----- Original Message ----- From: "Roger E. Blumberg" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "vihuela list" <vihuela@cs.dartmouth.edu> Sent: Friday, August 25, 2006 7:37 PM Subject: [VIHUELA] Icon alert -- vihuela in newly-recovered Valencia Cathedral fresco
> Hi all; > > Although it's already two years old by now, news of this recently discovered > icon is still very exiting to me. In case you haven't seen it yet, here it > is . . . . > > http://www.thecipher.com/vihuela_waist-cut_1472-81_ValenciaCathedral_deta.jp > g catch that trailing "g" in the link or use this http://tinyurl.com/olu4s > This fabulous plucked vihuela, with extreme waist-cuts, was just recently > discovered (June 22nd 2004 to be exact) contained within a large fresco > hidden behind a false ceiling for 300 years in the Cathedral of Valencia. > > This fresco was commissioned by our friend Rodrigo Borgia long _before_ he > became Pope Alexander in 1492 -- making it date from the 1480s at least. > [Borgia also gave us the Vatican's Borgia Apts plucked waist-cut > vihuela/viola icon of 1493 > http://www.thecipher.com/AGB/viola_vihuela_c1493_Vatican.jpg ]. > The fresco this image comes from was actually done between 1472 and 1481 > (firm) -- which is REALLY early for _any_ kind of vihuela iconography by my > reckoning. > > Stunning as well (to me) is the resemblance of this instrument to the > _bowed_ vihuela/viola pictured in S.Virdungs 1511 treatise plate. They are > virtually the exact same instrument, and this new plucked image pre-dates > Virdungs by 30-35 years! > > http://www.thecipher.com/LuteViolGuitarFamily_SVirdung_1511_det.jpg > > It's safe to say that this new Valencia Cathedral vihuela is 15 years > earlier than the Borgia apts instrument, let's say c.1476. Aside from the > Salamonca waist-cut plucked Viola, being supposedly late 1300's, do any of > you know of an earlier and as firmly dated image of a plucked vihuela of > _any_ kind (let alone waist-cut) in iconography prior to this new image? > > Also, if anyone of you are in the neighborhood of Valencia, a full and > complete image of this instrument would be wonderful to see -- this small > detail is the best I've been able to find so far. > > thanks > Roger > > > > > To get on or off this list see list information at > http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
