Recent Acquisitions: Medieval,
Renaissance and Baroque Art
Saturday June 23, 2007
By Stan Parchin
Spring 2007 has proven to be a very busy season for obtaining works of art at Los Angeles' Getty Museum and Washington, D.C.'s National Gallery of Art. Four objets d'art are highlighted here for your pleasure.
The Getty Museum announced on April 18, 2007 that it acquired the visually powerful Christ in Majesty (ca. 1188), a large gilt copper and enamel relief, created in a workshop in Limoges, France. The crowned and seated figure of Jesus, his right hand raised in a gesture of blessing and left hand holding a Bible, was made from a single repoussé or embossed copper sheet, engraved as well as gilded in mercury. Christ's penetrating eyes are two dark blue glass pearls. Beneath the Savior's feet is a foliated plaque of multicolored enamel. Early next year, this remarkable twelfth-century sculpture will be featured prominently in the Getty's new Cathedral Treasury of medieval and Renaissance liturgical works (decorative arts, paintings, sculpture and stained glass). Based on stylistic grounds, scholars believe that Christ in Majesty was originally produced for the main altar of the Cathedral of St. Martin in Ourense in Galicia, northwest Spain, a pilgrimage stop on the way to Santiago de Compostella.
Made public on June 1, 2007 was The Getty Museum's purchase of the Northumberland Bestiary (13th Century), an English Gothic manuscript presently on view in Medieval Beasts (May 1-July 29, 2007), an exhibition displaying images of real and imaginary animals as depicted by European artists from ca. 500 to 1500. Some experts estimate that the Getty paid some $20 million (US) for this volume, distinguished by its technique of tinted drawing. Many of the illuminations in the Northumberland Bestiary, probably produced for a wealthy owner's personal use, served a practical purpose and could also be interpreted morally. The book begins with a full-page miniature of the Biblical Adam naming the world's animals, taken from the Old Testament Book of Genesis.
The Board of Trustees of Washington, D.C.'s National Gallery of Art revealed on June 15, 2007 a lengthy list of its recent acquisitions. Among them is Christ Enthroned with Two Angels (15th Century), an impression of an engraving by German artist Martin Schongauer (ca. 1450-1491) that the NGA has now added to its phenomenal collection of his prints.
Another outstanding work procured by the National Gallery of Art is the carved ivory Christ Bound (1620s), a Roman Baroque masterpiece attributed to Flemish sculptor François Duquesnoy (1597-1643). Known primarily for his larger compositions in marble and bronze, Duquesnoy's ivory works were greatly admired by the pope and wealthy Roman patrons of his day. In Christ Bound, the artist was able to achieve subtlety of movement and attention to anatomical detail in this small-scale sculpture. Jesus' body turns to the left as his head faces his right shoulder. The veins in Christ's arms bulge as a result of his wrists having been bound too tightly. The sorrowful and anguished expression on the Savior's face is accentuated by what remains of thorns from the torturous crown that was placed on his head. Every fold of Jesus' drapery is rendered crisply.
Image credits:
Limoges School (French)
Christ in Majesty, ca. 1188
Copper (half relief), engraved,
gilt and champlevé enamel
45.4 cm (17 7/8 in.)
2007.6
© The J. Paul Getty Museum,
Los Angeles, California
Unknown (English)
Adam Naming the Animals, from the
Northumberland Bestiary, ca. 1250-1260
Pen-and-ink drawings tinted with body
color and translucent washes on parchment
21 x 15.7 cm (8 1/4 x 6 3/16 in.)
2007.16.5v
© The J. Paul Getty Museum,
Los Angeles, California
Attributed to François Duquesnoy
(Flemish, 1597-1643)
Christ Bound, 1620s
Ivory
12 7/8 in. (including integral plinth)
Patrons' Permanent Fund
© National Gallery of Art, Washington
Spring 2007 has proven to be a very busy season for obtaining works of art at Los Angeles' Getty Museum and Washington, D.C.'s National Gallery of Art. Four objets d'art are highlighted here for your pleasure.
The Getty Museum announced on April 18, 2007 that it acquired the visually powerful Christ in Majesty (ca. 1188), a large gilt copper and enamel relief, created in a workshop in Limoges, France. The crowned and seated figure of Jesus, his right hand raised in a gesture of blessing and left hand holding a Bible, was made from a single repoussé or embossed copper sheet, engraved as well as gilded in mercury. Christ's penetrating eyes are two dark blue glass pearls. Beneath the Savior's feet is a foliated plaque of multicolored enamel. Early next year, this remarkable twelfth-century sculpture will be featured prominently in the Getty's new Cathedral Treasury of medieval and Renaissance liturgical works (decorative arts, paintings, sculpture and stained glass). Based on stylistic grounds, scholars believe that Christ in Majesty was originally produced for the main altar of the Cathedral of St. Martin in Ourense in Galicia, northwest Spain, a pilgrimage stop on the way to Santiago de Compostella.
Made public on June 1, 2007 was The Getty Museum's purchase of the Northumberland Bestiary (13th Century), an English Gothic manuscript presently on view in Medieval Beasts (May 1-July 29, 2007), an exhibition displaying images of real and imaginary animals as depicted by European artists from ca. 500 to 1500. Some experts estimate that the Getty paid some $20 million (US) for this volume, distinguished by its technique of tinted drawing. Many of the illuminations in the Northumberland Bestiary, probably produced for a wealthy owner's personal use, served a practical purpose and could also be interpreted morally. The book begins with a full-page miniature of the Biblical Adam naming the world's animals, taken from the Old Testament Book of Genesis.
The Board of Trustees of Washington, D.C.'s National Gallery of Art revealed on June 15, 2007 a lengthy list of its recent acquisitions. Among them is Christ Enthroned with Two Angels (15th Century), an impression of an engraving by German artist Martin Schongauer (ca. 1450-1491) that the NGA has now added to its phenomenal collection of his prints.
Another outstanding work procured by the National Gallery of Art is the carved ivory Christ Bound (1620s), a Roman Baroque masterpiece attributed to Flemish sculptor François Duquesnoy (1597-1643). Known primarily for his larger compositions in marble and bronze, Duquesnoy's ivory works were greatly admired by the pope and wealthy Roman patrons of his day. In Christ Bound, the artist was able to achieve subtlety of movement and attention to anatomical detail in this small-scale sculpture. Jesus' body turns to the left as his head faces his right shoulder. The veins in Christ's arms bulge as a result of his wrists having been bound too tightly. The sorrowful and anguished expression on the Savior's face is accentuated by what remains of thorns from the torturous crown that was placed on his head. Every fold of Jesus' drapery is rendered crisply.
Image credits:
Limoges School (French)
Christ in Majesty, ca. 1188
Copper (half relief), engraved,
gilt and champlevé enamel
45.4 cm (17 7/8 in.)
2007.6
© The J. Paul Getty Museum,
Los Angeles, California
Unknown (English)
Adam Naming the Animals, from the
Northumberland Bestiary, ca. 1250-1260
Pen-and-ink drawings tinted with body
color and translucent washes on parchment
21 x 15.7 cm (8 1/4 x 6 3/16 in.)
2007.16.5v
© The J. Paul Getty Museum,
Los Angeles, California
Attributed to François Duquesnoy
(Flemish, 1597-1643)
Christ Bound, 1620s
Ivory
12 7/8 in. (including integral plinth)
Patrons' Permanent Fund
© National Gallery of Art, Washington
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