What's On in Burgundy 2012?

The Mourners of the Tombs of the Dukes of Burgundy on Tour in the USA

December 11, 2011-March 4, 2012 Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco

During the renovation of the tomb room, the Salle des Gardes, at the Musée de Beaux Arts in Dijon, the white alabaster figures, usually known as the ‘mourners’, around the tomb of John the Fearless will go on tour in the USA. The other mourners around the tomb of Philip the Bold will remain on view in Dijon.

Described as 'masterpieces in medieval sculpture', these figures form a funeral procession around the elaborate tombs. They are 40 cm tall (16 in.) and were completed around 1457 following the assassination of the duke. There are 39 in all depicting monks, family members, officials and servants, plus further mourners which are usually on display at the Cleveland Museum of Art and these will join the travelling exhibition.

The Dallas Museum of Art is organizing the tour along with the Dijon Museum of Fine Arts under the auspices of the French Regional & American Museum Exchange and it will be the first time that the figures have been outside of France.

Sophie Jugie, the director of the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Dijon has now written a book about the Mourners, The Mourners: Tomb Sculpture from the Court of Burgundy.

Here is what the product description has to say:' ‘During the late Middle Ages, the dukes of Burgundy - the wealthiest and most powerful aristocrats in northern Europe - commissioned sculptors of great renown to decorate their magnificent court in Dijon. Working in a studio presided over by Claus Sluter, these sculptors created monuments for the ducal family that rivalled contemporary Italian works. This stunning book provides an in-depth study of the twin summits of the achievement of these artists - sculptures from the tombs of Philip the Bold (1342-1404) and his son, John the Fearless (1371-1419). These extraordinary marble and alabaster tombs serve as platforms for the ducal figures, who rest atop fully carved arcades. Within the spaces of the arcades, the artists carved individual monks in procession. Just over two feet high, each monk is a miniature embodiment of late medieval devotion. Shown in various states of mourning, they move in perpetual procession beneath the marble bodies of their rulers. Accompanying the first major travelling exhibition of these recently restored sculptures, 'The Mourners' illuminates the artistic sophistication and craftsmanship of these works.’