Fountains of Blood: Sanguine Devotion at Chateau de Boumois Open Access

Abstract

In a sixteenth-century French stained-glass window originally from a private chapel, the crucified body of Christ hangs limply from the cross, his blood pouring from five wounds into an enormous golden fountain at his feet. A crowd of saints and laypeople reverently observe the scene, some even bathing in the crimson pools of blood. Crucifixion is not a bloody form of death, so the fantastical scene prompts the question: why is the Fountain of Life so vividly sanguine? Rooted in the experiences of women mystics and other marginalized religious adherents, the window exemplifies the devotional practice of blood ideology as a way of contact with the divine. Inextricable from this alternative form of devotional engagement is an examination of image theory and materiality. How did the Fountain of Life bridge religious orthodoxy and personal mysticism in animating and embodying the divine through light and color? Even beyond the magical and, at times, forbidden nature of Christ’s blood, the window qua materia also contributes to shaping the devotional experience of the spectator. The glass itself becomes miraculous via its animate agency, paradoxical existence, and heavenly connotations. An iterative web of material and meaning thus simultaneously elucidates and mystifies the experience of contact with the divine through blood, light, and glass.

Table of Contents

Fountains of Blood: Sanguine Devotion at Chateau de Boumois: p. 1

Appendix A: p. 33

Figures: p. 34

Bibliography: p. 48

About this Master's Thesis

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School	Laney Graduate School
Department	Art History
Degree	M.A.
Submission	Master's Thesis
Language	English
Research Field	Art History
Keyword	blood of christ fountain of life stained glass fountain of blood private devotion
Committee Chair / Thesis Advisor	Elizabeth Pastan, Emory University
Committee Members	Walter Melion, Emory University

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