GINEVRA DÉ BENCI

Ailsa Mellon Bruce, daughter of Andrew Mellon, the founder of the National Gallery of Art, was herself a lifelong benefactress of the museum. In 1967, she provided over $5 million that allowed the museum to purchase this painting from Lichtenstein royalty. It is still the only Leonardo da Vinci painting in the Americas. Leonardo was in his early 20s when he painted this work.

Ginevra dé Benci by Leonardo da Vinci (1474)

There is another "portrait" on the reverse side of the painting. It shows Ginevra's emblem, a juniper sprig encircled by a wreath of laurel and a palm and the phrase: VIRTVTEM FORMA DECORAT (beauty adorns virtue). The Italian word for juniper is ginepro, suggesting Ginevra's name. Some believe the painting was commissioned to celebrate her marriage in 1474. However, a more plausible possibility is the painting was commissioned by  Bernardo Bembo, the Venetian ambassador to Florence, to celebrate his platonic adoration of her. It is known that Bembo's emblem is near identical to Ginevra's, and infrared examination has also revealed Bembo's motto, Virtus et honor, painted beneath Ginevra's scrolling motto. During the Italian Renaissance platonic love affairs between gentlemen and wealthy ladies, often conducted from afar, were not uncommon.

Reverse side of Ginerva dé Benci © National Gallery of Art           

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The top photo in this blog post was taken by me during my visit to the National Gallery of Art in September, 2013. Unauthorized use is prohibited.

RAPHAEL IN THE NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART (THANKS TO JOSEPH STALIN)

Now I know that Joseph Stalin was not the most likable person in world history. However lovers of the National Gallery of Art should give thanks to him for ordering the sale of over 250 masterpieces from the Hermitage Museum in 1930 and 1931. The Russians needed American currency to finance their industrialization, so Stalin ordered the Hermitage to sell some of the museum's most important paintings, some of which had belonged to both Czar Nicholas I and Catherine II, empress of Russia.  Andrew Mellon took advantage of this amazing opportunity to purchase 21 of the world's greatest masterpieces for nearly $7,000,000. These paintings became part of the collection that Mellon donated to the museum as his founding gift. How ironic that Andrew Mellon, the archcapitalist, would purchase paintings from the archcommunist, Joseph Stalin.

In the early 19th century Raphael was the most highly-esteemed artist that rich Americans were buying. By purchasing these two Raphael paintings, the Alba Madonna for $1,700,000 and the St. George and the Dragon for $745,000, Mellon became the only American to have purchased three Raphael paintings, having purchased his first Raphael painting three years earlier.

The Alba Madonna (1510) by Raphael

St. George and the Dragon (1510) by Raphael

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Photos in this blog post were taken by me during my visit in September, 2013.

SUPPER AT EMMAUS

According to the Gospel of St. Luke, after the death of Christ, two of his disciples traveling down the road to Emmaus met a stranger and invited him to join them.  At supper the stranger blessed the bread and broke it to give to the disciples.  Immediately the disciples saw the stranger was Christ risen from the dead.  

This painting dramatically captures the moment when the disciples realize the stranger is Christ himself. Caravaggio painted this masterpiece in 1601 for a Roman nobleman and avid art collector.  The painting contains all the stylistic elements that Caravaggio is noted for: the realistic figures and the dramatic changes of light and dark, known as chiaroscuro.

This painting is part of London's National Gallery of Art's permanent collection, but in late 2009, the National Gallery lent the painting to the Art Institute of Chicago for three months in return for borrowing a painting by Francisco de Zurbará which would play a key part in an exhibition. During a visit to the Art Institute, I was fortunate to be able to see the painting on display.

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This post was originally published in my blog Tutti Capolavori on October 16, 2012. 
The photo was taken by me during my visit to the Art Institute of Chicago.

 

VIEW OF THE RIVA DEGLI SCHIAVONI, VENICE

Venice, with its light and architecture, its canals and people, was a subject of endless fascination and exploration for Giovanni Antonio Canal, called Canaletto.  In this painting from the late 1730s, the flicker of light on the water, the gondoliers, and the clearly delineated buildings against a crisp blue sky demonstrate Canaletto's passion for recording the details of his native Venice. Often using a camera obscura as an aid to composition, Canaletto painted his compelling views of Venice primarily for Englishmen, a masterpiece being the ultimate souvenir of their Grand Tour.  This painting hangs in the Toledo Art Museum.

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This post was originally published in my blog Tutti Capolavori on July 3, 2012. The photo in this blog post was taken by me on my visit to the Toledo Art Museum in May, 2012.