La Ténébreuse (Testudo)

Peter De Cleyn La Ténébreuse

stoneware clay, metal, wood

(45 x 22 x 11 cm)

From TESTUDO:

"It looks like a giant insect. The dark one, the dark one. Like the charred piece of wood at the bottom and the burnt metal at the top that apparently holds a turtle captive. Or does it rather want to be a shelter? La Ténébreuse is also a work for lute by Denis Gaultier. Lute history in France took a big leap forward with the Gautier dynasty, a family of lute virtuosos including Ennemond Gaultier (c a.1575–1651) called le vieux who worked for several years as a lutenist at the royal court of Marie de Medici in Paris His cousin Denis Gaultier (1603-1672), nicknamed l'illustre , was the leading lutenist of his generation. Jacques Gautier (ca.1600-1652) had worked at the English court since 1619, but appears not to be related to Ennemond and Denis. Denis Gaultier is known for a beautiful manuscript under the title ' La Rhétorique des Dieux' with twelve series of highly stylized dances, each in a different key. The titles of the dances are taken from Greek mythology. Gaultier's name will also always be linked to ' le style brisé ' or 'broken style' so typical of the French lute tradition."