The Mourners: Tomb Sculptures from the Court of Burgundy

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The Mourners: Tomb Sculptures from the Court of Burgundy, an exhibition of 37 of the extraordinary Mourners of the Dukes of Burgundy from the collection of the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Dijon, France, will be shown at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts January 21, 2012 through April 15, 2012, on the final leg of a multi-city U.S. tour.

The Dukes of Burgundy were the wealthiest and most powerful aristocrats in northern Europe and oversaw a magnificent court. Although artists in every medium worked for them, it was the achievement of their sculptors in the 14th century that produced the most profound and original art. From the studio of the great Claus Sluter emerged sculpture that rivaled anything done in Italy at the time. The summit of their achievement was the tombs of the Burgundian Dukes.

The elaborate tombs of the first Valois dukes of Burgundy, Philip the Bold and his son, John the Fearless, are among the masterpieces of late medieval sculpture in Europe. These monuments feature the sculpted figures of the deceased rulers lying in state atop the tombs, while below a procession of mourning figures appears to slip in and out of the arcades of a cloister. The mourners are intended to evoke the funeral processions of the dukes, events that brought together various elements of Burgundian society: nobility, clergy, and laypersons. They convey powerful emotion, some lost in thought or giving vent to their grief, and others consoling their neighbors. Mourning, they remind us, is a collective experience, common to all people and all moments in history.

The tombs were originally installed in a monastery outside Dijon, but have been on display in the Musée des Beaux-Arts of Dijon since the early nineteenth century. Renovations of the museum’s medieval galleries have created the occasion for American audiences to discover these celebrated sculptures. The Mourners: Tomb Sculptures from the Court of Burgundy at VMFA features 37 mourners from the tomb of John the Fearless, second duke of Burgundy, displayed independently of the tomb’s architectural framework – offering a unique opportunity to appreciate these sculptures for their precise naturalism, variety, and profoundly moving character.

For more information, including 3-D views of each sculpture, please visit www.mourners.org.

VMFA is the final venue in the United States, and when the sculptures return to the Musée des Beaux-arts de Dijon in 2012, they will be permanently repositioned in the tomb setting.

About the exhibition
• TITLE: The Mourners: Tomb Sculptures from the Court of Burgundy
• DATES: January 21 – April 15, 2012
• ORGANIZER: The Dallas Museum of Art and the Musée des Beaux Arts de Dijon under the auspices of FRAME (French Regional and American Museum Exchange). The exhibition is supported by a leadership gift from the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation. Additional support is provided by the Florence Gould Foundation, the Eugene McDermott Foundation, Connie Goodyear Baron and Boucheron. Major corporate support is provided by Bank of the West – Member BNP Paribas Group. The exhibition is supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and Humanities.
• LOCATION: Mellon Focus Galleries
• VMFA CURATOR: Dr. Mitchell Merling, Paul Mellon Curator and Head of the Department of European Art
• NUMBER OF OBJECTS: 37
• ITINERARY: The Metropolitan Museum of Art (March 1 – May 23, 2010); Saint Louis Art Museum (June 20 – September 6, 2010); Dallas Museum of Art (October 3, 2010 – January 2, 2011); Minneapolis Museum of Art (January 23 – April 17, 2011); Los Angeles County Museum of Art (May 8 – July 31, 2011); Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, Palace of the Legion of Honor (August 21, 2011 – January 1, 2012); Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (see above); Musée National du Moyen Age – Musée de Cluny, Paris (May 20 – September 2012)
• ADMISSION: Free
• CATALOGUE: “The Mourners: Tomb Sculptures from the Court of Burgundy” by Sophie Jugie, Director of the Musée des Beaux-Arts, Dijon. $29.95

About the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
With a collection of art that spans the globe and more than 5,000 years, plus a wide array of special exhibitions, the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (VMFA) is recognized as one of the top comprehensive art museums in the United States. The museum’s permanent collection encompasses more than 23,000 works of art, including the largest public collection of Fabergé outside Russia and one of the nation’s finest collections of American Art, Art Nouveau and Art Deco. VMFA is home to acclaimed collections of English Silver and Impressionist, Post-Impressionist, British Sporting and Modern & Contemporary art, as well as renowned South Asian, Himalayan and African art. In May 2010, VMFA opened its doors to the public after a transformative expansion, the largest in its 75-year history. Programs include educational activities and studio classes for all ages, plus fun after-hours events. VMFA’s Statewide Partnership program includes traveling exhibitions, artist and teacher workshops, and lectures across the Commonwealth. VMFA is open 365 days a year and general admission is always free. For additional information, telephone 804-340-1400 or visit www.vmfa.museum.