Gabriel de Saint-Aubin (1724–1780)
October 30, 2007, through January 27, 2008
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Gabriel de Saint-Aubin (1724–1780), Sheet of Studies Including a Portrait of Mademoiselle Clairon, 1773, Black chalk, brush and colored washes, 22.9 x 16.8 cm, Musée du Louvre, Paris, Département des Arts graphiques, Livre des Saint-Aubin, fol. 21 |
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The Frick Collection presented an exhibition devoted to the art of Gabriel de Saint-Aubin, one of the most original and innovative French artists of the Enlightenment. The fruit of many years’ research by curators on both sides of the Atlantic, the exhibition was the first major Saint-Aubin retrospective in more than eighty years and the first ever to include works from both European and North American collections. It was also the first such collaborative effort between The Frick Collection and the Musée du Louvre, where the show will be on view from February 27 to May 26, 2008.
The exhibition included a prime selection of Saint-Aubin’s prolific and varied oeuvre, comprising some fifty drawings and a small but exceptional sample of his most memorable paintings and etchings. These selections demonstrated the artist’s achievement in a variety of thematic areas, ranging from ancient history to portraiture to the decorative arts, while highlighting the representations of contemporary Paris for which he is best known. Several fine examples of a unique aspect of his work — the small art sale and exhibition catalogues that he filled with hand-drawn illustrations in the margins of the printed texts — also were on view.
Gabriel de Saint-Aubin never left his native Paris. Born in 1724 into a family of skilled craftsmen, he was, by the age of twenty-three, teaching figure drawing in a school of architecture. He studied at the prestigious Royal Academy but failed to win the coveted Prix de Rome that would have provided him a scholarship to study at the French Academy in Rome. He is often said to have reacted to this disappointment by throwing aside all hopes of a traditional artistic career and hastening out into the thoroughfares of Paris to sketch everything in sight, living an errant, bohemian existence and succumbing increasingly to an obsession with drawing. In fact, despite his personal eccentricities, he was employed as an illustrator all his life.
It was through a combination of contributing forces, rather than one guiding motivation or lifelong obsession, that Paris became the dominant theme of Saint-Aubin’s formal and informal production. Unlike certain genre painters of the period, he was not a specialist who produced repeated versions of a few proven ideas. Instead, he drew on every aspect of his richly varied artistic background to express a more immediate fascination with things going on in Paris that were attracting differing degrees of local, national, and — sometimes — international attention. Developing an almost reportorial sense of current events, Saint-Aubin took it upon himself to record for posterity memorable occurrences such as calamitous fires, the appearance in Paris of foreign dignitaries, public courses on scientific subjects designed for the instruction and amusement of sophisticated laymen, theatrical performances, and lavish entertainments presented at fashionable pleasure palaces. Saint-Aubin’s most original contribution was to capture in paintings, finished drawings, and thumbnail sketches the art exhibitions and sales of his day, both as great events in the life of Paris and in all their fascinating documentary detail. Through his unusual professional background and the matchless power of his pictorial imagination, Saint-Aubin created a new and intensely personal way of portraying the city that was his world. The Frick’s exhibition will give viewers an opportunity to glimpse Paris as Saint-Aubin saw it some two hundred and fifty years ago.
Gabriel de Saint-Aubin (1724–1780) was organized for The Frick Collection by Colin B. Bailey, Peter Jay Sharp Chief Curator, and Kim de Beaumont, Guest Curator; the curators at the Musée du Louvre are Pierre Rosenberg, President-Director Emeritus, and Christophe Leribault, Chief Curator in the Department of Drawings.
The accompanying catalogue is available, in both English and French, in the Museum Shop.
Major funding for Gabriel de Saint-Aubin (1724–1780) has been provided by The Florence Gould Foundation. Additional generous support has been provided by The Christian Humann Foundation, the Michel David-Weill Foundation, and The Grand Marnier Foundation.
The project is also supported, in part, by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts.
