Two Ends of the Emblem

7/30/2019 Two Ends of the Emblem

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Two Ed o the Ebe

JamEs Elkins

School o the Art Institute o Chicago

Th rtce ocue o the wder cotext wth whch e-be ext Weter pctor prctce. Ebe repre-et hgh pot o orgzto d ytetzto

Weter pctor prctce, d tht regrd they re pre toherdry, to oe trdto o pg, d to coded yteuch cetc, theoogc, d ytc chet. Becue theyre o hghy tructured they o hve tedecy to dequece: toet to the urroudg ge prctce, grduy og therttrbute oe ter other ut othg uch et o the ex-cept the eory o wht they oce were.

Prethetcy, ebe c o ry, becog ore dore trcte ted o e o, d tht tedecy ed towrduch thg chec ebewth the word quottorby whch et copcted verb d vu e-

bge tht re ot et to be red wth y ty. Hercukhurth tohgy copex veto re expe.1

But or the ot prt, ebe et wy rther th cotuether crytzto. i prt o the wder htory o ebe tht proce o etg to eghborg or o ge gd wrtg, the there y be tedece, ot w dgere, tht c hep decrbe ther douto, d theorythoe tedece coud becoe the ubject o expded

ed o ebe tude.

1. see khurth. a expe yzed y boo What PaintingIs.


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The topc o teret here dtguhed ro the ue o e-

be ource or ptg. Ebe were ote dpted, dued ptg, d thoe ptg ted to c the inscriptio,subscriptio, d other textu eeet tht oce erved exp-tory re or the ge te. The ubject here ore ebuoubut eve ore brody gct: t the ebe-e ture ocert pcture, epecy whe o to ebe boo c behow, or woud eve be expected. it the idea o ebe thtcout here the ource o the prctce, ot the dopto o oe or

other pecc ot or coogrphy.To oe degree th ubject uder dcuo by t ture u-ecopbe, becue y ghty egtc-oog pcture the pot-Rece Weter trdto coud be d to reverber-te, however ty, wth the ee o the ecret vue o the getht Weter hut herted ro Rece pecutobout herogyph, d tht Broque hut woud hve red-y octed wth the puzze ebe boo.

Th probe yetrc wth Creghto Gbert od rgu-

et tht Rece dcpe ptg tht oteby hveo ubjectthe ot ubject, the ptg wth o obvou r-rtve, htorc, regou, or yboc egy hve beecoceved the Rece, but dvdu ptg were otudertood tht wy.2 They were ee pecc dcpe, orprtcur rrgeet o gure. a svtore sett boodeotrte, Gorgoe Tempesta eeed yterou y toeteeth- d tweteth-cetury oberver. it h bee peru-vey rgued tht t dd ot ee to c ubject to Recevewer. The cto wth the ot-ubject our owt per-t to the ecod h o the tweteth cetury, d t probbybet udertood ypto o oder. st, tht doe ote tht ebe boo dd ot ct pe over pter prc-tce, hepg the to coceve o pcture tht do ot qute eee.

The duo o ebe to the broder pctor prctce opot-Rece ptg by t ture pobe ubject.

The cotrbuto here ted to two pe hypothee, whch

2. see Gbert. Th yzed y boo Why are Our PicturesPuzzles?, 127-29.


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re deotrted ug two very deret et o expe. Thee

re the ed o the ebe o the tte.Frt, ebe c ragment: the inscriptio, subscriptio,ccopyg vere or text, d the ge c topece, t were, d or ew d uttey ogccogurto. Th w redy pobty the HghRece, deotrted by Drer prt o herdceeet goe ew: the ge o d wo rot o eorou turtc herdc hed, or oe o the eeet

o the hed tdg by te dcpe.Ebe c o become pictorial: they c oe ther ccop-

yg eged d text, d becoe depedet pcture. Whetht hppe, the turtc bcgroud tht re coo ebe ge becoe uddey egu. The gry ed,rver, out, oret, d teror whoe oy purpoe hdbee to erve decorto, or staage, or the yboc or the ebe ge, becoe gct ther ow rght. Theyeed to be eborted d expded, d t the e te theyboc gure, , d object eed to d ther wy intothe dcpe or teror, d te ther pce ppretytur object.

