Monday, January 26, 2015

Get There While You Can


El Greco, View of Toledo
Greco-Spanish, 1597-1599
New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art
About two months ago I wrote an article outlining the amazing array of offerings in the museums of New York City available between the beginning of November and the end of January.  The distractions of two bouts of bronchitis and the flurry of activity surrounding Christmas and New Year, plus my concentration on researching and writing my still unfinished articles about the Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary meant that I didn’t take the time to properly review and recommend any of those exhibitions.  

This is unfortunate, especially in the case of the recently closed exhibition of the paintings and tapestries of Pieter Coecke van Aelst.  That was a simply spectacular show, which ended with a weekend devoted to a scholarly symposium on Coecke and his period, part of which I attended. 

El Greco, St. Luke
Greco-Spanish, ca. 1600-1605
New York, Hispanic Society of America

However, several of the exhibitions are still open, at least through next Sunday, February 1, and two in particular are not to be missed if possible.

The Met will close two important exhibitions on February 1.  
El Greco, Holy Family
Greco-Spanish, ca. 1585
New York, Hispanic Society of America











The first is a lovely little show of the El Grecos in the Met’s own collection, including the two usually seen only in the Lehman wing, reminding us once again of the depth of the Met's holdings.  These are supplemented by several paintings from the little known collections of the Hispanic Society of America, which is located in a corner of Manhattan (at Broadway and 155th Street) not usually visited by tourists and seldom even by New Yorkers.   Indeed, I myself visited it for the first time only two years ago. 

The paintings from the Hispanic Society make a welcome addition to round out the Met’s familiar holdings.  They include a lovely Holy Family, featuring a very substantial Baby Jesus, a sensitive St. Luke and a Penitent St. Jerome which provides a nice pendant to the Met’s St. Jerome as a Cardinal from the Lehman Collection. 
El Greco, Penitent St. Jerome
Greco-Spanish, c. 1600
New York, Hispanic Society of America
El Greco, St. Jerome
Greco-Spanish, 1600-1614
New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Lehman Collection












But, the star among the Hispanic Society pictures, as far as I am concerned, is a beautiful head of St. Francis of Assisi.

El Greco, St. Francis of Assisi
Greco-Spanish, ca. 1590
New York, Hispanic Society of America
As the Met notes, the St. Francis head has been cut from a much larger canvas, one of the myriad paintings of St. Francis that came from the studio of the master.  But the head itself is so beautifully painted that it is probably from the hand of El Greco himself.  And, happily, it does not really suffer from its cut out state.  Instead, the profile view, seen against a black background produces almost the effect of a sculptural profile bust.  The effect is startling and very impressive.  The reproduction at left does not do it justice.   You should see it if you can.

It should also be noted that the Frick is also running a small complementary exhibition of its own three El Greco paintings.  This will also close on February 1. 



Bartholomeus Spranger, Self-Portrait
Belgian, c.1585
Vienna, Kunsthistorisches Museum
The second exhibition that warrants viewing at the Met called Bartholomeus Spranger:  Splendor and Eroticism in Imperial Prague.  

Like Coecke van Aelst, Spranger was an artist from a period of time and an area of Europe little known to American museum goers -- the later Northern Renaissance and Mannerist periods.  In the last ten years the Met has presented three shows devoted to the work of artists from this time and place.  The first, in the autumn of 2010, was of the work of Jan Gossart (sometimes known as Mabuse).  The second and third are the two recent/current exhibitions of Coecke van Aelst and Spranger.

All three men originated in the Belgian town of Antwerp, but had their success in other locations and under the patronage of members of the Burgundian Hapsburg royal family.  All three were extremely important in blending the art of the earlier Northern Renaissance artists, with their near miraculous oil painting techniques, and the classical art of the Italian Renaissance during that interesting and still not quite understood period known as Mannerism, with its exaggerated forms and complicated compositions.  All three started out as painters, but created some of their most interesting and important work as designs for tapestries, stained glass,  gold work, engravings and other "minor arts" to be executed by others. 
Bartholomeus Spranger, Lamentation of the Dead Christ
Belgian, c. 1576
Munich, Bayerisches Staatsgemaeldiesammlungen

Of the three, Spranger is the youngest.  Spranger received his initial training in Antwerp, then went on to work in Italy at Parma as an assistant to the painter Bernardino Gatti and, most importantly, in Rome where he worked with the artist Giulio Clovio in service to Cardinal Alessandro Farnese and to Pope Pius V.  After the death of Pope Pius he moved on to the service of the Emperor Maximilian II at Vienna (from 1575) and then to the service of Rudolf II at Prague, beginning in 1580.

