User:DeWesterloo/Naturalistic pulpit

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The Church of Saint Gummarus in Lier contains one of the earliest examples of a 'naturalistic' pulpit (Pieter Verbruggen, 1640-42).
In the Church of Our Blessed Lady of the Sablon in Brussels the pit is supported by sculptures in the round that symbolize the Four Evangelists: the ox of Saint Luke, the lion of Saint Marc, the eagle of Saint John and the angel of Saint Matthew, (Marc de Vos, 1697).
The pulpit of the Church of Saint John in Mechelen represents Christ as the Good Shepherd (Theodoor Verhaegen, 1736-41)
The pulpit of St. Bavo's Cathedral in Ghent is an exceptional rococco creation in a combination of white marble and dark oak (Laurent Delvaux, 1741-1745)
The support of the pulpit in the St. Peter's Church in Leuven represents Saint Norbert being thrown from his horse by lightning. The pulpit was conceived for the Norbertine Abbey Church of Ninove (Jacques Bergé, 1742)
Sculpted palm trees reach into the clouds which form the sounding board of the pulpit of the Beguinage Church in Brussels (Lambert-Jozef Parant, 1757).
Pulpit in the St. Andrew's Church in Antwerp (Jan Baptist Van Hool en Jan Frans Van Geel, 1821). Jezus calls Petrus and Andrew. This is one of the latest examples of a naturalistic pulpit.

The naturalistic pulpit was a type of pulpit that was produced from the 17th to the 19th century in the Southern Netherlands (especially in the Duchy of Brabant and the Lordship of Mechelen). At the height of its development, by the late 17th century, al the parts of the pulpit (support, pit, stairs, sounding board) would be integrated into one narrative sculptural whole within a naturalistic decor.

Many of these total works of art count among the highlights of Flemish baroque sculpture of the 17th and 18th centuries, with examples from important sculptors such as Artus Quellinus the Elder, Artus Quellinus the Younger, Pieter I Verbruggen, Hendrik Frans Verbruggen, Pieter Scheemaeckers, Laurent Delvaux, Theodoor Verhaegen and many more.

Naturalistic pulpits continued to be made after the Baroque period, well into the 19th century. Although the pulpits have been unused since the Second Vatican Council, they are considered historical church furniture that forms an integral part of the historic churches in which they are located and have not been sold or moved to museums.

Origin and evolution[edit]

The naturalistic pulpit finds its origin in the liturgical innovations introduced by the Council of Trent. The sermon in which the priest explains the word of God in the vernacular so that it could be understood by the entire congregation, became an essential point in the new liturgy of the Counter-Reformation. Initially pulpits had been rather unadorned. When present, the decoration was mostly not elaborate and had a limited iconographic message. The Council of Trent supported the idea of ​​using visual language (in the form of art) to support the spoken word. On pulpits this was initially achieved by adding the portraits or symbols (often in the form of reliefs in ovals attached to the pit) of the Four Evangelists. In the Southern Netherlands, where the Counter-Reformation raged more vigorously than elsewhere and where there was a long tradition of visual realism, this evolution resulted in the unique phenomenon of the naturalistic pulpit. Saints and Biblical figures appear at the base of the pulpit, at first as somewhat uncomfortable caryatids supporting the pit. In the later 17th century the figures start to take over other parts of the pulpit: Archangels, Church Fathers, Apostles and Saints support the pit, while under the sounding board, often supported by floating angels and putti, the Holy Spirit is represented in the form of a radiant dove. In the next phase entire narrative scenes with multiple figures appear in an almost theatrical setting surrounding the entire pulpit. With unbridled imagination, the sculptors created rocks, clouds, swaying palm trees, meandering snakes, falling horses ...

The iconography was often adapted to the patron saints of the convent- and parish churches they initially have been conceived for. Due to the abolition of some monastic orders in the 1770's, and later during the French Revolution, many pulpits were sold to parish churches in Belgium but also abroad. That is why sometimes the iconography no longer fits the church building in which the pulpit is located today. The pulpit with the Conversion of Saint Norbert from the Norbertine Abbey of Ninove for example, has no apparent connection with the Church dedicated to Saint Peter in Leuven in which it is located today.

Construction and materials[edit]

The naturalistic pulpits are mostly entirely constructed in oak. The wood is often darkly polished. Smaller elements such as rays of light, halo's, stars, attributes, symbols and texts are regularly gilded to make them stand out. Laurent Delvaux was the only sculptor who made use of the contrasting combination of white Carrara marble and dark oak. (see for example the pulpits of Nivelles and Ghent) For stability many pulpits, or parts of it like the sounding board, are attached by means of discrete thin steel bars to the wall or to the columns and arches of the nave.