The Fragmentation of the Emblem

The rgetto o the ebe, d the xg o text wthge, we exeped by cert eoexpreot pterwho hve ow uered oethg o dece, cudg Ju

schbe d Frceco Ceete.it pobe to oute the tedece o rgetto.schbe, or expe, ote wor wth ge tht re

juxtpoed wth rget o text, St. S (1988). H vepece War d Peace re o tht ort; oe h d o phd oeg reerece to t, d uocued reerece to theBet Revelations, but otherwe they re curouy eptythe curou potg to oethg chetc, yboc, or

ebetc.i the 1980, se ued ebetc word overy o

wde vrety o pprety dcoected ge, Tennyson


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(1983), whch juxtpoe ude wth ptter d the word

TEnnYsOn. schbe oete dd the e, wth eretht depct regou thee o ber; the cve theevere pproxtey cro-hped, d the uou or re r-rged pprety egu ptter, but othg eerge detve eg.

a e o crcto, here re three odert prctcetht re not drecty deceded ro ebe.1. soe coteporry rt tht e ue o rget o herdry,

ptg o ogo tht were popur the rt word the te 1980. The ogo cery ce ro corporte ogo,whch re theeve ote ped cot o r, d uchptg cobed word d ge ucert wy.

2. There o trdto tht deced ro the d-tweteth-cetury cto wth herogyph d wrtg yte, ado Gotteb wor. There coecto to ebethere becue Gotteb pctogrph re derved, tever reove, ro the ogog Weter cto wth

herogyph. But the ytc yetre tht ctedGotteb c be bet udertood fn-de-sicle tedece, ptg by Ferdd Hoder, Ego schee, d other.

3. moder rgeted ebe c o be dtguhedro wor doe by the rt-geerto btrct pter, uch kdy, whch c ee herdc or ebetc, but ore voved wth the geoetrzto d pcto owht were te tur or.

now thee prctce exeped by se, schbe, eo-expre-o or trvtgurd, hve deeper htory: they go bcto urre, d through t to Dd coge. athough egec be trcedeve ce e ogo ptg, or Gotteb -ped Ur-ybouch ege re e teretg, the ed,th the drect d pervve evdece o the douto o e-bet the wder prctce o vu rt.

The Disintegration of the Emblem

The ecod tedecy the deto d dtegrto oebe prg ro the de o tg the ge ro the e-be, ottg the text, d ebortg o the ge ut t be-


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coe depedet wor o rt. Preeted here expe

oe o the ot zg ucrpt the uthor h ever ee, oyou te-eveteeth-cetury ucrpt the Ferguocoecto Ggow.3

Beore we tur to th ucrpt, et u rt expore the htoryo th ecod wy tht ebe dove. Ue the rt, th oew heret ebe ro the outet. it expct deber-tey egtc tte pge d rotpece, uch thoe oc-ted wth Jcob Boehe, athu krcher, d e ouy

but jut teretgywth wrter uch the chet ow abrh Eezer.4 i chec d ytc text, t rycoo to d ge tht re deveoped wthout urroudgtext o y d, Joh De myu Philosophia Reormata.5a u htory o th pheoeo woud hve to te to ccoutthe ebetc ge ebedded boo e Crtr, wherethe expto pred throughout the ccopyg text.6

The Ggow ucrpt boo brow bdg.it h tte pge, d ter tht there re oy pcture52 o

the. They re wtercoor, d they vry ze ro 110 to130 ceteter deter. (Whe the Ferguo coecto otreted to the strg mxwe coecto o ebe boo, t doeot pper to be cocdet tht th ucrpt hed tody tthe Ggow Uverty lbrry, whch hoe to the word pre-eet ebe coecto.)

