In the tradition of all the greatest American collections, the Alana Collection is the fruit of a passion for art and an intensive selection process, adopted over several decades by Alvaro Saieh and Ana Guzmán; the combination of the couple’s forenames make up the name of the Alana Collection. Over the years, their passion has been transformed into a veritable fascination with Gothic art and the Italian Renaissance and has gradually led them to focus on sixteenth- and seventeenth-century paintings.
These masterpieces have been exceptionally loaned to the Musée Jacquemart-André due to the two collectors’ passion for this period of art. The exhibited works attest to the enduring taste for the Italian Renaissance, considered as a founding stone of Western civilisation. They provide a comprehensive overview of one of the greatest collections of private art, from thirteenth-century painting to Caravaggesque works.
Details:
The Musée Jacquemart-André will be focusing on the Alana
collection, one of the most precious and little-known private collections of
Renaissance art in the world, which is currently located in the United States.
Echoing its exceptional collection of Italian art, the Musée Jacquemart André will hold an exhibition of more than
seventy-five masterpieces by the greatest Italian masters, such as Lorenzo
Monaco, Fra Angelico, Uccello, Lippi, Bellini, Carpaccio, Tintoretto, Veronese,
Bronzino, and Gentileschi. This exhibition will give
visitors a unique chance to admire for the first time pictures, sculptures, and objets
d’art that have never been exhibited to the general public.
The Musée Jacquemart-André was a model for collectors who, in
turn, established collections that largely focused on the Italian Renaissance.
The collection assembled by Édouard André and Nélie Jacquemart inspired the
most prestigious American collectors, who built up considerable collections of
works. In keeping with the original aims of its founders, the Musée
Jacquemart-André will be presenting for the first time in
the world a selection of masterpieces from the Alana collection.
Although art historians are familiar with the collection it remains unknown to
the general pubic, because it has never been exhibited.
In the tradition of all the greatest American collections, the
Alana collection is the fruit of a passion for art and an intensive selection
process, adopted over several decades by Àlvaro Saieh and Ana Guzmán; the
combination of the couple’s forenames make up the name of the Alana collection.
These masterpieces have been exceptionally loaned to the Musée
Jacquemart-André due to the two collectors’ passion for this period of art. The
exhibited works attest to the enduring taste for the Italian Renaissance,
considered as a founding stone of Western civilisation. They provide a
comprehensive overview of one of the greatest collections of private art, from
thirteenth-century painting to Caravaggesque works.
SECTION 1. A COLLECTOR’S DAZZLING CHOICE
Recognised by specialists as one of the largest collections of
ancient Italian art in private hands, the Alana collection is not only
distinguished by the quality of the works in it, but also by their
presentation, designed by Mr Saieh himself. In the spaces where the works are
located, the collection - which cannot be visited – is hung in a very dense
manner, in the tradition of the great classical collections and the Art
Exhibitions of the 18th and 19th centuries. The paintings form aligned groups,
in a set of perpendicular straight lines with a surprising geometric rigour.
True to this spirit, which is reminiscent of the style of Nélie Jacquemart in
the Italian rooms of the museum, the layout of the
first room evokes the extraordinary scenography of the Alana collection. At odds with
the current taste for a certain stripping down, the hanging, of a dizzying profusion, reflects the passion of the collectors for Italian art.
On the first two walls, works from
the 14th and 15th centuries are presented, all examples of the
artistic effervescence that Italy experienced during the Renaissance. On the
gold-backed panels, in the continuity of the gothic style, one can already
glean the stylistic innovations specific to
Trecento and Quattrocento: the subtle work with gold, the refinement of details
and above all the new attention paid to figures, as much in their facial
expressions as their postures. Architectural elements are emerging and becoming
more complex as artists seek to experiment with new representations of space.
The third wall mainly contains works from the 16th century, a period that
constitutes a more recent focus for the collectors. While testifying to the
stylistic variety of the different Italian pictorial schools, these works attest to the same tase for the finesse of execution and the
virtuoso treatment of shapes and colours. They thus reveal, in filigree, the
common denominator presiding over the development of the collection.
1. Nardo di Cione,(Florence, active
from about 1343 to 1365), The Annunciation, circa1350-1355, Tempera and gold on panel, 35 x 23 cm each panel, Alana
Collection, Newark, DE, United States, Photo: © Allison Chipak
2. Guariento di Arpo, (Padoue, 1338
- 1370), Trittico. Crocifissione con i santi Giovanni Battista, Bartolomeo,
Andrea e Caterina [Triptych with the Crucifixion and St. John the Baptist, St.
