ScholarWorks > Arts & Sciences > Medieval Institute Publications > STUDIES_IN_ICONOGRAPHY > Vol. 47 ()
Abstract
This article explores the purse that Jan van Eyck planned in the underdrawing of the Rolin Madonna but never painted in the final version. It evaluates past claims about the purse and explores the three theories that have been invoked to explain its elimination. The article sweeps away a few false claims but also buttresses all three theories by asking new questions and by introducing new evidence, including a playing card depicting a chancellor, Rolin’s instructions for his burial dress, and documents from the 1430s attesting to his acceptance of bribes and his mismanagement of the duke’s funds. The last section of the article considers a critically important new context: a popular tale in the pilgrimage allegory Le pèlerinage de l’âme that concerns dishonest court officials, which may have preconditioned some readers to envision chancellors as greedy and corrupt. Although most scholars have supported only one theory to explain the purse’s suppression, this article contends that two are quite plausible and both may have played a role in the decision to expunge the purse. Rolin’s invisible purse reveals not simply the artist’s first thoughts and his and the donor’s second thoughts, but also how paying attention to a seemingly insignificant object can open the door to a deeper understanding of artistic practice, and individual and societal concerns about how the wealthy amassed their fortunes.
Recommended Citation
Wolfthal, Diane
()
"Rolin's Purse,"
Studies in Iconography: Vol. 47, Article 5.
Available at:
https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/studies_in_iconography/vol47/iss1/5