There tte ecret bout the boo, whch ot hrd to d-cover: ech ptg odeed o the cut ecto o tree tru.Oe pero to who i howed th ucrpt d the rttght hve ued petred wood, o ccout o the geg coor

3. The Uverty o Ggow ms Ferguo 115. i y ucrptWht Heve loo le, i rgue t oe o the terpeceo t te, d tht t uthor hd ebe o h or her d.

4. see, or expe, Eezer 1735 Uraltes Chymisches WERCK.

5. i eto myu boo becue t w o ote reproduced. aper d eve ore wdey tuded expe Jcob suet1677Mutus liber.

6. Crtr 1625. The edto o Crtr hve tedecy to vetew pctor or reedo grted, i woud y, by theooee o the ccopyg text. see, or expe, Crtr1963.


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oe pcture. The roud ort ecetted by the ter

o the ptg trogy ugget the roud ebe typc oy eveteeth-cetury rtt, uch Crp de Pe ro-de or Gbre Roehge (1611, 1613).7 Wood ot the oyecret the boo gve wy, d tht bout tht c be d trt oo. The pper w de Hod, towrd the ed o theeveteeth cetury. The rtt y hve ved tht cetury, or the begg o the ext: the tye te u uch. But he orhe coud hve ved ity, Frce, Hod, or eve Egd.

To cojure the boo, th rtce w exe eve utrto,brey eough to how jut how zg th ucrpt , dhow uch t deerve to be uy reprted.

O the tte pge (g. 1), cer lt crpt, the oy wrtg the boo. i the Egh trto:

Wor o ntur mgc, whch the mrce o Peuococ nture re Pted wth Bruh. Fuy egrvedby ape o nture, oowg nture uver Ctho-c Prototype, d dedcted to the eter eory o the

g.

it tte odd tht the wrter y the wor pted, d theedtey terwrd y t w egrved, or odeed ree(the word ectypus). Perhp t w teded to be egrved, butt o pobe tht the wrter thg o the org o the -ge tur egrvg vg wood.

Th rtt expert upedg judget (g. 2). are we oo-g through opeed coud to hevey cty? Or out o cvewhere we y hve goe to hde, or to pry otudebc tothe tow ro whch we ce? Or through oret t dttvge? Or eve the hrh, ter er o hobe curret crtcthrough wob, or to oe?

aroud the outde thg get dr, to y we re hoewth hoe, or peerg out o oe dre d to other. Thertt oved thee bye, whch dre jer to wg e,or cope to ghtre. We rrey ow where we re, d

whe there oothod oethg o the rg uuy wt-g to pu u wy, or puh u bc to the deepet rece o

7. i th mr Wde or th uggeto; the expe her.


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Fi

g.1.Unknownartit,Opera

magianaturalis...ms

Fe

rguon115,titepage(Phot

ocourteyofGagow

Univeritylibrary.)

Fig.2.Unknow

nartit,Operamagianaturalis...ms

Ferguon115,

fo.1(PhotocourteyofGagow

Univeritylibr

ary.)


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Fg. 3. Uow rtt, Opera magia naturalis.. . ms Ferguo 115, o. 16 (Photo courtey oGgow Uverty lbrry.)

cve wth cve, wth

coud de dre.The cty the

dtce, but t ttrctour tteto. There ot uch to t: outeo budg, perhp ctyw d gte. i rotre ew boc-e or.

The coud re u, d ry be g. Vewerhve oete recog-zed Gorgoe ptgced The Tempest, whcho h cty the d-tce, ru o the et, grove o tree t the rght,d threteg tor.

it teptg to thpcture to tht ou oe,but Gorgoe ptgw ot orgotte utRotc vewer revved

t the eteeth cetury. Our rtt y we hve ee otherVeet dcpe, d et ty wth ther hruedbudg d deerted pture.

