"Jan Gossaert's Renaissance" Exhibited at the National Gallery in London

Written by Stuart Covington Sunday, 04 December 2011 21:29

London.- Jan Gossaert, a native of Flanders (active 1503; died 1532), was one of the most startling and accomplished artists of the Northern Renaissance. ‘Jan Gossaert’s Renaissance’ is the first exhibition dedicated to the artist for over 40 years, and is on show at the NG London until 30th May 2011. The exhibition presents the results of a complete re-examination of his work, including new technical discoveries. Working for wealthy and extravagant members of the Burgundian court in the Low Countries in the first three decades of the 16th century, Gossaert was especially noted for his sensuous nudes painted to evoke the sheen of marble and his stunning illusionistic portraits in which he plays intriguing spatial games. The first northern artist to draw directly from antiquity in Italy (during a visit to Rome in 1508–9), Gossaert was a peerless exponent of the illusionistic properties of oil paint as practised by his countrymen from Jan van Eyck onwards.

The exhibition features over 50 works, including many of the artist’s most important paintings, including the ‘Virgin and Child’, from 1527 (from the Prado in Madrid), and ‘Hercules and Deianeira’ painted in 1517 (from the Barber Institute of Fine Arts in Birmingham). It also features drawings and contemporaneous sculptures of the Northern Renaissance. The National Gallery has one of the largest and finest collections of Gossaert’s paintings in the world, a highlight being 'The Adoration of the Kings' (1510–15). This exhibition allows them to be set in the context of the full range of the artist’s work, from the fruits of his early visit to Rome to the unusually erotic presentation of the nude in his 'Adam and Eve' series. This exhibition was organised by the National Gallery, London, in association with The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (where it was previously on display).

The History of London’s National Gallery dates back to April 1824 when the House of Commons agreed to pay £57,000 for the picture collection of the banker John Julius Angerstein. His 38 pictures were intended to form the core of a new national collection, for the enjoyment and education of all. In 1831 Parliament agreed to construct a dedicated building for the National Gallery at Trafalgar Square. There had been lengthy discussion about the best site for the Gallery, and Trafalgar Square was eventually chosen as it was considered to be at the very centre of London. Trafalgar Square could be reached by the rich driving in their carriages from the west of London, and on foot by the poor from the East End. It was felt that in this location the paintings could be enjoyed by all classes in society. The new building designed by William Wilkins finally opened in 1838. A new wing was completed in 1876 and further expansion continued throughout the twentieth century. In 1985 Lord Sainsbury and his brothers agreed to finance the construction of a new wing on a site next to the Gallery which had been vacant since the Second World War, when a furniture shop was destroyed by bombing.

The new Sainsbury Wing, designed by Pritzker Prize winning architect Robert Venturi and his wife, Denise Scott Brown, was opened in 1991, to display the entire early Renaissance collection. With a commitment to free admission, a central and accessible site, and extended opening hours the Gallery has ensured that its collection can be enjoyed by the widest public possible, and not become the exclusive preserve of the privileged. Following the completion of the Sainsbury Wing, the Gallery has a total floor area of 46,396 metres squared and is visited by more than 4 million people every year. Visit the National Gallery’s website at … http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/

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