Bartholomew, St. Andrew and St. Catherine], circa 1360, Tempera and gold on
wood, 71 x 58.5 cm, Alana Collection, Newark, DE, United States, Photo: ©
Allison Chipak
SECTION 2. THE GOLDS OF THE ITALIAN PRIMITIVES, AT THE DAWN OF THE
RENAISSANCE
If the hanging of the first room
mimics that of the collectors, the exhibition then follows a chronological path
that reflects the strengths of the Alana collection. The second room, which brings
together major works from the 13th and 14th centuries, evokes the beginnings of
a revival of painting on a golden background. In the
13th century, cultural influences become intertwined: painters were inspired by
stylized Byzantine art (Eight Scenes from the Life of Christ, a 13th
century Roman painter), while paying attention artistic innovations (Madonna
and Child, Master of the Magdalen). Their works reflect
the same desire, that of finding a more direct relationship with God and
telling the story of men, the faith that animates them and the love of
nature that surrounds them.
The 14th century paintings and
sculptures in the Alana collection reflect the variety of figurative languages
on the peninsula. The largest Tuscan art centres are represented, first and
foremost Florence through the refinement of Bernardo Daddi and the
sumptuousness of Niccolo di Pietro Gerini. Also documented is the art from Pisa,
with the splendid Saint Catherine of Alexandrie painted by Francesco Traini, as
well as the art from Siena, with the delicate works of Pietro Lorenzetti and
Luca di Tommè. The array of these masterpieces offers a remarkable insight into
Tuscan art at the dawn of the Renaissance
1. Master of the Magdalen (Filippo di
Jacopo?), (Active in Florence, circa 1265 -1290), Madonna and Child enthroned
with two haloed figures; The Annunciation; Two crowned saints (two martyred
virgins of Saint Ursule?); Christ’s Baptism; St Dominic or Fra Gherardo ?, circa
1285-1290 Tempera and gold on wood, 36.8 x
31.8 cm, Alana Collection, Newark, DE, United States, Photo: © Allison Chipak
2. Roman Painter of the 13th
Century, (Third Quarter of the 13th Century), Eight Scenes of Christ’s Life:
The Annunciation, the Nativity and the Adoration of the Magi; the Presentation
in the Temple; Christ’s baptism; The Last Supper; Prayer at the Olive Garden;
Arrest; Flagellation, Third quarter of the 13th century, Tempera and gold on
wood, 56 x 79 cm, Alana Collection, Newark, DE, United States, Photo: © Allison
Chipak
13 Luca della Robbia, (Florence,
1399/1400 - 1482), Madonna and Child, circa 1440, Terracotta and painted and gilded wood, 37.2 cm in diameter, Alana
Collection, Newark, DE, United States, Photo: © Allison Chipak
Luca della Robbia, (Florence, 1399/1400 – 1482), Madonna and
Child, circa 1440, In the centre of a wooden tondo with a gilded and moulded
frame, the Madonna, whose torso is slightly inclined, is holding the Child with
her left arm, while affectionately caressing one of his feet with her right
hand. The Son, who is facing her, has grasped part of her light veil, revealing her hair.
The two figures, characterised by
great tenderness, stand out against a blue background adorned with red rays. The
relief is part of a very successful series produced by the artist in a variety
of forms in the 1440s, with some variations
(for example, in the framing) and in various materials: glazed terracotta, painted
terracotta, cartapesta (papier-mâché), stucco, marble, and polychrome majolica.
The wide dissemination of reliefs of Madonnas, which were carved or modelled in
Luca della Robbia’s studio—due to their production using the technique of
moulding and the ease with which they could be transported—attests to the
importance of an image around which a popular cult had developed, and which was
ideally suited to the decoration of homes and private chapels, and also places
of worship. The Alana tondo, characterised by its high artistic quality and its
distinct wooden support, depicts the Marian theme via a composition that is
both studied and natural, in which the gestures express the emotional and human
bond between the mother and child, and the sense of melancholy and conscious
sorrow that can be discerned in the Madonna’s gaze.