Occoy the pter edtte o pecc d obcure r-rtve, whch he or he cot d the wood (g. 3). Whe ththppe, the rtt jut pt the they were ordry roudptg, d overy the br d gr ro the cut ecto.The wood udge the tore tte, proptg her or h to dddet here d there, but oty the tore re pted o thewood rther th ee t. i ee th ot pyg the ge:but t peg to the vewer tht the pter ove tore wth-

out expto (g. 3).Th oe ot the Bbc tory o Tobt, the youg who brought rcuou h bc to cure h ther bde.i the Bbe, Tobt ccoped by ge, d pter uu-


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Fg. 4. Uow rtt, Opera magia naturalis . . .ms Ferguo 115, o. 17 (Photo courtey oGgow Uverty lbrry.)

y how h wg

wth the h, or ppy-g the h to h -ther eye. But reyt ot Tobt t . The who hod the h(t the r rght) hortd od, d the gurewho woud be the -

ge (jut et o ceter)h t copo(t the r et). Th eetg betwee twogure d two pe-t, oe o who h rge h. it e dre, coftg thetory o Tobt wth the

tory o the Three mg.i typc dre ogc,oe mgu h dp-pered, d Tobt dh ther greet two -ge t oce.

much o th boo dree, d peope who hve ee thve propoed tht t the record o dre. no doubt the

rtt w ttetve to dre: who coud produce uch ptgwthout thg o dydre, revere, d hucto o d? But ot cee the boo re very excty oberved, dthey re the reut o protrcted edtto o wht the woodreve. a rtt ow, pe trcrpto o dre re d-ppotgthey ted to oo hzy d coveto. The trbc bd tht coe thee gure ot wht the rtt w dre, but wht the wood dd to h or her eory. ad the tte

od who fot there wth h h y eve hve bee ee the wood, d ot dre.For pero e th rtt, pedg oth d poby yer

ctvty o bzrre tht t w probby ecret eve ro h


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or her y, trg t the cut ecto o og or dy o ed,

ettg h or her vo uod to hpe d tore uttery u-precedeted ther deep rrtotyor uch pero, woudthere be cer dtcto betwee eeg, thg, dreg,d huctg (g. 4)?

a crowed o wth e t outh tdrd che-c ybo, the ot coveto oe the boo. it c eever thg, ot cooy dvced tge the che-c wor very coe to the cheveet o the Phoopher stoe.

neede to y, chec trete t ever covered wth rp-pg tree rg.

it jut brey cocevbe tht th rtt ght hve how hor her wor to eow chet. There re oe chec bootht re tte ore th og ere o roud ptg, depctg yboc ho the cotet o the chet f echucceve tge. The horter ere c be hepu or ovce, butthe oger ere (oe wth y eghty pcture) re r too

coug d repettve ever to yed y ght. i our rtt ddted th boo d o vu u (d there were uch

boo, wrtte etrey wthout expto or cpto) the thwoud be bt o r groud the qug bog o ucertte.

But re chec boo re very oruc: g d quee,w, tger, o, out, oo, u, d chec ybocoe d go ede terto. Th boo r ore rch, w-u, ree, d crcupect. i t chec trete, t the

ot obcure oe ever wrtte (or, the chet woud hved, the deepet, the ot prooud). Here t terpreted ore

dry, prooged erch or ge tht ght t the rttwywrd thought.

Here, oog deep to ury pooor dreg o oogto oethe pter ee crowed o ted o h or her owrefecto.

Dre ove, but hucto, rge, d object o ed-

tto ty put. a og they re beore the eye (or the deye) they t t, they were red pcture or cupture. a

object o cott edtto bur to the ret, d beg tohe wth eg.


