Remarkable Works of Art

Oil on canvas, 1640.
Inv. no. 2012.2.1 - Acquired with the help of the ‘FRAM’ Regional Museum Acquisition Fund - Dimensions: H: 187 cm; W: 119 cm
 

In 1657, Cardinal Bichi left Cardinal Mazarin a painting by Pietro da Cortona, which he kept in his Episcopal Palace in Carpentras. The three people in this sentence were all major figures in 17th century Europe: Alessandro Bichi (1596-1657) was a distinguished diplomat and art aficionado who enjoyed the support of Pope Urban VIII and King of France Louis XIII, as well as being a close friend of the influential Cardinals Richelieu and Mazarin; Pietro da Cortona (1597-1669) was one of the most famous artists on the European Baroque scene; Cardinal Mazarin was a powerful man and godfather to Louis XIV.
In 1624, in celebration of the rediscovery of the tomb of Saint Dafrosa, a 4th century Roman martyr, Pope Urban VIII commissioned an altarpiece from Pietro da Cortona for the Santa Bibiana church in Rome. In 1640, the Pope asked the painter to make two copies, one of which was given to Alessandro Bichi, then Bishop of Carpentras.
This painting is a beautiful example of Baroque imagery: its composition is centred on Saint Dafrosa, who is acting as a bridge between the earthly and heavenly worlds; her stance and expression are designed to create an emotional response; the surrounding objects are charged with symbolic meaning; in short, everything harks back to the post-reform purpose of Catholic imagery, which was to please, to teach, to move.
 

Oil on wood, between 1499 and 1501.
Inv. no. 1757.1.121 - Dimensions: H: 70.5 cm; W: 75,5 cm
 

This panel is the last vestige of an altarpiece commissioned from Avignon-native Nicolas Dipre by the Confraternity of the Immaculate Conception in 1499 to decorate its chapel in the Saint-Siffrein cathedral of Carpentras. According to legend, this kiss shared been Anne and Joachim at the Golden Gate of Jerusalem is what resulted in the in the birth of the Virgin Mary. Despite an undeniable Italian influence, this painting boasts a Gothic style which had been out of fashion since the Renaissance. And yet, in the mid-18th century, at a time when classical tastes abounded, d’Inguimbert demonstrated an ahead-of-the-curve interest in this art style when he displayed this piece in his library.

Oil on canvas, around 1808-1810.
Inv. no. 367 bis - Dimensions: H: 76 cm; W: 96 cm

This piece is an illustration of Bidauld’s work at creating idealised, unrealistic landscapes. The aqueduct forms a horizontal line splitting the painting into two sections. The lower half, dominated by green hues, depicts a leafy, busy foreground, in contrast to the upper half bearing a blue sky and large mountain in brown hues. These representations of the Ventoux mountain, the aqueduct and the falls of the Auzon river do not correspond to reality, and were instead redesigned to balance the composition.
 

Oil on canvas, Persia, around 1820.
Inv. no. 849.6.1 - Dimensions: H: 156.6 cm; W: 105 cm

After his travels in Iran, Jules Laurens brought back the pieces he created during the Qajar dynasty (reign: 1786 to 1925). His four large paintings likely came from a single series intended to decorate one of Fath-Ali Shah’s palaces (reign: 1797 to 1834). The images of sumptuously dressed warriors and dancers around the Shah’s portrait added to his prestige. 19th century Iranian art adopted Western techniques, such as oil on canvas painting, but remained true to the Eastern traditions of two-dimensional images. Figures are shown from the front with no attention paid to shape and depth, and they stand out from a backdrop where a sense of perspective is created using a column or window. Over large, single-colour backgrounds, the artist took care to meticulously paint a remarkably detailed and accurate face, clothes, and jewellery.
 

Vernacular Roman - Manuscript on parchment, illuminated. Goatskin binding, late 13th/early 14th century
Ms no. 8 - Dimensions: H: 180 mm; W: 130 mm

The Vaudois Bible is considered to be the first vernacular translation of the Bible, and only seven copies remain in existence today. It was used by itinerant preachers known as ‘barbes’ who, following Peter Waldo, were dedicated to sharing the Bible’s teachings in a language that all could understand. 
 

Provençal - Manuscript on paper, watercolour drawings, 15th century. Two volumes, modern calfskin binding
Ms no. 327 (d’Inguimbert collection) - Dimensions: H: 225 mm; W:180 mm

Written entirely by Bertrand Boysset, a gentleman of Arles (around 1345-1414) in 1405, this practical essay on geometry is divided into two sections: the art of land surveying, and the art of land marking. He also inserted information on geography and astronomy, including multiple depictions of the earth and cosmos illustrating the state of people’s knowledge of the world in the 15th century.
 

Wood and plaster frame, printed gores using copper plates etched using jets of water and a chisel, watercolour highlights; Globe mounted in a wooden cabinet.
Inv. no. CAR 1 - Dimensions:  68 cm in diameter

Willem Blaeu was a famous cartographer and publisher working in Amsterdam. He was behind several prestigious globes representing both the earth and the skies; these spherical objects had a wooden and plaster frame on which strips of printed paper (gores) representing the earth or sky were stuck, sometimes illuminated using colour. For this terrestrial globe produced in 1622, Blaeu’s company took great care to show accurate, up-to-date information. To this end, many inscriptions indicate the locations of recent major discoveries, such as the Cape of Good Hope passage discovered by Vasco da Gama, or the routes followed by Magellan and Francis Drake on their round-the-world voyages. In particular, this globe depicts some of the freshest striking discoveries of the time, such as the revolutionary voyage of Willem Schouten and Jacob le Maire, Dutch seafarers who opened up a new route to the Pacific by sailing around Cape Horn during their expedition in 1615-1616.
As well as seafaring routes, the terrestrial globe attests to people’s knowledge of the continents at the time. The precise records of Europe and Asia are revealed through the dense network of cities and landmarks shown in these regions. Conversely, the inland areas of Africa and the Americas had yet to be explored, as had the coastline of North America. Australia had not yet been discovered.

Hebrew - Manuscript on parchment, painted, 15th century (?). Scroll rod in turned, sculpted, painted, gilded wood, 18th century
Ms no. 2627 (donation from Blanche Mossé, a descendent of a long-standing Jewish family in the Comtat Venaissin) - Dimensions: Depth: 250 mm

This illuminated manuscript of the Book of Esther was read during Purim (the Jewish Festival of Lots). Its painted decorations along the scroll’s edges and tips include leafy, floral scrollwork reminiscent of the illuminated manuscripts of the 15th century. The assembled sheets of parchment are rolled up around a wooden rod with a handle and bobeche at its tip, with sculpted geometric scroll shapes that are painted and gilded in an almost Rococo style, as was the fashion in the mid-18th century, in reference to the characteristic style of the Carpentras synagogue which was reconstructed in 1740 and again in 1770. This scroll, in a synagogue-ready format, was donated to the Inguimbertine by Blanche Mossé (1888-1965) in 1964. Blanche Mossé was the custodian of the synagogue and worked in the shadows during the Nazi occupation to hide the sanctuary’s furniture and objects of religious significance.