SECTION 3. THE FIRST FLORENTINE RENAISSANCE, A NEW CONCEPTION OF
ART
Florence’s economic influence is
growing at the beginning of the 16th century, relying on an
oligarchy of powerful merchant families that, like religious congregations,
became major patrons for artists. In this climate of effervescence also marked
by the rediscovery of ancient thought and art, the masters of the First
Renaissance create large-scale works, an exceptional sample of which can be
found in the Alana collection. At the dawn of the 15th century, Lorenzo Monaco
was the greatest painter in Florence. Taught in the Giottesque tradition, he
abandoned this convention in favour of the sinuous and elegant style of
international gothic. His Annunciation gives an extraordinary interpretation,
both by the richness of the colours and by the softness of the gestures.
1. Paolo Uccello, (Florence, circa
1397-1475), Madonna and Child, circa 1433-1434 Tempera
and gold on wood, 45.1 x 30.8 cm, Alana Collection, Newark, DE, UNITED States,
Photo: © Allison Chipak
2. Lorenzo Monaco, (Active in
Florence, 1389 - 1423/24), The Annunciation, circa 1420-1424 Tempera and gold on wood, 169.6 x 120.7 cm, Alana Collection,
Newark, DE, USA, Photo: ©
In parallel to these modern and imaginative variations of the
gothic style, a new pictorial trend emerges, reflecting
the innovations of Florentine sculptors. Painters developed a growing
interest in the plasticity of forms, as shown by Paolo Uccello’s Madonna and
Child and the St. John the Evangelist of the young
Filippo Lippi, a quasi-sculptural figure marked by a poignant expression of
suffering. Its silhouette, shaped by light, testifies to a spatial mastery also
at work in Fra Angelico’s St. Sixtus. This research is accompanied by a gradual
appropriation of the principles of perspective, a pictorial translation of
contemporary esthetical and cultural advances. New subjects, inspired no longer
by religious history but by ancient texts, are emerging. The Scheggia panel depicts an episode in the history of Coriolanus, a legendary
figure of the Roman Republic, in a narrative scene that evokes the Florentine bourgeoisie’s
taste for ancient history.
Filippo Lippi, (Florence, circa
1406 - Spoleto, 1469), St John the Evangelist, circa 1432-1434, Tempera and gold on panel, 42.8 x 32 cm, Alana Collection, Newark,
DE, United States, Photo: © Allison Chipak
Lorenzo Monaco, The Annunciation, circa 1420-1424 Lorenzo Monaco
was the greatest painter in Florence at the dawn of the 15th century. Trained
by Agnolo Gaddi in the Giottesque tradition, he abandoned it in favour of the
sinuous and elegant style called international gothic. Here, the archangel
Gabriel, with brightly coloured wings, kneels before the Virgin and announces
that she will bear the Son of God. Disturbed by the arrival of the angel, Mary
drops her psalter and raises her hand in a gesture of surprise. The dove of the
Holy Ghost descends from the upper left. Between the
two figures is a vase of lilies, a symbol of Mary’s purity. The painting
is part of a long tradition of Florentine painted altarpieces representing the Annunciation. The composition is partly inspired by one of the
earliest examples: the central panel of the triptych executed by Taddeo Gaddi in the
1340s for Santa Maria della Croce al Tempio (Bandini Museum of Fiesole).
Parallels can also be drawn with one of Lorenzo
Monaco’s first altarpieces on the same subject, the large triptych painted
around 1415 for the Florentine church of San Procolo (Florence, Accademia). For
this Alana panel, the artist adapted Gabriel and Mary’s upper body from this
earlier work. The dramatic acuity that permeates the altarpiece of San Procolo,
where the suspended angel rises towards the Virgin retreating in her seat,
however, diminishes in this painting, which seems on the contrary to favour the
exaltation of its humility, suggested by the posture of the angel on his knees
- and the establishment of a bond between Mary and the viewer, through her
outward-facing gaze.