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le the prevou -

ge, th exceedgybeutu ptg (g.5) how u geobject, roze per-ety to t woodetrx. le trgeect trpped ber,t there wheever we

wt to peer t t, but tc ever be reeed.To th rtt cote-porre, t woud ohve ooed e t-ur woder, the dcoected curotycbet deoredpg, prehtorc ect,

coprbe o.ad wht t? The

rot h o b, wtht eg tretched out t dgop. ibc, t body cptured by heet o brch br. The br ce-et wthe the b ec, gvg t thc cor, d dgedow uder t bey. i bc the b body hrve, d the

ro o brch pper ttter d hg the r.Or we y th o t the other wy roud: tge o brch

pper hred ro te to b, d the hed d eg pop outthe rot.

Th coud we be tur woder, oethg to exerce phoopher or theoog. it o pobe tht th ptgwoud hve reded t er o ebe: puzzg pcturee crowed o chewg o e. sce th woder w

oud the rtt gto d ot up o ber, t o ebe o the rtt thought.a ebe, wht doe t e? surey the b wy

rt d oreot Jeu Chrt, the lb o God. ad wood,


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th cotext, wy

the wood o the TrueCro. For og t pobe to beevetht th ge u-der the rtt cotro,d tht t e oyoe thg, t boudto be the ytery o

the crto. Buttht oet doe ott og.

at t (g. 6), utbe gure:God. For the rt te,the bguouy opeceter ed u-bguouy. But where he? Th probbyCho, or the turoo the rt oet ocreto. Poby, God bout to eprte the

ght ro the dre. Here g e, rger d oreter th beore. it cower beore God, d o t ut be theDev. Beore the rt dy o creto, God hd to ubjugte ev,

d he doe tht here. The Dev oo the hdde, eoter-c pethe chec e, ced the ouroboro, ybo ovotty d edetructo. For chet Jeu becoe theodetoe, d the e the ucert creepg eeet o e.

The pcture h t et thee two eg, both o the trogd ot doctrre: rt, God trugge wth ev; ecod, theprcpe o eterty trugge wth the prcpe o trece.Eve though the pcture uque (o other ptg wth thee

eeet ow), t ore ordry t obvoue th yother the boo. Perhp the rtt tryg to th oethgthrough, d ct th ptg the rt o ere o ve thtte the pter vero o the tory o creto.


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Th e prctcy

ecope the pcture,or t woud God hd otde t ve. The rttet t t dequece tothe roud crcuerece,o t ot cer jut howog t , but probby, t tretched te out

d preed t body tothe crce, t hed woudtouch t t perectcrcethe hpe o theouroboros.

at th te there reo te o e hod-g ther t therouth d rog dowh; they re the docecou o the chece, whch ctuy de-vour te, trtg wththe tp o the t d ed-g, poby, wth t ow hed. The rtt toy wth the de. ith cee the ouroboros de to bre t vcou crce, d ett body to the bcgroud.

soete (g. 7) th ucrpt brupty puge the vewerto word ore e th ythg gbe. a udutgvey crde deboded hed, e egg eggcup. Oto oe de, ebedded wtery hde, wdded chd ooo d e ty. He w, d y be cy, d h eoo cere or bt deperte.

The bg hed ee du d hre: perhp t beuddedor ghty dwtted. it h drer red oe, d puppy

p. i the vewer oo oy t th hed, the ge y otee coortg d pcd. But oo ywhere ee, d t turour, e dre where everythg beg to ee oou. Thebg hed h foppy hrdo, whch prg up o ech de e


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dog er. But o coer pecto the hr cotuou wth

reddh buge o the horzo. soe peope who hve ee thpcture th the buge the ettg u, but the hr cotueo bcwrd, the buge ght be egorged body, weg upbehd the hed. The bg hed y be the rot ed o other eg-e, re rv, th oe yg o t bey.

