Villard de Honnecourt (Wilars dehonecort, Vilars de Honecourt) was a 13th-century artist from Picardy in northern France. He is known to history only through a surviving portfolio or "sketchbook" containing about 250 drawings and designs of a wide variety of subjects.
The Portfolio of Villard de Honnecourt (about 1230)
Perpetuum Mobile of Villard de Honnecourt (about 1230)
Nothing is known of Villard apart from what can be gleaned from his surviving "sketchbook."[citation needed] Based on the large number of architectural designs in the portfolio, it was traditionally thought that Villard was a successful, professional, itinerant architect and engineer.[1] This view is sometimes contested today, as there is no evidence of him ever working as an architect and the drawings contain some inaccuracies. However, Honnecourt compiled a manual that gave precise instructions for executing specific objects with explanatory drawings. In his writings he fused principles passed on from ancient geometry, medieval studio techniques, and contemporary practices. The author includes sections on technical procedures, mechanical devices, suggestions for making human and animal figures, and notes on the buildings and monuments he had seen. And his writings offer insights into the variety of interests and work of the 13th-century master mason in addition to providing an explanation for the spread of Gothic architecture in Europe.[2] He traveled to some of the major ecclesiastical building sites of his day to record details of these buildings. His drawing of one of the west facade towers of Laon Cathedral and those of radiating chapels and a main vessel bay, interior and exterior, of Rheims Cathedral are of particular interest.
Villard tells us, with pride, that he had been in many lands (Jai este en m[u]lt de tieres) and that he made a trip to Hungary where he remained many days (maint ior), but he does not say why he went there or who sent him. It has recently been proposed that he may have been a lay agent or representative of the cathedral chapter of Cambrai Cathedral to obtain a relic of St. Elizabeth of Hungary who had made a donation to the cathedral chapter and to whom the chapter dedicated one of the radiating chapels in their new chevet.[3] He also claimed to have made many of his drawings "from life" (al vif), an activity more usually associated with much later artists of the Renaissance.
Sketchbook
The "sketchbook" or "manual" of Villard de Honnecourt (more correctly, an album or portfolio) dates to about c.1225-1235. It was discovered in the mid-19th century and is presently housed in the Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF), Paris, under the shelfmark MS Fr 19093. It consists of 33 parchment sheets measuring on average 235x155 mm, or 9.25 x 6.1 inches.[4] The manuscript is not complete and its original extent cannot be determined. Because the drawings and captions are oriented in many different directions, the album appears to have been assembled in an ad hoc fashion, as if the individual sheets were not originally intended to be bound together into book form. It is unclear whether it was Villard himself or a later party who assembled and bound the leaves into a book.[5]
The album contains about 250 drawings. These include architectural designs (plans, elevations, and details, often of identifiable buildings), a great variety of human and animal subjects, ensembles of religious and secular figures perhaps derived from or intended as sculptural groups, ecclesiastical objects, mechanical devices (including a perpetual-motion machine), engineering constructions such as lifting devices and a water-driven saw, a number of automata, designs for war engines such as a trebuchet, and many other subjects. Many drawings are accompanied by annotations and labels.
The original purpose of the album is debatable. Originally it was thought to have served as a kind of training manual for practicing architects. This is rejected by some current researchers who think Villard's drawings seem ill-suited to such a purpose, though it can also be argued that the drawings are deliberately simplistic and abstracted to serve as coded mnemonic devices for architects who were initiated into the relevant oral tradition.[6]
Facsimiles
Several printed facsimiles of the album have appeared.
(1859) Parker, J.H. and J. Facsimile of the Sketch-book of Wilars de Honnecourt, an Architect of the Thirteenth Century. London, 1859. - See(Lassus, Quicherat & Willis 1859).
(1959) Bowie, Theodore. The Sketchbook of Villard de Honnecourt. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 1959.
(1972) Hahnloser, Hans R. Villard de Honnecourt. Kritische Gesamtausgabe des Bauhüttenbuches ms. fr. 19093 der Pariser Nationalbibliothek (2nd rev. ed.). Graz, 1972.
(2006) The Medieval Sketchbook of Villard de Honnecourt. Mineola, NY: Dover Publications, 2006. (This publication contains the plates from Parker's 1859 edition accompanied by the introduction and captions from Bowie's 1959 edition.)
(2009) Barnes, Carl F., Jr. The portfolio of Villard de Honnecourt (Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, MS Fr 19093): a new critical edition and color facsimile. Farnham; Burlington: Ashgate, 2009.
