bad speeches, mutilations, executions in “effigie” or intestinal, decapitation before the ”guillotine”. I was very impressed and I agree with our Italian system that today is against corporal punishment, also because sometimes in a trial the loser is the poorest person who doesn’t have a lot of money to pay a good lawyer.
See you tomorrow ,
Alessia Colorizio
HI, FOR EMANUELA
IF YOU WANT, YOU CAN READ A MY COMMENT ON THE GARDEN OF DELIGHTS BECAUSE I TALKED OF ITS IN THE WEEK WHEN THERE WAS THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE LAW AND THE PICTURE AND I ADDED SOMETHING ABOUT THE ITS METHAPORS...
BY BY
VALENTINA CARAFA
Thank you Valentina!
I'll do it!It's one of my favourite painting by Bosch!I saw it the first time in Madrid 5 years ago and it really impressed me!
See you tomorrow!
Hi!
Yesterday we spoke about the relationship between law and iconography.
First of all in both of them we could find symbolism. In iconography the symbol is an important element because this is the way for represent law and justice in painting and sculpture. Also in judicial culture, symbolism is an historical element; for example during roman trial or in the Shakespeare’s trial.
This symbolism is into all picture that are link with law. These links have three form :
• Legal archeology….an example that ,for me is relevant, is “stele of rosetta” a decree for coronation of Tolomeo V in honor of the first year of he at the government.
• Legal folcrore….it’s might be our satire. A way for read justice not like serious and complicated problem but underline some particular aspect of lawyers.
• Legal historians….haw law can influence history and the other way round. I think that there are in the law and architecture if I think at the buildings that characterize our history and at the justice’s buildings.
Second, impress me illustration in which justice is hoodwink because she must be impartial. Not only a justice for rich person but for all of us.
I found this element also in one representation of Nemesis by Alfred Rhetel (1837). Nemesis give at the men delight and sorrow that she believe be right. In this painting her eye are closed…I don’t know if it’s true, but could be the same idea of impartiality.
At the end the comparison between lawyer and procurator. First is always, in all representation that we seen, near money…like if he’s a merchant. Like if he commercialize the law, but in the negative means.
See you tomorrow!
Daniela D’Annibale
Hello everybody!
Yesterday the lesson was very interesting and stimulating.
The professor Martyn, through the help of some images that showed us, talked about the link between Law and Iconography.
He described the Iconography like the study of images, symbols and artistic expression that not only representing law and justice but also used in judicial activities.
He also distinguished the Iconography from the Archaeology: in the sense that the first refer to those pictures that can be a source documentary for the reconstruction, for instance of specific historical events; while the second derive from Iconography the documentation about architectural details, coins or objects of common use.
In fact in several university especially in Germany, in Austria and in Switzerland is very important the study of legal archaeology. For example: if you see a judge with the hammer in the tribunal and if you find that hammer two centuries later the you talk about legal archaeology.
Another example of legal archaeology is the black stone found in the city of Susa, (now Iraq), by the French and today preserved at Louvre Museum in Paris. On this stone there is the description of legal rules: that is the Hammurabi Code. This is not just an example of legal archaeology but also of legal Iconography because the upper part of this stone shows the King Hammurabi that receive from Shamash, the God of the sun, the stick and the ring, symbols of the power to impose the laws.
The professor has also said that several there are the sources of legal Iconography: Iconographical and material sources like for instance paintings, drawings, tapestries but also statues, carvings, photographs and then a lot of written sources as legislation, case law, doctrine and so on. Can be mentioned the “Decretum Gratiani”, a collection of canonical law compiled and written in the twelfth century as a legal textbook by a jurist perhaps named Gratian.
We have also seen some satirical illustrations about men of law with a particular reference to Honorè Daumier, (the same artist mentioned by Professor Watt in his lessons), a French printmaker, caricaturist, painter and sculptor, because in France he is very famous in fact into the lawyers offices you can find one of his prints. He lives the French monarchy (1830-1848), a period marked by political tensions and popular discontent, where the caricature became the main vehicle of opposition to power.