There o wy to decde where the two rve re. The d-cpe y be dry vey, or oe o the ohg oce cove o be-oved o eveteeth-cetury nepot pter. i t wter, the

tte roud whte or ght be other rve crred og by thecurret. Wter or roc, t ry t the rght, d urve to hr.

a pede e t wy cro the ower rg, t yeg ovg uou rhyth. Perhp the t oogectotey t t. a t o croe the cee, pg vbythrough the bg hed d weg to other ghoty rv ththover betwee the two other.

Wht word coud poby decrbe th cee o dotc pry-

? it prodgou pcture, wth pueg trgee tht eough to put the surret to he. i the ed, o coure, o

expto w do. it et uvere where tte pup wthot hu ce ret quety, oe o ther toch d oepropped up. Occoy they exchge weet epty e.

Th the wger propoed by th rtce: tht thee ptgoe o the, the bet, certy ot w hve grp o thegto tht w ot ey be ooeed. ater vg wth pc-

ture e thee, t w be hrd to go bc to the mdo dChdre d Hercue d Veue d adoe who y wht

they e d e wht they y. Pcture wth tte w ee tooey, too obvou. Pcture wth ege w ee guded.

Cery, ptg ext, prt, order ot to e ee. Thoyou te-eveteethcetury rtt ot oder theee tht he or he t wth m Ry or mx Ert; th pter oder the wy he or he occude the cer ubject tht he or

he ght hve pted. i tht e g God the Fther to gree pecter, or tretchg b to doe d ptg o

puppy hed, he or he doe t. The oy t wht the rttc ber to ee o the pge.


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We re ttrcted to

ptg beore weow wht they reuppoed to e,d ther worde-e cotue to drwu towrd the, evethough we ote orget our ruh to d ther

ee d purpoe.Peope who wrte boutrt c be uey boutth: they ow they rected by the prttht do ot e ee,but they o ee thepu o eg. There good reo, the

ed, why i w oe thwger: every pt-g h t quotet owordee, d thette d rrtve ojor ptg c ote be udertood decoy the expect-ed tg tht otettouy to exp uch o ythg. st,there re cert re o d whch t eet to ee tht

pter ow pcture re ot text, d th ucrpt werto tht teperet we y rtwor i ow (g. 8).

i th cee, ed youg wo t o the rgrde bech. she h jut tured to ee oethg tht outdethe pcture. a ew yrd wy youg ttg quety, oo-g up to coudy y. They coud hve hd e, d theycoud hve bee oog t ech other or t u. They do ot, dthere o reo why they do ot. We ght hve bee tod wht

ech o the ee, or wht they th. We w ever ow. Tht the pure peure o th ptg, d the peure o pcturetht hve the fvor o ebetht coe, by trge route thtcot be dcovered by coogrphc euthg, out o the word


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o ebe d to the wder word whch every pcture ,

hopeuy, oethg o ytery.

Works Cited

Crtr. Imagini delli dei de glantichi. Vece 1647; reprt. wth troducto by Wter kochtzy. Grz, 1963.

______. Le imagini de gli dei de gli antichi. Vece, 1625.

khurth, Hercu [Herch Cord]. Ampitheatrum Sapienti

tern, Solius Ver. . . . Hburg [?], 1595.Eezer, abrh. Uraltes Chymisches WERCK . . . Nun aber nebst

zugehrigen Kupern, Figuren, Gessen, Oeen, einer kurtzenVorrede, nthigen Registern Wie auch beygegten Schlsselderer in selbigen vorkommenden remden Wrter. . . . Erurt,1735.

E, Je. What Painting Is. new Yor, 1998.

______. Why are Our Pictures Puzzles? On the Modern Origins o

Pictorial Complexity. new Yor, 1999.Gbert, Creghto. O subject d not-subject it

Rece Pcture. The Art Bulletin 34 (1952): 20216.

myu, Joh De. Philosophia Reormata. Frurt, 1622.

suet, Jcob.Mutus liber. l Rochee, 1677.

Documents

Two Ends of the Emblem