Notes
^Gimpel, Jean (1976). The Medieval Machine: The Industrial Revolution of the Middle Ages. NY: Holt, Rinehart and Winston. pp. 114–146. ISBN0030146364.
^Gimpel, Jean (1984). The Cathedral Builders. New York: HarperPerennial. pp. 93–94. ISBN0-06-09-1158-1.
^BARNES, CARL F. JR. “An Essay on Villard de Honnecourt, Cambrai Cathedral, and Saint Elizabeth of Hungary,” New Approaches to Medieval Architecture, Farnham: Ashgate Publishing Limited, 2011, pp. 77-91.
^Bugslag, James (Oct–Dec 2001). "contrefais al vif: nature, ideas and the lion drawings of Villard de Honnecourt". Word & Image. 17 (4): 360–378. doi:10.1080/02666286.2001.10435726. S2CID 170295576.
^Schlink, Wilhelm (1999). Joubert, Fabienne (ed.). "War Villard de Honnecourt Analphabet?". Pierre, Lumière, Couleur: études d'Histoire de l'Art du Moyen Age en l'Honneur d'Anne Prache. Paris: 213–222.
^Beffeyte, Renaud. (2004). "The Oral Tradition and Villard de Honnecourt". Villard's Legacy: Studies in Medieval Technology, Science, and Art in Memory of Jean Gimpel, ed. Marie-Thérèse Zenner. Aldershot: Ashgate: 93–117.
References and further reading
Barnes, Carl F., Jr. Villard de Honnecourt--the artist and his drawings: a critical bibliography. Boston, MA: G.K. Hall, 1982.
Barnes, Carl F., Jr. "Le 'probleme' Villard de Honnecourt." In Les batisseurs des cathedrales gothiques, ed. Roland Recht (Strasbourg, 1989), pp. 209–223.
Barnes, Carl F. JRr “An Essay on Villard de Honnecourt, Cambrai Cathedral, and Saint Elizabeth of Hungary,” New Approaches to Medieval Architecture, Farnham: Ashgate Publishing Limited, 2011, pp. 77–91.
Bugslag, James. “contrefais al vif: nature, ideas and the lion drawings of Villard de Honnecourt.” Word & Image 17, no. 4 (2001): 360–378.
Gimpel, Jean. "Villard de Honnecourt: Architect and Engineer." In The Medieval Machine: The Industrial Revolution of the Middle Ages (NY: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1976), pp. 114–142.
Perkinson, Stephen. “Portraits and counterfeits: Villard de Honnecourt and thirteenth-century theories of representation.” In Excavating the Medieval Image: Manuscripts, Artists, Audiences: Essays in Honor of Sandra Hindman, eds. David S. Areford and Nina A. Rowe, 13–35. Aldershot and Burlington, VA: Ashgate, 2004.
Pevsner, Nikolaus. "Villard de Honnecourt." In Pevsner on Art and Architecture, ed. Stephen Games (London: Methuen, 2002/2003), pp. 61–69.
Rose, Leslie. "The Medieval Architect?: Villard de Honnecourt." In Leslie Rose, Artists of the Middle Ages(Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2003), 61–80.
Schlink, Wilhelm. “War Villard de Honnecourt Analphabet?” In Pierre, lumière, couleur : études d'histoire de l'art du Moyen Age en l'honneur d'Anne Prache, eds. Fabienne Joubert and Dany Sandron, 213–222. Paris: Presses de l'Université de Paris-Sorbonne, 1999.
Key Figures in Medieval Europe: An Encyclopedia (Routledge Encyclopedias of the Middle Ages, Book 12), p. 651, ed. Richard K. Emmerson (London: Routledge, 2005).
Wirth, Jean, Villard de Honnecourt. Architecte du XIIIe siècle, Genève, Droz, 2015.
Zenner, Marie-Thérèse, ed. Villard’s Legacy: Studies in Medieval Technology, Science, and Art in Memory of Jean Gimpel. Aldershot, Hants., and Burlington, Vt.: Ashgate, 2004.
Lassus, Jean Baptiste Antoine; Quicherat, Jules Etienne Joseph; Willis, Robert (1859), Facsimile of the sketch-book of Wilars de Honecort, an architect of the thirteenth century, London : John Henry and James Parker
External links
Media related to Villard de Honnecourt at Wikimedia Commons
AVISTA is a scholarly Villard de Honnecourt society for interdisciplinary study of medieval technology, science and art.
