What should I look At?

Camille Pissarro,
Boulevard Montmartre, morning,
cloudy weather, 1897,
oil on canvas, 73.0 x 92.0 cm,
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia

I am often asked, “What should I look at?” You are going to a museum you have never been to and do not know where to start, what to do?

What do I do?

Given the best of all worlds, before visiting a museum, I go to the museum’s Web site and review their collections. Then, I make my choices and take notes. I also go over the current exhibitions and write down what is of interest to me. My notation may be a painting I want to see or a particular collection.

Whether I have done previewing or not, when I arrive at the museum, I go to the gift or book shop and take a look at the postcards and museum guide or catalogue. This gives me an idea of the works considered important or the ones the museum is particular proud of. Often I buy postcards of the things I like to compare to the actual object when viewing. I also use the postcards to record my observations and comments.

Many museums have introductory tours but I tend to stay away from them. I’d rather have the chance encounter with works of art by walking about the galleries on my own, often in a random way. I do pick up a gallery map at the information counter and inquire about locations and special exhibitions. I begin with the things I have noted and spend time looking.

I like to read labels to learn about dating and any other information they may impart. I am interested in when the museum acquired the work because I like to know about collection patterns. Sometimes label annotations refer to another painting in the collection and it is fun to go and see the actual work mentioned.

When viewing a specific work, I look at how it connects to the other work in the gallery. I think about the subject –such as portraits next to one another – or the composition – such as the positions of the main components – or the colors – such as relating a primary color used in one painting to colors in the painting adjacent to it. I ask myself if the work I am looking at “talks” to another in the room. By “talks” I mean link in a meaningful way so that the works are enhanced by the juxtaposition. I think about how the paintings relate to the gallery’s wall color or treatment. I look at the gallery’s space. Is it big or small? Are the ceilings high or low? I ask myself if the physical environment affects the works either to the good or bad.

For me, visiting a new museum is an exciting endeavor. You never really know what to expect and there are always discoveries to be made. It is like taking a trip to a new country - you may be familiar with it from your research but you never really know what it will be like until you are there. I urge you to go on an adventure and visit, what is for you, an unfamiliar museum.

What Will Endure?

Rembrandt van Rijn, Aristotle Contemplating the Bust of Homer, 1653, Oil on canvas, 56 1/2 x 53 3/4 in.,

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

In The New York Times, WeekendArts Fine Arts Leisure section, Friday, January 9, 2009, Holland Cotter wrote an excellent article entitled, In the Gloom, Seeing Rembrandt With New Eyes. His illuminating thoughts on Rembrandt’s work in the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Dutch painting galleries encouraged me to revisit these familiar friends. Reading Cotter made me think of Rembrandt’s Aristotle Contemplating the Bust of Homer, unmentioned in the article but a work dear to my heart. It was purchased by the Museum in 1961 for $2,300,000, at that time the highest price ever paid for a work of art. In the immediate decades after its purchase it had quite a following but now seems neglected by visitors.

I had not seen it for probably a year or more and was surprised at the painting’s emotional impact. With thoughts of our current economic collapse and financial scandals, it was almost painful for me too look at the aged philosopher. He is depicted here in deep thought, melancholic, remorseful. He seems sad and introspective – so very inwardly focused that the viewer may feel like an intruder.

To put the painting in context, a few brief words about the time of its creation is needed. The 1650’s were difficult for the Dutch Republic what with naval wars with England impacting the country’s commercial success, plagues, and floods. By 1651, Rembrandt was in financial trouble. He was deeply in debt due to his extravagant spending on collections, money still owed for his house, increased payments demanded by his former servant/mistress and loss of income. His business declined. Patrician patrons were losing interest in his style of art. Rembrandt was becoming unfashionable and commissions were not plentiful. Paintings that were colorful with clear-edged contours that looked smooth and finished were preferred to his rough, fluid, manipulated painting style. By 1656, Rembrandt was bankrupt and, lucky for us, an inventory taken during his property’s liquidation. From this, we know, for instance, that in Rembrandt’s plaster collection, a bust of Aristotle stood next to a bust a Homer, implying that the artist saw a close association between the two.