Special Loan: Parmigianino's Antea: A Beautiful Artifice
January 29, 2008, extended through May 1, 2008
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Girolamo Francesco Maria Mazzola, known as Parmigianino (1503 – 1540), Antea,
c. 1531–34, oil on canvas, Museo di Capodimonte, Naples; photograph courtesy of Soprintendenza Speciale per il Polo Museale Napoletano |
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Parmigianino’s Antea was on view at The Frick Collection beginning January 29, on special loan from the Museo di Capodimonte in Naples. It is the first time the painting was exhibited in the United States in more than twenty years. Although a masterpiece of Italian Renaissance female portraiture, little is known about the painting: its date is not firmly established nor is it clear why or for whom the portrait was painted. Even the sitter’s identity is a mystery. This single-painting presentation offered visitors an unprecedented opportunity to explore the many questions surrounding the Antea as well as the chance to consider the work within its original social and cultural context.
Antea was painted in the early 1530s by Girolamo Francesco Maria Mazzola, known as Parmigianino (1503–1540). Parmigianino depicted Antea standing, looking out at the viewer with surprising frankness. Her perfect oval face is set on an improbably ample body with wide shoulders and hips. The gold satin dress she wears is embellished with silver bands, while her apron and the cuffs of her underdress are decorated with delicate blackwork embroidery. Most of the items worn by Antea — including the marten fur, gold chain, head brooch, embroidered apron, and golden sleeves — were gifts commonly presented by lovers. Often, these were gifts given with the hope of erotic fulfillment, and, by wearing them, a woman stated her acceptance of her lover’s advances. Parmigianino has depicted Antea interacting with these gifts: she fingers the chain and points with her hand to her heart, implying that she is accepting her lover’s offer. As she meets our gaze, her pose and gestures create a dynamic of desire between herself and the viewer, who stands in for her lover.
While there is no known evidence definitively linking the woman Parmigianino depicted to a specific person, her identity has been the cause of speculation for centuries. She was first identified as “Antea” in 1671 by the artist and writer Giacomo Barri, who claimed she was Parmigianino’s mistress. As Antea was the name of a famous sixteenth-century Roman courtesan, it was assumed that this was the woman to whom Barri referred. She has been identified alternatively as the daughter or servant of the artist; a member of an aristocratic northern Italian family; and a noble bride. It is most likely, however, that the Antea represents an ideal beauty, a popular genre of portraiture during the Renaissance. In such portraits, the beauty of the woman and the virtues she stood for were the primary subject, while the sitter’s identity — and even her existence — were of secondary importance.
By creating an impossibly beautiful woman who, nonetheless, seems real enough to step out of the picture and speak to us, Parmigianino invites us to dwell on his unrivaled capacity to conjure an illusion transcending nature itself. A painting such as the Antea challenged us to consider the relationship between desire and art, for the work inspires an emotion both sensual and elevated. Though the woman’s youth is ephemeral, in Parmigianino’s painting, her beauty endures.
Parmigianino’s Antea: A Beautiful Artifice was organized for The Frick Collection by Christina Neilson, Andrew W. Mellon Curatorial Fellow, and by the Foundation for Italian Art & Culture. The exhibition is made possible through the generosity of the Alexander Bodini Foundation. Corporate support has been provided by Fiduciary Trust Company International. Additional support has been provided by Aso O. Tavitian and The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. The accompanying catalogue will be available in the Museum Shop and online at www.frick.org.
