Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Fleur-de-lis update

Disclaimer- I will be doing a little venting and describing the wall- read on at your own peril.The ILL's I requested have arrived much sooner than I expected and I will pick them up tomorrow.I am still trying to annotate but I do not know if I am really making any progress my topic does not seem to be doing anything but widening. Articulating a revised thesis to present to possible advisors seems daunting because I am lost in research but I still do not know if I have the right type of sources because most of mine are articles. My sightings journal continues to peak my curiosity and it at times helps to drive my research but I do not know if you could consider it a real source.
In a nutshell an artist/ jack of all trades by the name of Juste-Aurele Meissonnier used the Fleur-de-lis as his trademark

French designer, architect and goldsmith. He was apprenticed to his father Etienne Meissonnier, a sculptor and silversmith of some importance, before making his way to Paris, arriving in 1714. He worked there as a die-cutter and medallist, progressing through the ranks of the metalworkers’ guild. He was variously described as a chaser, a designer and, in 1723, as a maker of watchcases; he worked for ten years at the royal furnishings factory of Gobelins, Paris. In September 1724 Louis XV appointed him by brevet a master of the Corporation des Marchands-Orfèvres Joailliers. It would appear, however, that his main occupation was as a chaser. His mark, a crowned fleur-de-lis, j o m and two grains de remède, has been found on only one piece, a gold and lapis lazuli snuff-box (1728; Geneva, J. Ortiz Patino priv. col., see Snowman, pl. 146). In spite of this scarcity of signed pieces, it is reasonable to assume that he closely supervised the work that he contracted to other goldsmiths. In 1735 Evelyn Pierrepont, 2nd Duke of Kingston (1711–73), commissioned a pair of silver tureens (Madrid, Mus. Thyssen-Bornemisza; Cleveland, OH, Mus. A.) that bear the marks of the silversmiths Henry Adnet (1683–1745) and Pierre-François Bonnestrenne (1685–after 1737/8) and inscriptions that identify Meissonnier as the designer. Silver pieces with the mark of Claude Duvivier (1688–1747), made after
designs by Meissonnier, show an extremely close relationship between the
executed object and the engraved design.
In 1726 Meissonnier was appointed Dessinateur de la Chambre et du Cabinet du Roi in succession to Jean Berain the younger (1678–1726). The duties involved the designing of all court festivities, an activity Meissonnier apparently enjoyed; he had already in 1725 created a fireworks display near the Orangerie at Versailles to celebrate the King’s recovery from illness. Another festivity that Meissonnier orchestrated, to celebrate the birth of the Dauphin, took place at Versailles in 1729.

It was in the ideal compositions depicted in the engravings that Meissonnier’s fullest originality was exploited. His designs, developed from the basic form of the cartouche, stretched the bounds of fantasy and caprice. Diagonal perspective, asymmetry and elastically curved and spiralling lines are combined with such characteristic elements of the Rococo as shell forms, rocks, cascades, fountains and broken scrolls, to create an elegant and graceful world. As the first to incorporate irregularity of a picturesque nature into his designs, Meissonnier bore the brunt of attack from those critics who preferred straight lines and perpendicularity. For them, ornament was subordinate to structure, and Meissonnier’s asymmetry and spiralling lines were objectionable. He is now considered, however, to be the most versatile and brilliant practitioner of the genre pittoresque.


Elaine Evans Dee. "Meissonnier, Juste-Aurèle." Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online. 3 Mar. 2011 .


Not sure how helpful this article is other than it shows another usage of the Fleur-de-lis. It contributes to the overall ambiguity of the image which perhaps after I research more will be able to string some thread and see any similiarities in the overall usage of the Fleur-de-lis.

Self explainitory definition

fleur-de-lis
[French, ‘lily flower’] a heraldic flower with three petals
forming a stylized lily. It was a central emblem in the French royal arms from
as early as the 12th century and was used in ornament from the Gothic
period onwards. It was also the emblem of the powerful Italian Farnese family
and of the city of Florence.
"fleur-de-lis." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Art Terms. Oxford Art Online. 3 Mar. 2011 http://www.oxfordartonline.com/subscriber/article/opr/t4/e729.

Would like to annotate more but midterms are underway and my brain is fried

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