Yet, there is the theory that the image of the contemplative old man may not represent Aristotle, the teacher of Alexander the Great, but may depict the Alexander’s favored painter, Apelles. The identity of the figure as either the philosopher or artist is cogently presented by two exceptional art historians and reviewed by Simon Schama in his book, Rembrandt’s Eyes, New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1999. Although I favor the Aristotle identification, either one will do for I feel in this work, Rembrandt is talking about the fleeting values of worldly and monetary success as opposed to timeless values like those inherent in works of art. For me, the painting is the contemplation of what will endure, survive, and have value in contrast to material and public success that may come and go. Whether philosopher or painter, what we see is a man lost in thought whose lowered left hand, in shadow, touches a gold chain. A medal attached to the chain is acknowledged as a depiction of the helmeted Alexander. Such gold chains were associated with worldly rewards, usually given by monarchs as an indication of honor. The figure’s well-lit right hand is raised and rests on the head of the Homer bust. The right has a long association with goodness, “rightness” and light with illumination, knowledge. We like to touch those things we are fond of. Rembrandt signs his name and dates the painting on the bottom of the bust, thus identifying himself with the poet and his enduring qualities.

Late in life, Aristotle had a falling out with Alexander and after his death, the philosopher was exiled. Apelles also outlived Alexander and late in life the painter had to depend on uninformed, powerless patrons. In this painting, Rembrandt seems to be commenting how temporal power may come and go. What will last? The qualities that make Homer last. Think about it. Looking at the richness of this painting and noting that I have not even begun to interpret the library setting, the costume of the figure or the brushwork and painterly technique that pushes and pulls you, drawing you into the painting and the thoughts of Aristotle/Apelles. Many have experienced financial ruin today because of the ongoing economic crisis. I would like to hope, those who have, are thinking about more enduring values than wealth and goods. What will endure when your money goes? What should we value? These are questions, I feel, this thoughtful figure is contemplating. These are the questions many of us are asking now. Go visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art and spend time with Rembrandt’s Aristotole/Apelles Contemplating the Bust of Homer. It is a valuable experience.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!

Dear Readers,

Wishing you joyous views, happiness and peace. To start the year, I offer you this image and poem.

Gustav Klimt (1862 - 1918), Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I,

1907, oil, silver and gold on canvas, 54 x 54 in. (138 x 138 cm)

Neue Galerie New York 

Photo:   Artstor

HE WISHES FOR THE CLOTHS OF HEAVEN

Had I the heavens’ embroidered cloths,
Enwrought with golden and silver light,
The blue and the dim and the dark cloths
Of night and light and the half light,
I would spread the cloths under your feet:
But I, being poor, have only my dreams;
I have spread my dreams under your feet;
Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.

William Butler Yeats
(1899)



From Hillary of ArtWithHillary

What Do You Think? Another Satyr and Satyress

Attributed to Desiderió da Firenze
(Florentine, documented in Padua 1532-45),
Satyr and Satyress, After 1523 (?),
Bronze, H. 10 5/8 in. (27 cm),
Musée National de la Renaissance, Château d’Écoven

Test your visual skills and compare.

Hopefully, you have seen the exceptional exhibit Andrea Riccio: Renaissance Master of Bronze at The Frick Collection and read about Riccio’s Satyr and Satyress, c. 1510-20, Bronze, Victoria and Albert Museum, London, in my November 19 post. Now view the Satyr and Satyress bronze statuette, attributed to Desiderió da Firenze (Florentine, documented in Padua 1532-45), a follower of Riccio, in The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s special exhibit, Art and Love in Renaissance Italy. This Satyr and Satyress is dated after 1524 (?) and comes from the Musée National de la Renaissance, Château d'Écouen. Actually, the work had been attributed to Riccio when it was taken out of a “reserve” collection in the late 19th century. It is relatively recently ascribed to Desiderió. What do you think?

My thoughts are as follows:
It seems to me the Desiderió piece is more crudely modeled than the work of Riccio I saw at the Frick Collection. It lacks Riccio’s refinement and attention to the crispness of details. Take for instance the hair on the creatures’s lower limbs. On the Satyr and Satyress on view at the Frick Collection, the hair appears lifelike, natural. This is true for the depiction of the Satyress’s hair that falls on her neck. At the Metropolitan Museum, the leg hair of the Satyr and Satyress is more decorative and the hair of the Satyress falling on her neck seems thick, unnatural. There is not much of a feel for the differentiation of texture of her head hair and leg hair. This difference is strongly sensed in the work on view at The Frick. There also seems to be something lacking in the modeling of the chests and backs of the figures at the Metropolitan Museum. The breasts of the Satyress seem to grow out of her armpit, again a bit inexpertly executed compared to the fullness and placement of the breasts on the Satyress at the Frick. Furthermore, the couple at the Metropolitan Museum is explicitly copulating. Judging from Riccio’s narratives and figures at the Frick, I imagine him to be more subtle in his depicture of sexuality and eroticism. As far as I am able to judge, I accept the specialist’s view that the work at the Metropolitan is by a follower of Riccio.