Some examples[edit]

Pulpit of the Church of Saint Gummarus in Lier (1640-42)[edit]

This is an early example of a naturalistic pulpit, dating from 1640-42. The pulpit is standing freely between the columns of the nave and is supported by four sculptures in the round representing the four Archangels. Despite the gracious figures, the overall design remains rather static in comparison to later pulpits. The pulpit was first designed by Erasmus Quellinus but was largely altered after his dead by his son Artus. It was Pieter Verbruggen who executed the sculpting.

Pulpit from the Church of Saint George in Antwerp (1665)[edit]

The next step in the development of the naturalistic pulpit can be exemplified by the pulpit that Artus Quellinus the Younger made in 1665 for the former Church of Saint George in Antwerp. (today in the Church of Our Lady of Good Hope in Vilvoorde). Here the pit is supported by the swaying bodies of four angels with broad gestures and flowing robes. The floating composition seems to escape gravity.

Pulpit from the Jesuit Church of Leuven (1696-99)[edit]

A next step in the evolution is exemplified by the magnificent pulpit created in 1696-1699 by Hendrik Frans Verbruggen for the Jesuit Church of Saint Michael in Leuven. Verbruggen created an overwhelming total work of art with a complex iconographic program representing the fall and redemption of man through the Church. At the bottom, an archangel expels Adam and Eve from the earthly paradise. Eva protects herself in terror with her arm while she still holds the apple in the other hand. Adam anxiously hides his head. From the tree of the knowledge of good and evil a gigantic serpent creeps and twists itself above the sounding board. There she is crushed by the triumphant Virgin and her Child. Typical for Verbruggen are the two fluttering angels that hold the sounding board. After the abolition of the Jesuit order the pulpit was moved to the Church of Saint Michael and Saint Gudula in Brussels. At that time Jan Baptist van der Haeghen added a sculpted hedge with animal figures on either side of the stairs.

Pulpit of the Norbertine convent of Leliendaal (1720-23)[edit]

In their pulpit dating from 1721-1723, Michiel van der Voort and Theodoor Verhaegen incorporated so many narrative elements that one can hardly speak of a piece of church furniture. As in a 'tableau vivant' they show the conversion of Saint Norbert, the Crucifixion of Christ and the temptation of Adam and Eve. The sounding board is formed as the top of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. The architectural components are integrated in such a way that it is no longer possible to distinguish them from each other.

Originally this pulpit was made for the Church of the Norbertine monastery of Leliendaal in Mechelen. After the abolition of the monastery, the pulpit was transferred to St. Rumbold's Cathedral in 1809. Sculptor Jan-Frans Van Geel added a new back and rebuilt the pulpit around a pilar. A preserved terracotta model from 1721 makes it possible to reconstruct the original form of the pulpit.

Pulpit of the Church of Saint Andrew in Antwerp (1821)[edit]

This remarkable example was made by Jan Baptist Van Hool and Jan Frans Van Geel dates from 1821. Although sculpture was dominated by then by the neoclassical style, traditional baroque church furniture was highly demanded to refurnish the churches partly emptied during the French Revolution. Van Hool and Van Geel created this very traditional pulpit for theSaint Andrew's Church in Antwerp. It represents the calling of Peter and Andrew. Full of amazement, the two fishermen respond to Jesus' call. Their dinghy has just hit the bank, where the catch has been deposited and their nets are hanging to dry. Not only the figures and their material, but also the rocks and vegetation are depicted in a naturalistic way. At the top, angels bear the Andrew's Cross, a reference to the fate awaiting the apostle.

Others[edit]

A non-exhaustive chronological list of naturalistic pulpits in the Southern Netherlandish tradition:

Artists (selection)[edit]

Literature[edit]

  • Helena Bussers, De baroksculptuur en het barok kerkmeubilair in de zuidelijke Nederlanden, in: Openbaar Kunstbezit Vlaanderen, 1982, pp. 123-161
  • Paul Fierens, Chaires et confessionaux baroques, Brussels, 1953.
  • Susanne Geese, Kirchenmöbel und Naturdarstellung - Kanzeln in Flandern und Brabant, Diss. Hamburg 1993, Ammersbek 1997.
  • Hans Vlieghe, Flemish Art and Architecture (1585-1700), Pelican History of Art, Yale Uninversity Press, New Haven and London, 1998.

[[Category:Christian art]] [[Category:Pulpits]]

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