Bartholomeus Spranger, Odysseus and Circe
Belgian, ca. 1580-1582
Vienna, Kunsthistorisches Museum













Bartholomeus Spranger, God the Father
with The Holy Spirit and Angels
Belgian, ca. 1582
Vienna, Kunsthistorisches Museum







He remained in Prague for most of the rest of his life, dying there in 1611.

All these movements and parts of his life are displayed in the three rooms of the exhibition, including a modern interpretation of what a portion of the Kunstkammer of Rudolf II might have resembled: combining paintings, drawings, prints, animal skeletons (on loan from the American Museum of Natural History across Central Park), ivory carvings and other curiosities into one grand display.

Partial view of the Met's installation reproducing the
Kunstkammer of Rudolf II
The large painting is Spranger's Jupiter and Antiope
of about 1596 from the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna





Like Arcimboldo, about whom I have written previously, Spranger’s paintings easily fit right into this type of display. 
Bartholomeus Spranger, Allegory of Fame
Belgian, 1592
Vienna, Kunsthistorisches Museum
This allegory refers to the hoped for victory
of Rudolf II over an invading Turkish army.
In reality, Rudolf suffered a defeat.















Like his fellow Mannerists Spranger’s oeuvre mixes Christian religious scenes with allegories and with stories of the doings of the pagan gods of antiquity, depending on the taste and requirements of the patron for whom he worked.

Hendrick Goltzius after Bartholomeus Spranger, Feast of the Gods at the Marriage of Cupid and Psyche
Belgian, 1587
New York, Metropolitan Museum of Arts
This engraving, following a drawing by Spranger in the Albertina Museum in Vienna, made Spranger famous throughout late 16th century Europe.  The original drawing  is displayed alongside the Met's own copy of the print (seen here).

Bartholomeus Spranger, Adoration of the Kings
Belgian, ca. 1595
London, National Gallery
Bartholomeus Spranger, Vanitas
Belgian, ca. 1600
Krakow, Wawel Castle



















Many of the objects in the exhibition come from the Kunsthistorisches Museum and the Albertina in Vienna and from other collections in Germany, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Romania, Poland and Liechtenstein. For this reason alone the show is worth seeing and even more rewarding when seen as part of the wider European phenomenon of Mannerism that is represented by Spranger, Coecke van Aelst and Gossart in the north, by the artists of the School of Fontainebleau in France, El Greco in Spain and the Italian Mannerists like Rosso, Pontormo, Parmigianino, Giulio Romano, Vasari and others in Italy.

Bartholomeus Spranger, Noli Me Tangere
Belgian, ca. 1590-1600
Bucharest, National Museum of Art of Romania
Bartholomeus Spranger, Angelica and Medoro
Belgian, ca. 1600
Munich, Alte Pinakothek




















Bartholomeus Spranger, Venus at the Forge of Vulcan
Belgian, ca. 1610
Vienna, Kunsthistorisches Museum
So, if you can make it this week, get there while you can (but stay safe during the impending snow storm and wait till the end of the week, if possible).


© M. Duffy, 2015

Thursday, January 22, 2015

The Joyful Mysteries – The Annunciation, Part IV: "As If She Were A Dove That Dwelt There"

Jan van Eyck, Annunciation
Netherlandish, ca. 1435
Washington DC, National Gallery of Art


“And Mary was in the temple of the Lord as if she were a dove that dwelt there….. “ Protoevangelium of James:  8 1



The tradition that Mary spent time in the temple as a girl and young woman comes from the Protoevangelium of James, one of the numerous non-canonical or apocryphal books purporting to tell the story of Christ, that came into being around the middle of the second century.


The Protoevangelium focused on the story of Mary, from her own birth through Herod’s massacre of the innocents and the flight into Egypt.  Though recognized as not being canonical quite early in the Church’s history, the Protoevangelium contains numerous stories that have worked their way into Christian culture over the centuries and that have provided many of the stories that have been illustrated by artists since the Middle Ages,


Among these stories are the traditions of Mary’s consecration to the service of God in the Temple as a girl and those surrounding St. Joseph’s choice as her husband-to-be. 


For this reason, many artists have shown the Annunciation as happening in a large, imposing building or even a recognizable church, which is the artist’s way of placing Mary in the setting of the Temple.



The theme seems to have become popular during the late Middle Ages.  Mostly, artists have imagined the Temple as something with which they were familiar -- a church.



The theme appears to have developed most obviously in Northern Europe and the structures which were imagined were the Gothic cathedrals of the north.



