Getty Museum Brings Together Masterpieces of Classical Baroque |
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| Friday, 07 November 2008 23:09 |
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Captured Emotions: Baroque Painting in Bologna, 1575-1725 is co-organized by the J. Paul Getty Museum and the Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister (Old Masters Picture Gallery), Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden (Dresden State Art Collections), and continues the collaboration between the Getty and the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden that began back in 1999. "This collaboration has given our curators the opportunity to show side by side works from the Getty's collection with works from the 11 extraordinary museums that comprise the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden," says Michael Brand, director of the J. Paul Getty Museum. "Having access to such magnificent collections and such brilliant colleagues has allowed the Getty to share previously untold narratives of the history of art with our visitors, as in 2006 with From Caspar David Friedrich to Gerhard Richter, in 2007 with The Herculaneum Women and the Origins of Archaeology, and now in 2008, with the story of the golden age of Baroque painting in Bologna."  The Carracci's contributions to the history of painting are not limited to their own work, but also include the countless talents they fostered in the academy they founded in 1582. Through their teaching, the Carracci influenced an extraordinary group of younger painters whose work will also be included in the exhibition, among them Guido Reni (1575-1642), Francesco Albani (1578-1660), Domenichino (1581-1641), Giovanni Lanfranco (1582-1647), and Giovanni Francesco Barbieri (1591-1660), known as Il Guercino because of his congenital squint (guercio). One of the highlights will be an iconic and powerful image of Christ in agony titled Christ with the Crown of Thorns (c. 1640) by Guido Reni, among the most important pupils of the Carracci. Reni portrays Christ's imminent death through his upwardly turned head and eyes, which recall the famous classical model of the dying Alexander. The artist's portrayal captures the duality of Christ as a dying man-through his naturalistic depiction of light and flesh-and as the Son of God, a spiritual icon of inner strength and beauty. The exhibition will also include important works by Guercino, who was never a student at the Carracci Academy but fell under the spell of Ludovico's influence at an early age. Guercino's early period is represented in the exhibition by four paintings of the Evangelists (Saints Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) with their respective attributes (1615)-profound psychological studies which exemplify Guercino's mastery of spotlit chiaroscuro. In addition, Guercino's later work is superbly represented in the exhibition with The Return of the Prodigal Son (1655), Lot and His Daughters (1650), and Disegno and Colore (1640). Guercino's talent for psychological penetration permeates each of these compositions, but they differ from his early works in that his compositions possess a classical clarity and are rendered in evenly diffused light with a brighter palette. The great century of Bolognese painting culminates with the brilliant painter Giuseppe Maria Crespi (1665-1747), who was deeply versed in the tradition of Bolognese painting and its mastery of chiaroscuro and naturalism. Crespi was himself a master of chiaroscuro and he utilized his talent for the portrayal of genre scenes--episodes directly observed from everyday life--and even infused these details in his religious paintings. Crespi's artistic genius and unique working style will be represented in the exhibition by his Seven Sacraments. This series of seven masterpieces illustrates the sacraments of the Catholic faith-Baptism, Confirmation, the Eucharist, Confession, Extreme Unction, Ordination, and Matrimony-with a profound human empathy and a close observation of natural effects.  At the Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister in Dresden, the artworks of the Bolognese School form a chief focus of the collection of the Department of Italian Painting, which was mostly acquired by Augustus III. (1696-1763), Elector of Saxony and King of Poland . Being primarily interested in well-known artists of the Bolognese Baroque, he paid special attention to the works of Annibale Carracci, Guido Reni, Francesco Albani, Domenichino, and Guercino, whose oeuvres are well-represented in the collection, as well as the cornerstone of this special exhibition. Martin Roth, director general of the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden, said, "We are delighted to lend so many masterpieces from our collection-many of which, due to both their size and importance, have not left Dresden since the 18th century-to the Getty and to its broad audiences in Los Angeles. This collaborative exhibition is yet another example of the successful partnership between Dresden and the Getty, and we are very pleased to have had the opportunity to work together again on this important project." The captivating city of Bologna sits at the crossroads of the most important transport routes in Italy . In the late 1500s, this charming Italian town became the seedbed of one of the most significant transformations in the history of art--the dawn of the great age of Baroque painting. The art of painting had declined from the great days of the High Renaissance, and the Carracci rejected the highly artificial style of Mannerism that had emerged. They sparked a reform in painting that was characterized by their refined blend of naturalism and classicism and unparalleled ability to capture emotions on the canvas. The exhibition will be accompanied by a companion book featuring large color illustrations of all the works in the exhibition as well as 11 concise chapters illuminating the exhibition's key themes. Visit the J. Paul Getty Museum at : www.getty.edu/museum/ Click on logo below to add this article to your favorite Social Website ~ |
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