Lorenzo Monaco, (Active in
Florence, 1389 - 1423/24), The Annunciation, circa 1420-1424 Tempera and gold on wood, 169.6 x 120.7 cm, Alana Collection,
Newark, DE, USA, Photo: © Allison Chipak
Giovanni di Ser Giovanni Guidi, known as Lo Scheggia, The Story of
Coriolanus (in front of a cassone), circa 1460-1465 This panel was originally
the front of a cassone, these wedding chests usually made in pairs. The chosen
topic underlines the importance of family ties. The scene tells the story of
the Roman military leader Gaius Marcius Coriolanus who, condemned to exile,
switches to the enemy’s side and becomes a general in the Volscian Army. After
winning several battles, he reached the gates of Rome and set up his encampment
close to its walls. He rejected the delegations sent by the Senate with disdain
until a group of Roman women appeared before him, including his mother and
wife, accompanied by his two children. At their sight,
Coriolanus finally renounces the attack on Rome. In the painting, the
protagonist appears twice in the Volscian Camp, dressed as a Renaissance condottiere, first sitting and then standing kissing
his mother. The painter proposes a kaleidoscopic representation of reality,
multiplying the meticulous observations he organises in a huge panorama. The
far-reaching views of the landscape recall the birth plateau (desco da parto)
commissioned for the birth of Lawrence the Magnificent
(New York, Metropolitan Museum) and painted by Lo Scheggia in the style of Domenico
Veneziano and Pesellino. There is also an obvious reference to Paolo Uccello in
the imposing red walls of Rome, which help to circumscribe the immense
landscape, albeit only in part. Uccello also inspired the pattern of the
spears, raised above the heads of the fighters or
broken on the ground among the corpses.
Giovanni di ser Giovanni Guidi,
known as Lo Scheggia,(San Giovanni Valdarno, Florence 1406 - Florence,1486),
The Story of Coriolanus: a cassone front, circa 1460-1465, Tempera and gold on
wood, 43 x 155 cm, Alana Collection, Newark, DE, United States, Photo: ©
Allison Chipak
SECTION 4. FLORENTINE SPIRITUALITY AT THE END OF THE 15TH CENTURY
]The rediscovery of ancient heritage allowed Florentine painting
to free itself from the medieval vision that prevailed until then to give way
to a new expression of religious fervour. In the 1470s, the iconography of the
Virgin and Child standing on an architectural element was highly appreciated in
Florence, both in sculpture and in painting. The studio and the entourage of
Andrea del Verrocchio, a leading sculptor but also a painter, gave very
elaborate versions. The panel presented in this room evokes this studio
practice and the variations proposed by young artists from compositions
particularly appreciated at the time. The
Florentine spirituality at the end of the century is dominated by the figure of
Savonarola, a Dominican brother, preacher and reformer, who established a form
of theocratic dictatorship between 1494 and 1498. Echoing these political
upheavals, a new artistic sensibility developed,
reflecting the climate of fervent penitential devotion that prevailed in Florence
at the time. Christ on the Cross by the Master of Gothic Monuments,
Botticelli’s collaborator, offers an interpretation of the new aesthetic ideal
preached by Savonarola, which finds its full expression in
the Christ Depicted as the Man of Sorrows by Cosimo Rosselli. His
meticulous execution and realism foster a compassionate meditation on Jesus’
sufferings. These images, no doubt intended for private devotion, show all
facets of Florentine art throughout the 15th century, and
confirm that the Alana collection combines the pleasure of the
collector with that of the historian. 1 2 1. Entourage
of Alessandro Filipepi, known as Sandro Botticelli (Master of Gothic
Buildings), (Active from the late 15th to the beginning of the 16th century),
Christ on the Cross worshipped by saints, early 1490s, Oil on Panel, 76.2 x
91.4 cm, Alana Collection, Newark, DE, United States, Photo: © Allison Chipak 2. .Cosimo
Rosselli (1439-1507), Christ depicted as The Man of
Sorrows, circa 1490, Tempera and gold on wood, with original gold mouldings, 47
x 38 cm, Alana Collection, Newark, DE, UNITED States, Photo: © Allison Chipak
SECTION 5. THE GREAT VENETIAN PAINTINGS
The Alana collection has recently expanded its chronological and
geographical boundaries by housing works from the 16th century. Within this new
corpus, the paintings of northern Italy, and in particular of Venetia,
constitute the most important group after that of Florentine painting, with the intention of documenting the variety of Italian
figurative languages. Towards the end of the 15th century, painters gradually abandoned
tempera (egg painting) for oil painting and also changed support, with wooden
panels giving way to canvases. These technical developments have a major impact
on pictorial practice in Venice, which in the 16th century was distinguished by
an approach centred on colour rather than drawing. At the beginning of the
century, a certain luminism, typically Venetian, already emerged from the Crucifixion by Savoldo, although very marked by a Nordic influence. It was during the second half of the 16th century that Venetian
painting is experiencing a real golden age. In the lineage of Titian,
Tintoretto, Veronese and Jacopo Bassano multiply the effects from their brush
on their canvases, with great freedom of craftsmanship. There is an intense
emulation between these artists who compete for inventiveness and thanks to
which the Venetian school reaches its apogee. These three artists are
passionate about the rendering of light, but each
give a special atmosphere to their compositions: Bassano appropriates
the pastoral genre and introduces everyday life into his religious scenes (The
Adoration of the Shepherds), Tintoretto likes dramatic effects (Episodes from a
Battle), while Veronese plays on the contrasts between shadow and light(Saint
Peter and Saint Paul).