See you tomorrow!
D’Antona Valentina
hi everybody
I was extremely interested in Dr. Martyn's lecture about Law&Iconography...Especially about paintings that have been explained by the professor, teaching us how procurators and lawyers where working and seen by the populations (artists in this cas represent the pubblic opinion) where we see Lawyers caricatured as wolfs or other animals..Nowadays we don't have any paintings (I mean extremely recent paintings representing lawyers) but we have replaced them with jokes!!!! :)
I was also fascinated by the torture iconography, and if you have a look in historical reserch you can find thousand of books and pictures about tortures, explaining how should they be use..this sounds amazing for me (in a bad way, of course!!)...
Anyway, I really liked all the explainantions.
Thank you professor Martyn!!
Hi everybody!
Yesterday we spoke about the relationship between law and iconography.
prof. Martyn said that iconography is a word that comes from Greek εικον (image) and γραφειν (to write) , it is the study of images , symbolis and artistic expressions .
The term “legal iconography”,used in juridical activities, represents law and justice throught images.
It is related to ' legal archeology' (“stele of rosetta”, an Ancient Egyptian artifact”, is an example which was instrumental in advancing modern understanding of hieroglyphic writing) and 'legal folclore ' (an example is the satire ) , it is also studied by legal historians.
He distinguished the Iconography from the Archaeology, in fact the Archaeology derives from Iconography that is the documentation about architectural details, coins or objects of common use.
We can find Iconography also in religious art (Religious images are used by all major religions to a certain extent, including both Indian and Abrahamic faiths, and often contain highly complex iconography, which reflects centuries of accumulated tradition. ).
At the end of the lesson we saw some images in which there were depicted the procedure of punishment for legal violations .
I think that it would be very interesting to make a comparison of different forms of images that the leaders used to prove their power and force .
bye bye
Federica Pischedda
Hi all!
I really like this lecture because all the pictures we saw can show us how law has always been important.
It was really interesting to see how the lawyer office look like in the past and I really like the satirical picture too but I don't thik that lawyers are some kind of animal with just money in their mind.
I found interesting also the various representation of justice and I think that the tale about the bandage was really funny!
bye!
V. Russotto
Hi everybody!
Law and Iconography...
That was an amazing lesson, I think that an image can be much more powerful than thousands words written on a paper.
I liked very much the paintings that professor Martyn showed us, and how he explainded us the meaning so in detail.
The most of the pictures were hardly understandable, but law and iconography of course implies an interdisciplinary culture.
I appriciated the most allegorical and satirical images, expecially the first ones: for example, the images of bad justice or bad governance that were put in court rooms or house of government like a warning ("Don't do like this"); I don't know if it is correct but an example could be Allegoria del cattivo governo, of Ambrogio Lorenzetti.
Obviously there was an abundancy of illustration concerning criminal matters, very poweful for citizens mind.
In the end I would like to thank professor Martyn for his interesting lesson!
Bye bye!
Andrea Marangoni
Hi everybody,
with the professor Prof. Georges Martyn we analyzed the theme: “law and iconography”. We focused on studying the images, symbols and artistic expressions, representig law and justice and/or used in juridical activities.
The Legal iconography can be divided in:
-part of /closely related to legal archeology
-Nearly ralted to legal folklore
-Mostly studied by legal historians
This Analysis goes on using a lot of different examples that could be in touch with the law. In fact the law has been considered in a large vision, connected also to judical decions, legal advice, executive power.
The images studied can be divided in:
- Descriptive /instructive/ realistic ( portraits,illustrated books, marginal notes)
- Allegorical/ representative/ decorative (most important iconologia of ripa)
- Critical /satirical
Very interesting it was the view of the marginal illustrations by court clerks or notaries public ( in one example there was the representation of strangling at the stake). It was really enjoying the view of the satirical and critical images, against the law, create by E.G.Honorè Daumier
Riccardo Varano
Posta un commento