Speaking of “followers" or "in the manner of" or "workshop of”, I suggest you stop at the Metropolitan Museum’s Italian Renaissance Bronze Gallery on the Ground Floor, off the Vélez Blanco Patio. In this marvelous gallery, there is a glass case filled with small bronzes some attributed to Riccio’s workshop or in the manner of the artist. There are also bronzes ascribed to the master himself. Have fun looking.

Andrea Riccio at The Frick Collection

The Shouting Horseman,c. 1510-15,
Bronze, Victoria and Albert Museum, London

Italian Renaissance bronzes - how can that be of interest to me? Take a chance for some visual joy and intellectual stimulation. Go see the masterly bronzes by the Paduan sculptor Andrea Briosco, (1470-1532), called Riccio for his curly hair, that are on view at The Frick Collection now through January 18, 2009. Riccio created intricate and intimate sculptures, many of which were made for a scholar’s study. His work includes figures, functional and non-functional objects, religious and mythological scenes. The detailed iconography and programs of his elaborate pieces suggests Riccio probably had the advice of Padua’s learned scholars. Padua, as now, was a university town brimming with intellectual activity. is work expresses complex ideas in three-dimensional form. You can easily imagine how his sculptures engendered discussions about philosophical ideas and antiquity.

A little background: Riccio was the son of a goldsmith who gave him his early training. It has been postulated Riccio pursued sculpting in wax and clay instead of following his father’s vocation because of some medical ailment. He studied with the sculptor Bartolomeo Bellano who had assisted Donatello. Donatello had had a studio in Padua and among his major projects created the life-size bronze equestrian statue of the condottiere called “Gattamelata” appearing as a Roman hero in front of the Church of Sant’Antonio as well as large narrative reliefs in bronze on the high altar of the church.

Donatello, The Gattamelata Monument, Bronze,
c.1443-53 (in place), Piazza del Santo, Padua

Riccio was also influenced by the work of Mantegna whose classically detailed frescoes, on the walls of the Ovetari Chapel in the Church of the Eremitani, must surely have impressed him.

Andrea Mantegna, St. James Led to his Execution,
1454-57, Fresco, Formerly Ovetari Chapel,
Eremitani Church, Padua

What we see at the Frick Collection is a large sampling of Riccio’s oeuvre set out in an atmosphere that induces study – like a scholar’s study. The pieces are placed in well-lit glass showcases, many of which allow for viewing on all sides. There are excellent juxtapositions – similar works are exhibited next to one another. There is an orderly pace to the exhibit - just enough work to engage but not too much to become visually exhausted. The exhibit is set in two large rooms separated by an introductory foyer. The foyer contains a bronze relief panel, The Triumph of Humanist Virtue, c. 1516-21, Musée du Louvre, Paris and a life-size painted terracotta of the Virgin and Child, c.1520-21, J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, which serve to initiate the viewer into the characteristics of Riccio’s work such as engaging narratives, creative approaches to complex ideas, and the classicizing of Christian imagery. In the relief, fame of intellectual achievement insures the scholar’s triumph over death. The Virgin in the Virgin and Child has become a Roman goddess holding an antique robed child.

Virgin and Child, c. 1520-25,
Terracotta with traces of polychromy,
The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles

The Shouting Horseman, c. 1510-15, Victoria and Albert Museum, London, next to Orpheus, after 1510, Musée du Louvre, Paris, greets you as you enter the first large gallery. This gives the viewer ample opportunity to examen Riccio’s rigorous modeling and detail work. The classical costumes, richly decorated and the rippling muscles of the chest and back attest to Riccio’s talent. The horse is poised miraculously on three slender legs while his rider shouts fearsomely. We can think of Donatello’s famous bronze horse who does not dare raise a leg off the ground (one hoof rests on a bronze ball) or small Roman bronzes of Alexander the Great on his rearing mount.