La Cathedrale et Villard de Honnecourt at the French National Library has a sizeable number of sheets from Villard's portfolio.
villard, honnecourt, wilars, dehonecort, vilars, honecourt, 13th, century, artist, from, picardy, northern, france, known, history, only, through, surviving, portfolio, sketchbook, containing, about, drawings, designs, wide, variety, subjects, portfolio, about. Villard de Honnecourt Wilars dehonecort Vilars de Honecourt was a 13th century artist from Picardy in northern France He is known to history only through a surviving portfolio or sketchbook containing about 250 drawings and designs of a wide variety of subjects The Portfolio of Villard de Honnecourt about 1230 Perpetuum Mobile of Villard de Honnecourt about 1230 Contents 1 Life 2 Sketchbook 2 1 Facsimiles 3 Notes 4 References and further reading 5 External linksLife EditNothing is known of Villard apart from what can be gleaned from his surviving sketchbook citation needed Based on the large number of architectural designs in the portfolio it was traditionally thought that Villard was a successful professional itinerant architect and engineer 1 This view is sometimes contested today as there is no evidence of him ever working as an architect and the drawings contain some inaccuracies However Honnecourt compiled a manual that gave precise instructions for executing specific objects with explanatory drawings In his writings he fused principles passed on from ancient geometry medieval studio techniques and contemporary practices The author includes sections on technical procedures mechanical devices suggestions for making human and animal figures and notes on the buildings and monuments he had seen And his writings offer insights into the variety of interests and work of the 13th century master mason in addition to providing an explanation for the spread of Gothic architecture in Europe 2 He traveled to some of the major ecclesiastical building sites of his day to record details of these buildings His drawing of one of the west facade towers of Laon Cathedral and those of radiating chapels and a main vessel bay interior and exterior of Rheims Cathedral are of particular interest Villard tells us with pride that he had been in many lands Jai este en m u lt de tieres and that he made a trip to Hungary where he remained many days maint ior but he does not say why he went there or who sent him It has recently been proposed that he may have been a lay agent or representative of the cathedral chapter of Cambrai Cathedral to obtain a relic of St Elizabeth of Hungary who had made a donation to the cathedral chapter and to whom the chapter dedicated one of the radiating chapels in their new chevet 3 He also claimed to have made many of his drawings from life al vif an activity more usually associated with much later artists of the Renaissance Sketchbook EditThe sketchbook or manual of Villard de Honnecourt more correctly an album or portfolio dates to about c 1225 1235 It was discovered in the mid 19th century and is presently housed in the Bibliotheque nationale de France BnF Paris under the shelfmark MS Fr 19093 It consists of 33 parchment sheets measuring on average 235x155 mm or 9 25 x 6 1 inches 4 The manuscript is not complete and its original extent cannot be determined Because the drawings and captions are oriented in many different directions the album appears to have been assembled in an ad hoc fashion as if the individual sheets were not originally intended to be bound together into book form It is unclear whether it was Villard himself or a later party who assembled and bound the leaves into a book 5 The album contains about 250 drawings These include architectural designs plans elevations and details often of identifiable buildings a great variety of human and animal subjects ensembles of religious and secular figures perhaps derived from or intended as sculptural groups ecclesiastical objects mechanical devices including a perpetual motion machine engineering constructions such as lifting devices and a water driven saw a number of automata designs for war engines such as a trebuchet and many other subjects Many drawings are accompanied by annotations and labels The original purpose of the album is debatable Originally it was thought to have served as a kind of training manual for practicing architects This is rejected by some current researchers who think Villard s drawings seem ill suited to such a purpose though it can also be argued that the drawings are deliberately simplistic and abstracted to serve as coded mnemonic devices for architects who were initiated into the relevant oral tradition 6 Facsimiles Edit Several printed facsimiles of the album have appeared 1859 Parker