Claus Sluter who resided in the Netherlands was commissioned
by Phillip the Bold in 1389 to manage the sculptoral program at a Carthusian
monastery called Chartreuse de Champmol ("character house" in
English). Sluter designed a large fountain called the Well of Moses which was
attached to a well and intended to be the water source of the monastery. The
design includes Moses and five other prophets (David, Daniel, Isaiah, Jeremiah,
and Zachariah), and above the prophets are Christ on the Cross, the Virgin
Mary, John the Evangelist, and Mary Magdalene. Christ's blood symbolically
flowed down the fountain past the prophets.
This work has a clear connection to this show for a two
reasons. First, the well was originally called the Fountain of Everlasting Life
(fons vitae), but it was given the
name Well of Moses later. The term everlasting life is a contradiction because
life is only temporary, for it is interrupted by death. Also, the fact that
this well represented life is a reminder of life's counterpart, death. Life and
death are two parts that create a whole since one is not attainable without the
other. Next, Claus Sluter died before completing this work. This truth is
another reminder of the short journey of life and the unstoppable force of
death. Someone who tried to bring everlasting life into this temporary world
died before achieving it. So, for these two reasons, there is a clear
connection between this work and the exhibit.
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