Mazarine Master, Annunciation
from Hours of Phillippe the Good, also called the Hours of Joseph Bonaparte
French (Paris), c. 1400-1425
Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France
MS Latin 10538, fol. 31


Boucicaut Master, Annunciation
from Hours of Jeanne Bessonnelle
French (Paris), c. 1400-1425
Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France
MS Latin 1161, fol. 31

Annunciation
from a Book of Hours
French (Rouen), 1450-1500
Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France
MS Nouvelle acquisition latine 3134, fol. 25r


Jean Fouquet, Annunciation
from Hours of Etienne Chevalier
French, (Tours), 1452-1460
Chantilly, Musée Condé  
MS. 71


Petrus Christus, Annunciation
Flemish, 1452
Bruges, Groeninge Museum

Master of Charles of France, Annunciation
Two Leaves from Hours of Charles of France
French (Paris), 1465
New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Cloisters


Mary may appear at the entrance of the building or she may be seen inside the body of the church, which is usually indicated by the inclusion of an altar, sometimes with a priest seen standing there.

Master of the Hartford Annunciation, Annunciation
French, c. 1480
Hartford, CT, Wadsworth Atheneum


Matthias Grünwald, Annunciation
German, 1515
Colmar, Musée d'Unterlinden


Although these are to be understood as the Temple, they are, in all practical terms, churches in which the Catholic liturgy can take place and where it may actually be taking place at the same time as the artist is showing us the Annunciation event.  This juxtaposition ties past time with present time, the Annunciation of Christ’s birth in the flesh through the human body of Mary with the transformation of the ordinary materials of bread and wine into His Sacramental Body and Blood on the altar.


As time went on the application of the classical forms of the Italian Renaissance began to alter the setting.  The building began to resemble something that more closely approximates what we might today imagine as the temple.

Jean Bourdichon, Annunciation
from Hours of Frederic d'Aragon
French (Tours), 1501-1504
Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France
MS Latin 10532, fol. 16


Jean Bourdichon, Annunciation
from Grandes Heures of Anne de Bretagne
French (Tours), 1503-1508
Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France
MS Latin 9474, fol. 26v


Noel Bellemare and Workshop, Annunciation
Leaf from a Book of Hours
French, c. 1530-1535
Cleveland, Museum of Art

Maertan van Heemskerck, Annunciation
Dutch, 1546
Haarlem, Frans Halsmuseum


Paris Bordone, Annunciation
Italian, 1545-1550
Caen, Musée des Beaux-Arts

It was made explicit in Veronese’s painting at San Sebastiano in Venice by the inclusion of spiraling columns, known as Solomonic columns, because they were believed to duplicate the columns that stood in Solomon’s Temple at Jerusalem.

Paolo Veronese, Annunciation
Italian, 1558
Venice, Church of San Sebastiano


These columns from the Temple were believed to be identical with spiral columns that were given by Constantine to St. Peter’s basilica at the time of its construction in the fourth century to surround the still visible tomb of St. Peter.  These columns are still kept there today, though not in their original location.  Their form was the direct inspiration for the four enormous bronze columns, designed by Bernini and completed in 1633, that currently support the baldacchino over the main altar of the “new” St. Peter’s.2

Gianlorenzo Bernini,
Baldacchino of St. Peter's Basilica
Italian, Completed 1633
Vatican, St. Peter's Basilica

Artists continued to create works that placed the Annunciation to Mary in the Temple context, right up to recent times.

Alonso Cano, Annunciation
Spanish, 1655-1657
Castres, Musée Goya


Mathieu Le Nain, Annunciation
French, c. 1660
Autun, Musée Rolin


Joseph Rogues, Annunciation
French, 1815
Toulouse, Musée des Augustins


Charles Lorin, Annunciation
French, 1910-1914
New York, Church of St. Jean Baptiste



George Hawley Hallowell, Annunciation
American, Before 1926
Boston, Fogg Museum

Another development in this theme appears in a handful of pictures that show Mary in the Temple, wearing some of the vestments of a Catholic priest or acting in the place of a priest.  3

Boucicaut Master, Annunciation
from Book of Hours
French, 1415-1425
New York, Pierpont Morgan Library
MS M 1000, fol. 33r

Instead of seeing her in remote proximity to the altar, at which the priest stands, she may be seen at the altar or lectern acting as a liturgical minister in her own right.

Again, this is a conflation of past and present.  She is seen as uniting the two moments and actions, the Incarnation and the Consecration.


Master of the Aix Annunciation, Annunciation
French, 1445
Aix-en-Provence, Church of Sainte-Marie-Madeleine


To Be Continued

© M. Duffy, 2015
______________________________________________________
1. Translated by Alexander Walker. From Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 8.   Edited by Alexander Roberts, James Donaldson, and A. Cleveland Coxe, Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1886. Revised and edited for New Advent by Kevin Knight.
2.  J.B. Ward-Perkins, “The Shrine of St. Peter and Its Twelve Spiral Columns” in The Journal of Roman Studies, Vol. 42, Parts 1 and 2, 1952, pp. 21-33.
3.  Anne L. Clark, “The Priesthood of the Virgin Mary:  Gender Trouble in the Twelfth Century”, Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion, Vol. 18, No. 1, Spring 2002, pp. 5-24.