J H and J Facsimile of the Sketch book of Wilars de Honnecourt an Architect of the Thirteenth Century London 1859 See Lassus Quicherat amp Willis 1859 1959 Bowie Theodore The Sketchbook of Villard de Honnecourt Bloomington IN Indiana University Press 1959 1972 Hahnloser Hans R Villard de Honnecourt Kritische Gesamtausgabe des Bauhuttenbuches ms fr 19093 der Pariser Nationalbibliothek 2nd rev ed Graz 1972 1986 Erlande Brandenburg Alain et al Carnet de Villard de Honnecourt Paris 1986 2006 The Medieval Sketchbook of Villard de Honnecourt Mineola NY Dover Publications 2006 This publication contains the plates from Parker s 1859 edition accompanied by the introduction and captions from Bowie s 1959 edition 2009 Barnes Carl F Jr The portfolio of Villard de Honnecourt Paris Bibliotheque nationale de France MS Fr 19093 a new critical edition and color facsimile Farnham Burlington Ashgate 2009 Notes Edit Gimpel Jean 1976 The Medieval Machine The Industrial Revolution of the Middle Ages NY Holt Rinehart and Winston pp 114 146 ISBN 0030146364 Gimpel Jean 1984 The Cathedral Builders New York HarperPerennial pp 93 94 ISBN 0 06 09 1158 1 BARNES CARL F JR An Essay on Villard de Honnecourt Cambrai Cathedral and Saint Elizabeth of Hungary New Approaches to Medieval Architecture Farnham Ashgate Publishing Limited 2011 pp 77 91 Bugslag James Oct Dec 2001 contrefais al vif nature ideas and the lion drawings of Villard de Honnecourt Word amp Image 17 4 360 378 doi 10 1080 02666286 2001 10435726 S2CID 170295576 Schlink Wilhelm 1999 Joubert Fabienne ed War Villard de Honnecourt Analphabet Pierre Lumiere Couleur etudes d Histoire de l Art du Moyen Age en l Honneur d Anne Prache Paris 213 222 Beffeyte Renaud 2004 The Oral Tradition and Villard de Honnecourt Villard s Legacy Studies in Medieval Technology Science and Art in Memory of Jean Gimpel ed Marie Therese Zenner Aldershot Ashgate 93 117 References and further reading EditBarnes Carl F Jr Villard de Honnecourt the artist and his drawings a critical bibliography Boston MA G K Hall 1982 Barnes Carl F Jr Le probleme Villard de Honnecourt In Les batisseurs des cathedrales gothiques ed Roland Recht Strasbourg 1989 pp 209 223 Barnes Carl F JRr An Essay on Villard de Honnecourt Cambrai Cathedral and Saint Elizabeth of Hungary New Approaches to Medieval Architecture Farnham Ashgate Publishing Limited 2011 pp 77 91 Bugslag James contrefais al vif nature ideas and the lion drawings of Villard de Honnecourt Word amp Image 17 no 4 2001 360 378 Gimpel Jean Villard de Honnecourt Architect and Engineer In The Medieval Machine The Industrial Revolution of the Middle Ages NY Holt Rinehart and Winston 1976 pp 114 142 Perkinson Stephen Portraits and counterfeits Villard de Honnecourt and thirteenth century theories of representation In Excavating the Medieval Image Manuscripts Artists Audiences Essays in Honor of Sandra Hindman eds David S Areford and Nina A Rowe 13 35 Aldershot and Burlington VA Ashgate 2004 Pevsner Nikolaus Villard de Honnecourt In Pevsner on Art and Architecture ed Stephen Games London Methuen 2002 2003 pp 61 69 Rose Leslie The Medieval Architect Villard de Honnecourt In Leslie Rose Artists of the Middle Ages Westport CT Greenwood Press 2003 61 80 Schlink Wilhelm War Villard de Honnecourt Analphabet In Pierre lumiere couleur etudes d histoire de l art du Moyen Age en l honneur d Anne Prache eds Fabienne Joubert and Dany Sandron 213 222 Paris Presses de l Universite de Paris Sorbonne 1999 Key Figures in Medieval Europe An Encyclopedia Routledge Encyclopedias of the Middle Ages Book 12 p 651 ed Richard K Emmerson London Routledge 2005 Wirth Jean Villard de Honnecourt Architecte du XIIIe siecle Geneve Droz 2015 Zenner Marie Therese ed Villard s Legacy Studies in Medieval Technology Science and Art in Memory of Jean Gimpel Aldershot Hants and Burlington Vt Ashgate 2004 Lassus Jean Baptiste Antoine Quicherat Jules Etienne Joseph Willis Robert 1859 Facsimile of the sketch book of Wilars de Honecort an architect of the thirteenth century London John Henry and James ParkerExternal links Edit Media related to Villard de Honnecourt at Wikimedia Commons AVISTA is a scholarly Villard de Honnecourt society for interdisciplinary study of medieval technology science and art La Cathedrale et Villard de Honnecourt at the French National Library has a sizeable number of sheets from Villard s portfolio Association Villard de Honnecourt a Honnecourt A full digital facsimile is available online via the BNF s online library Gallica http gallica bnf fr ark 12148 btv1b10509412z r villard 20de 20honnecourt Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Villard de Honnecourt amp oldid 1127210771, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
