SYMPATHY FOR THE DEVIL
How Dolce & Gabbana’s Fall 2015 cat-walkers resembled members of the “Crowd of the Damned” (not to be confused with the scene at just about any independent music venue) waiting in the mouth of hell, as illustrated in the medieval Pamplona Bible... Why wouldn’t they be listening to music on their jewel-encrusted headphones in the depths of hell? Rock ‘N’ Roll is the devil’s music after all...
Hellmouth otherwise known as The Jaws of Hell • Pamplona Bible, Navarre • 1197 • Les Bibliothèques d'Amiens Métropole, Amiens • Image courtesy of The Virtual Library of Medieval Manuscripts
Depiction of Hellmouth otherwise known as The Jaws of Hell • Pamplona Bible, Navarre • 1197 • Les Bibliothèques d'Amiens Métropole, Amiens • Image courtesy of The Virtual Library of Medieval Manuscripts
”In the year 1194, Sancho el Fuerte (1153–1234), King of Navarra, decided to have a pictorial Bible made for his own use. His father's chancellor, Archdeacon Petrus Ferrandus, was put to work on the project. Soon the Archdeacon had brought together four artists and set up a shop in Pamplona. He busied himself with laying out themes and cycles of events, and working up an entire plan for the Bible. One of the artists, designated by Francois Bucher as Master A, was put in charge of the painting of the pictures. Soon a massive pattern of 871 illustrations had been evolved, themes had been set and passages to be illustrated agreed upon. The four artists went to work and out of their activity came the wonderful Pamplona Bible of King Sancho el Fuerte, completed in 1197 and now housed in Amiens... The Bible shows scene after scene from the Old Testament, the New Testament, the lives of the saints, martyrs and confessors, and the second coming of Christ.” • The New York Times 1971
Dolce & Gabbana Ad Campaign • Autumn / Winter 2015 Collection • Domenico Dolce
Depiction of Hellmouth otherwise known as The Jaws of Hell • Pamplona Bible, Navarre • 1197 • Les Bibliothèques d'Amiens Métropole, Amiens • Image courtesy of The Virtual Library of Medieval Manuscripts
Depiction of the Crowd of The Damned • Pamplona Bible, Navarre • 1197 • Les Bibliothèques d'Amiens Métropole, Amiens • Image courtesy of The Virtual Library of Medieval Manuscripts
Detail of the Crowd of The Damned • Pamplona Bible, Navarre • 1197 • Les Bibliothèques d'Amiens Métropole, Amiens • Image courtesy of The Virtual Library of Medieval Manuscripts
Dolce & Gabbana Ad Campaign • Autumn / Winter 2015 Collection • Domenico Dolce • Image courtesy of the November 2015 issue of Vogue via The Vogue Archive
Religious propaganda declaring Rock ‘n’ Roll to be the Devil’s Music • Circa 1950’s
Depiction of the Crowd of The Damned • Pamplona Bible, Navarre • 1197 • Les Bibliothèques d'Amiens Métropole, Amiens • Image courtesy of The Virtual Library of Medieval Manuscripts
