Matter of light and flesh.
Alabaster in the Netherlandish sculpture of the 16th and 17th centuries
Alabaster
is a fine-grained type of gypsum characterised by its softness and translucency. For centuries its whiteness and delicacy have inspired poets to comparisons with the ideal feminine body. The space between the geological definition and the poetic ideal, between the cultural myth and the physical reality of the rock, and between the terms dictated by the material and those imposed by the client, has always been the domain of artists.
Known since antiquity, it has experienced periods of popularity and times of oblivion, it has been used in architecture, sculpture, painting and decorative arts, it has reigned supreme as a hugely desirable raw material, or had to compete with others.
The name “alabaster” comes from the Greek word “alabastros / alabastrites”, which is the root of the contemporary names for this material in the European languages. It is commonly believed to have been taken from the name of the Egyptian town Alabastron, which lay east of Thebes in the vicinity of a mountain range where one type of this material, calcite alabaster, was quarried. This is documented both by Pliny in his Natural History and Ptolemy in his Geography. The name “alabastron” was also used to describe the vessel made in ancient Egypt and Greece, initially from alabaster and later also from clay or bronze, used to store perfumes. To this day it is uncertain whether the name of the material and the vessel are derived from the name of the town, or vice versa: the stone gave its name to the town and the perfume jar made there.
The purpose of this exhibition
is to demonstrate various ways in which alabaster functioned as a material used in the visual arts. The first part of the display offers insight into the properties of the material and its cultural context. Given that alabaster peaked in popularity in the 16th and 17th centuries, when it was most widely used in the workshops of the Southern Netherlands, most of the works on show were made in Mechelen and Antwerp. These are compared and contrasted with their medieval antecedents from England, France, the Netherlands and Germany, as well as with later works by Netherlandish sculptors active in Poland, and local artists who took their inspiration from imported works. This is a natural comparison to draw in view of the mass exports of Southern Netherlandish works. As they were so rare, they were not only objects of pride for their founders, but also a major factor in the transfer of Netherlandish Renaissance forms to central, eastern and northern Europe.
The exhibition
brings together works from Polish museum and church collections. Nevertheless, no presentation of sculpture in alabaster would be complete without pieces from the vast collections of the Koninklijke Musea voor Kunst en Geschiedenis in Brussels or the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. Many of the exhibits on display here have never previously been seen in Poland, while others have been restored through conservation to their full glory.
Photo Gallery
The Alabaster Trail
In churches of Gdańsk many works of art are made from alabaster. Alabaster was frequently used in Gdańsk tombstones, epitaphs and altarpiece sculpture, but to varying degrees: from entire sculptures, through half-round sculptural decoration, down to small ornamental details. We invite you to stroll through Gdańsk in search of alabaster monuments.
Visitor's information
Opening hours:
Tuesday & Thursday, 9:00 – 18:00
Wednesday & Friday, 9:00 – 16:00
Saturday & Sunday, 10:00 – 17:00
Zielona Brama, 24 Długi Targ, Gdańsk
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