Giovanni Gerolamo Savoldo (circa
1480 - 1548), Crucifixion, circa 1510-1515, oil on wood, 94 x 71.8 cm Alana
Collection, Newark, DE, USA, Photo: © Allison Chipak
Jacopo Robusti, known as Tintoretto, Episodes from a Battle
(previously known as Battle between the Philistines and the Israelites), circa
1575-1580 Until recently, the scene was
identified with an episode of the battle between the Israelites and the
Philistines, spotting on the right of the canvas the murder of Goliath by
David. Despite the disproportion between the two figures - the
older victim appears gigantic compared to the young man who pierces his throat
with a spear - the iconographic attributes and clothing of the two characters
do not match those described in the Bible. According to Samuel XVII, David,
having renounced all armour, kills the giant with a slingshot - a weapon absent
from the scene - and then slices Goliath’s head, usually depicted in armour,
with a sword. This episode was never depicted in parallel with the clashes between
the two armies, since the duel between the champions had replaced the battle.
Here, however, the vast landscape, extraordinarily varied and defined, hosts several fights between small groups of figures,
which continue among the hedges and along a stream, while in the background appears a
camp with camels and elephants next to the tents, in
front of which small figures armed with spears seem to be fighting. If
identifying the subject of this great battle scene may seem difficult, the presence of
elephants in a landscape that is not exotic but planted with plant species
similar to ours could be a reference to Hannibal and the Punic wars.
Stylistically, this large canvas seems close to the warrior triumphs of the
Gonzaga family painted by Tintoretto between 1578 and 1580 for the Marquis Hall
at the Ducal Palace of Mantua, now preserved at the Alte Pinakothek in Munich -
works for which Jacopo Tintoretto received the help of his son Domenico and his
studio.
Jacopo Robusti, known as Tintoretto
(Venice, 1518-1594), Episodes from a Battle, circa 1575-1580, Oil on canvas, 146 x 230.7 cm, Alana Collection, Newark, DE, United
States, ©Heritage Image Partnership Ltd / Alamy Stock Photo/ HEMIS.
Paolo Caliari, known as Veronese,
(Verona, 1528 - Venice 1588), The Symbols of The Four Evangelists, circa
1575, Oil on canvas, 88 x 171.5 cm, Alana Collection,
Newark, DE, UNITED States, Photo: © Allison Chipak Paolo
Caliari, known as Veronese, The Symbols of The Four Evangelists This canvas
represents the symbols of the four evangelists. The very unbalanced perspective
reveals a view from the bottom up suggesting that the painting was executed for
the ceiling of a chapel or a small sacristy. The lion of St. Mark, emblem of
the Serenissima, the eagle of St. John and the ox of St. Luke stand out on the
dark sky. The only chromatic element, the angel of St. Matthew, almost in the
centre of the scene, is dressed in a purple tunic and holds an open Gospel on
his leg. The pre-eminence accorded to Matthew’s book could be an allusion to
the patron which still eludes us. The representation of the evangelists by the
symbols gathered here has its origin in certain passages of the Bible (Ezekiel
I, 1-14; Ezekiel X, 1-22; and Revelation IV, 6-9) which describe a heavenly
vision in which God the Father is accompanied by these figures. The sober naturalism of the scene, where each animal is
depicted according to its character, is enlivened by a painting animated by the tone
of the angel’s clothes, with well-defined folds and
enhanced with deep shadows, consistent with works painted
towards the middle 1570s.
SECTION 6 ET 7. SPLENDOUR AT THE
MEDICI COURT, THE MODERN «BEAUTIFUL WAY»
After the death of Savonarola in 1498, the city of Florence is
undergoing a major transformation with regard to political and cultural issues.
