Whenever we get to DC for any appreciable time, we try to get to the National Gallery. We can spend hour after meandering through the maze of viewing rooms, taking a vurtual tour through the timeline of art history. There’s so much to see that we never see it in its entirety, often leaving out entire eras and movements. But one section that we never miss is that area that features the Byzantine and early Italian Renaissance art. Maybe it’s the beauty of the gold-leafed backgrounds that give the religious scenes an iconlike feeling or maybe it’s the thought of all the history that many of these pieces had witnessed and how amazing it is that they have weathered the vagaries of many wars to survive in such beautiful condition.
Take for example, the painting above, St.. Jerome Reading from one of my favorite artists of this era, Giovanni Bellini. The surface and colors of this piece are stunningly pristine looking even though it was painted in the 1480’s. It looks as fresh as a newly painted work. I don’t know how much conservation this painting has underwent but one of Bellini’s masterpieces and another of my favorites, St. Francis in the Desert, which is in the Frick Collection in NYC, underwent conservation last year and they said it basically just needed a good dusting off. Even if it has underwent a little plastic surgery, which I doubt, it is incredible to see it’s surface.
Another favorite is a piece from Andrea del Castagno made from leather stretched over a wooden frame called The Youthful David that features the image of the biblical David with his sling in hand and the head of Goliath at his feet. The piece was painted as a shield for probably some wealthy Florentine family to brandish during the festivals and parades of the time. I love the color and action of this piece as well as the thought of how many events it has been witness to over the ages, how many parades in which it was carried since it was painted in the 1450’s.
I could go on and on about some of the work there, so many pieces that stop me in my tracks in awe. I thought I would just mention these two because they hit me most the other day and continually inspire in ways that are not always evident.
Just plain good stuff…
Redtree Times 