Oil Lamp, c.1516-24, Bronze
The Frick Collection, New York

One glass case contains the remarkable lamp from the Frick Collection with others from London, Oxford, and Paris. Three of these are attributed to Riccio and one in the manner of the artist. The fabulously decorated bodies of the Frick’s, Oxford’s and London’s lamps, all attributed to Riccio, balance on elegant sinuous footings. Placed near these lamps and celebrating writing is an intricate bronze vessel from Florence reunited for the first time with its cover from London. There are many gems in this room to ponder. I may just point out, that some of Riccio’s early figures, let’s say before 1516, tend to have rather disproportiately large hands and rubbery arms. When you look close at some of these figures, compare the arms, wrists and hands to the well-developed and well-modeled chests and backs.

Drinking Satyr, c. 1515-20, Bronze
Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna

In the second large gallery room, the home of the previously discussed Satyr and Satyress, are statuettes and narrative reliefs. The ithyphallic figure identified as a Satyr (Pan)?, c.1520, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, is near a showcase of three Drinking Satyrs ,united for the first time, from Paris, Padua and Vienna. There is much to compare in another vitrine housing four similarly posed seated males, a Pan, a Faun, and two Shepherds from four different collections. Another case holds a Warrior, c.1513-20, Private Collection, United Kingdom and a Strigil Bearer, c.1515-10, The Collection of Mr. and Mrs. J. Tomilson Hill, that are in the identical posture but whose modeling and surfaces are finished quite differently.

Entombment, c. modeled after 1516, Bronze,
Daniel Katz, Ltd., London

You will also see an Entombment, modeled after 1516,Daniel Katz, Ltd., London near the large relief of the Entombment, c.1516-20’s, the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. and the beautifully rendered Saint Martin and the Beggar, 1513-20, Galleria Giorgio Franchetti alla Ca’d’Oro, Venice.

St. Martin and the Beggar, 1513-1520, Bronze,
Galleria Giorgio Franchetti alla Ca' d'Oro, Venice

When you think of who was working and producing sculpture in Italy at the time of Riccio or earlier, his work may diminish. There was Andrea del Verrocchio, Desiderio da Settignano, Antonio Rossellini, and the great Michelangelo just to name a few. Yet, Riccio brought much talent and creatively and his legacy is presently on view for you to enjoy.

Note: The National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., has a significant collection of Renaissance bronzes including a large group of Riccio plaquettes most of which from the Samuel H. Kress Collection.

Altar with Female Bust, Bronze,
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.

There is also a sample of Riccio’s teacher Bartolomeo Bellano.

Bartolomeo Bellano, Dead Crist with Two Angels,
Gilt Bronze, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.

On your next visit to Washington, D.C., treat yourself to some time in the National Gallery of Art West Building, Ground Floor.

Andrea Riccio's Satyr and Satyress

Satyr and Satyress, c. 1510-20, Bronze,
Victoria and Albert Museum, London

They are mythological figures, followers of the Greek god Dionysos, known for their reveling and wantonness. Yet here, they look longingly at each other, more love than passion. Their lips are puckered for a kiss; their cheeks puffed up. Her right thigh, slung over his left, exposes her labia majora swollen with excitement, the deep cleavage of her sex, and perfectly coiffed pubes. She is a big breasted, large-handed female with an elaborate hair style and head piece. He and she have pointy ears, goat-like hairy lower limbs and hooves that befit a satyr and satyress. His large right hand, about to caress her face, approaches her chin. Such a chin-chuck gesture along with the slung-leg motif was identified by the distinguished art historian Leo Steinberg as deriving from antiquity: the former expressing affection, sacred or profane while the latter communicating erotic love. Meanings of which would have been obvious to the learned scholars of Padua. It’s love not just sex! The artist, Andrea Riccio, modeled the figures in wax, the facial expressions are formed as if he squeezed the figure’s cheeks between his index finger and thumb, details are delineated with sharp, pointed instruments and the metal enlivened with hammer strokes. As this work was most probably meant for a shelf in a scholar’s studio, with the figure’s legs dangling off the ledge, the explicit sexuality could not be denied. Here it is for contemplation – eroticism in the intellectual sphere. Eros is in power. See them in the exhibition Andrea Riccio: Renaissance Master of Bronze at The Frick Collection. More on this exhibit to come.

Bronze Master at The Frick Collection

Satyr and Satyress, c. 1510-20, Bronze, Victoria and Albert Museum, London

Don't miss one of the funniest and masterly bronzes ever created. And don't miss some 30 other sculptures by the Renaissance artist, Andrea Riccio (1470-1532) now in New York at The Frick Collection.

Watch for my next blog to learn about the Satyr and Satyress including the erotic symbolism of the slung leg motif and chin-chuck. Also, learn how best to view the bronzes and deepen your understanding of active looking. More is coming soon.