The moral values defended during his theocratic government remained important
in the decades that followed, as evidenced by the portable altar of personal
devotion made by Franciabigio. It was not until 1512
that the Medici, who had fled in 1494, were allowed to return to Florence.
Their political reconquest took place in several stages, but their dynasty
finally prevailed in 1530. In these troubled times, the arts retained a major place in
Florence. The genre of portraiture is particularly highlighted and allows some
painters to give the full measure of their talent. Pontormo’s talent is thus
highlighted in the Portrait of a Lute Player, both in the virtuoso treatment of
his coat and in the expressiveness of his face.
Francis of Cristofano Giuducci,
known as Franciabigio, (Florence, 1484 – 1525) Autel portable avec reliques,
peint sur les deux faces, avec l’Annonciation, la Nativité et des Scènes de la
Passion [Portable altar with relics, painted on both sides, with the Annunciation,
the Nativity and Scenes of the Passion], 1510, Oil on parchment mounted on
wood, 21 x 29 cm (open set), Alana Collection, Newark, DE, UNITED States Photo:
© Allison Chipak
Back in power, the Medici set their authority by designing a
clever policy of legitimisation by the image that reached its apogee with
Cosimo 1st. Bronzino was entrusted with the task of designing the new pictorial
language of the duchy. He develops it in his religious paintings such as Saint
Cosmas, whose profile evokes that of Cosimo 1st, but also in
the official effigies of the Duke, of great majesty.
The Medician splendour was also put forward by Giorgio Vasari, who
joined Cosimo 1st in 1554 and played a central role in Florentine artistic
production. He is known for his Lives of the Most Excellent Painters,
Sculptors, and Architects, a founding work in the history of Renaissance art,
in which he exalts court paintings, elegant and precious, superior to nature
and ancient models. An accomplished artist, he is, together with Pontormo and
Bronzino, one of the greatest representatives of this «maniera moderna» at
work, evident in his Salvator Mundi and his Allegory of Autumn Fruits .
Agnolo di Cosimo, known as Bronzino
(Florence, 1503-1572), Saint Como, circa 1543-1545, Oil on Panel, 73.5 x 51.3 cm (81 x 56.2 cm with modern additions),
Alana Collection, Newark, DE, UNITED States, Photo: © Allison Chipak
Orazio Gentileschi, (Pise, 1563 -
London, 1639), The Annunciation, circa 1600-1605 Oil on
slate-mounted alabaster, 49.5 x 38.5 cm, Alana Collection, Newark, DE, USA,
Photo: © Allison Chipak
SECTION 8. THE BAROQUE, A PICTORIAL REVOLUTION
The mannerism advocated by Vasari came to an end at the end of the
16th century. The Council of Trent (1545-1563), convened by Pope Paul III to
answer the questions raised in the context of the Protestant Reformation, gives
a new role to artistic creation. Works must no longer only be a medium of
devotion, but also of teaching, which will promote the emergence of a new
aesthetic. One of the first artists to apply
the principles of the Council of Trent was Annibale Carracci.
Together with his brother Agostino and his cousin Lodovico, he formalised the first features of an artistic movement that would be called
the Baroque. Based on the search for expressive realism, this pictorial style plays
on dramatic effects, the exaggeration of movement, the exuberance of shapes and
colours, characteristics at work in Carracci’s The Annunciation and more in the
one painted on alabaster by Orazio Gentileschi.
Annibale Carracci, The Annunciation, circa 1582-1588
The Carracci brothers, Annibale and his elder brother Agostino
(1557-1602), as well as their cousin Lodovico (1555-1619), founded in Bologna,
around 1582, one of the first academies in Italy, the
Accademia dei Desiderosi, where the first features of an aesthetic
and philosophical upheaval were formalised which, before the Caravaggio revolution, laid the first milestones of classicism and baroque.
However, in the 1580s, the three artists collaborated closely and their style was, in
those years, very similar. The attribution of certain paintings to one or the
other of the three artists may therefore fluctuate.
This work was first considered a work by Lodovico, then recognised as a
youthful painting by Annibale only in 1994, an identification that is now a
consensus among specialists. The composition is clearly incomplete in the
upper part, where the dove of the Holy Ghost and probably other cherubs,
perhaps also on both sides, were to be found, as it seems to have been
narrowed. It depicts the Virgin on the left and the archangel Gabriel on the
right, in an inversion to the medieval tradition increasingly common in 17th
century Italian painting. Its elegant and monumental aesthetic, vibrant
lighting and warm and natural colours mark a complete break with the unreal
world of the last Bolognese mannerists, such as Lorenzo Sabatini or Orazio
Samacchini. Its spectacular luminism also testifies
to a Venetian influence, which can be explained by one of Annibale’s
trips to Venice, made in the 1580s.
