Forbidden Fruit exhibition at Colnaghi includes Book of Hours last exhibited at the Morgan Library in the 1980s
Colnaghi in London is currently holding an exhibition called Forbidden Fruit which will be on view on their Bury Street premises in St James's until the 24th June 2022. It is always good to see books included in art exhibitions and this one prominently features a Book of Hours and a letter next to a selection of rare and unpublished still lifes by female old master painters as part of an exhibition of international interest.
17th century female artists contributed to the greatest extent with their still lifes at the time and the show includes masterpieces by the Italian painters Giovanna Garzoni and Fede Galizia; Ursula Maddalena Caccia, Badesse of the Piedmontese convent of Moncalvo; the rare and refined Caterina Angela Pierozzi, protégée of the Grand Duchess of Tuscany Vittoria della Rovere; and finally the less well-known Venetian painter Elisabetta Marchioni. World by the northern European painters such as Clara Peeters and Rachel Ruysch are on view and Louise Moillon and Iphigenie Decaux Milet-Moreau represent France, while the Hispanic territories are spoken for by Portuguese artist Josefa de Ayala de Óbidos.
To extend the scope of the exhibition, a Book of Hours and a letter of St Jerome to Furia in its first French translation are also showcased. The book by the Rosenberg Master (active Lyons, c. 1470 - 1500) contains folios decorated with floral swirls and the thirteen full-page miniatures and thirty-four illustrated initials, each decorated with gold, includes a plethora of motifs derived from the natural world that are woven through the decorations of its folios illustrating the seasonal calendar – these details are the precursors of the still life genre. It also relates to the theme of female provenance: Guillaume Molé and his wife Simone Boucherat were its first owners; in modern times, the Rosenberg couple, who also in 1935 commissioned Picasso to personalise the first page, owned it and exhibited it only in institutional settings. It was last on view in public at The Pierpoint Morgan Library, New York during the exhibition The Last Flowering. French Painting in Manuscripts, 1420-1530, from American Collections (1982-83).
The letter, Jerome, Letter LIV To Furia [To Furia, On the Duty of Remaining a Widow], in the translation by Charles Bonin, France, likely Bourges, c. 1500 - 1510, belonged to Anne de Polignac, who conserved it in her famous library in the castle of Verteuil. It is a heartfelt exhortation by Jerome to the widow Furia (and hence to Anne) not to remarry: a request that we could interpret as an attempt to champion the intellectual and personal autonomy of women - a subject which is more relevant today than ever.
At the beginning of modern history, the agency and dignity of women reached historically low levels. Nevertheless, the European debate in favour or against the position of women in society was extremely fervent, as it also concerned matters such as tradition versus innovation, or ancient privileges versus new ferments.
Colnaghi’s exhibition will highlight the extraordinary results that feminine creativity is always able to achieve, even during difficult times. Further to this, the show will allow interconnected scholarly themes to flourish, from the history of courts and collecting to the diffusion of taste, the symbolism and mysticism of still lifes, and the intertwined dialogue between art and science, art and books.
Forbidden Fruit spotlights the theme of diplomatic exchanges between nations, through the lens of female masters. Join us as we build upon Colnaghi’s mission to spearhead new trends in art collecting, bringing the finest works in often overlooked categories to a new audience.
Both, the Book of Hours and the letter, are currently with Les Enluminures, Paris, Chicago & New York and on loan for this exhibition.
If you can't visit in person, there is a viewing room online >