Annibale Carracci (Bologna, 1560 - Rome, 1609), The Annunciation, circa 1582-1588 Oil on
canvas, 134.6 x 98.4 cm, Alana Collection, Newark, DE, United States, Photo: ©
Allison Chipak
Bartolomeo Manfredi, Tavern Scene with a Lute Player, circa
1619-1620
Manfredi’s Lombard origins may not be for nothing in his encounter
with his compatriot Caravaggio in Rome in the 1600s. He quickly adopted his
powerful chiaroscuro and, with Jusepe de Ribera, became
one of the first Caravaggios. To describe his paintings, the historiographer
Joachim von Sandrart (1606-1688) invented the idea of a manfrediana methodus, a
combination of certain themes, genres and scenes, taken from the early works of
Caravaggio, using his style later developed. These are mostly scenes of
gambling houses, as here, where the characters, shown in mid-body, grouped
around a table, play cards, make music, drink... They had, more than the
paintings of Caravaggio himself, a considerable impact on many artists who,
like Valentin de Boulogne, Ribera, Tournier and Vouet, multiplied these
representations of the «lower depths of the Baroque» paradoxically intended for
Rome’s most prestigious galleries. There is a tension in this joyful scene that
can be read in the dark expression of the characters, dramatised by the violent
chiaroscuro that pulls them out of the shadows. A very nice copy of the
painting, usually attributed to Nicolas Tournier (1590-1638), is kept in the
Tessé Museum in Le Mans. It differs little from its model, in fact only by one
detail, the direction of the looks of the two young men at the centre of the
composition. Turned backwards in the Alana painting, towards the eater in the
background, on the left, they are clearly oriented towards the lute player in
the Le Mans painting. This change makes the composition’s scenography more
natural, but it also reduces its instantaneousness and its brilliant
quirkiness.
Bartolomeo Manfredi, (Ostiano, 1582
- Rome, 1622), Tavern Scene with a Lute Player, circa 1619-1620 Oil on canvas, 132.5 x 197.2 cm, Alana Collection, Newark, DE,
United States, Photo: © Allison
Orazio Gentileschi, The Madonna and Child, circa 1610-1612
Although it may have been suggested that the painting may be by
Artemisia, the daughter of Orazio Gentileschi, the technique as well as the
tender, intimate, extremely familiar and sentimental inspiration of the image
are perfectly consistent with Orazio’s style. As in the Madonna and Child of
Bucharest, the religious content is not striking at first, and the group might as well represent a simple motherhood
without the presence of the two very discreet haloes. At the beginning of the 17th
century, Georges de La Tour sometimes went even further with the absence of
religious attributes in works of the highest spirituality (The Newborn, Rennes,
Museum of Fine Arts). The semi-nudity of the Child might seem shocking, but
thanks to the publication of Leo Steinberg’s now classic book, The Sexuality of
Christ in Renaissance Art and in Modern Oblivion (1983), we can better
understand these «impudent» paintings in which the Virgin seems to expose the
very sex of the Child, proof of the dual nature of the God made man, integral
embodiment of the Divinity. If the density of matter and the luminous naturalism
refer here to a certain clear Caravaggism, derived from
the first Roman works of Caravaggio, those of the years 1592-1598,
the pyramidal composition and the use of the three primaries denote in
Gentileschi a search for classicism. The works that Gentileschi painted during
his stay in Paris, during 1624-1626, thus affect several French painters, such
as Laurent de La Hyre or Le Nain, who sometimes seek the same formal effects.
Orazio Gentileschi, (Pisa, 1563 -
London, 1639), The Madonna and Child, circa 1610-1612 Oil on Panel, 91.4 x 73 cm, Alana Collection, Newark, DE, UNITED
States, Photo: © Allison Chipak
Curatorship
> Carlo Falciani, an art historian, exhibition curator, and professor of the History of Modern Art at the Accademia di Belle Arte in Florence.
> Pierre Curie, curator at the Musée Jacquemart-André and a specialist in seventeenth-century Italian and Spanish painting.
Preview the exhibition below | View Apollo’s Art Diary here