The Arnhold Collection of Meissen Porcelain, 1710–50
March 25, 2008, through June 29, 2008
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Vase and Cover, Meissen porcelain, c. 1725,
2001.462; H., 9 1/4” (23.5 cm). Photo: Maggie Nimkin |
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The Frick Collection exhibited a selection of Meissen porcelain from the collection of Henry Arnhold. One of the greatest private holdings of early Meissen assembled in the twentieth century, the collection was formed in two phases, the first in Dresden between 1926 and 1935 by Henry’s parents, Lisa (née Mattersdorff; 1890–1972) and Heinrich (1885–1935) Arnhold ; the second, by Henry in New York between 1972 and 2006. Heinrich Arnhold, trained as a lawyer and a member of a powerful banking family in Dresden, and his wife, who had studied medicine, were married in 1914 and became deeply involved in the cultural and intellectual life of the city. Their interest in collecting porcelain may have stemmed, in part, from the fact that Heinrich served on the boards of thirteen porcelain and ceramic firms in Saxony with which his bank was affiliated. He and Lisa began by making a few tentative purchases of porcelain, which were later sold, before deciding to focus on the acquisition of pieces from the early period at Meissen, choosing, almost exclusively, wares and vases rather than figures. The collection grew to include large vases, pieces from table services, as well as tea, coffee, and chocolate services. Although well known to specialists, this remarkable collection has never before been the subject of a major public exhibition.
The formula and method for manufacturing true porcelain were developed in China by the sixth century but remained a consuming mystery in the West until their discovery in 1709 by the alchemist Johann Friedrich Böttger (1682–1719), under the patronage of August II, elector of Saxony and king of Poland. The following year, the king established a royal manufactory outside of Dresden in the town of Meissen, and the porcelain created there has been known by that name ever since.
The early years at Meissen were exciting times of experiment, not only with the formula for porcelain but also with shapes and decoration. Initially, many of the works produced were direct imitations of Japanese and Chinese objects in Augustus II’s famous collection. Others had European forms incorporating Asian decorative motifs. Because the manufactory initially had difficulty with firing enamel colors, most of the wares were white or were painted or gilded after firing.
In many ways, Henry Arnhold, in adding to the collection of his parents, continued to follow their taste and preferences. He took a new direction, however, in acquiring significant blue-and-white objects commissioned by Augustus II that bore the mark of his famed Japanese Palace, just as he did in acquiring fifteen cabinet and dessert figures in 2006. The result is a rich and profoundly personal collection of exquisite objects from the early, innovative period at Meissen.
The Arnhold Collection of Meissen Porcelain, 1710–50, was organized for The Frick Collection by Director Anne L. Poulet and Maureen Cassidy-Geiger, guest curator of the exhibition. It was accompanied by a fully illustrated catalogue, published by The Frick Collection in association with D Giles Unlimited, London, available in mid-April in the Museum Shop and online at shopfrick.org.
The exhibition is made possible, in part, by the generous support of the Arnhold Foundation.
Frick’s Vermeers
Reunited
June 3 through November 23, 2008
Particularly beloved among the paintings at The Frick Collection are its three works by Johannes Vermeer (1632– 1675), Officer and Laughing Girl (left), Mistress and Maid (center), and Girl Interrupted at Her Music (right). These rare canvases
were purchased by Henry Clay Frick before his death in 1919. This summer, the
institution offers visitors their first opportunity in nearly ten years to
examine the paintings together on one wall.
Their presentation in the
South Hall was accompanied by a panel that traces Frick’s interest in
the artist and places him in the context of other early American
collectors of Vermeer’s work. An education program involving Colin B.
Bailey, Associate Director and Peter Jay Sharp Chief Curator, was held in September. During the summer the Members’ Magazine featured an illuminating
essay on the market for Vermeer’s paintings, written by Esmée Quodbach ("The Sphinx of Delft": Rediscovering Vermeer at The Frick Collection is also available online). Quodbach is the Assistant to the Director of the Center for the History of
Collecting in America.
Andrea Riccio: Renaissance Master of Bronze
October 15, 2008 through January 18, 2009
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Andrea Briosco Riccio (1470-1532), Lamp, 15th century, 16.83 cm high. The Frick Collection, New York, photo: Michael Bodycomb |
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The Frick Collection presented the first monographic exhibition dedicated to Andrea Riccio (1470–1532), one of the most creative sculptors of the Renaissance. On view were thirty-one autograph works representing every phase of Riccio’s career, three bronzes believed to be derived from the artist’s lost compositions, and two life-size terracotta sculptures. Andrea Riccio: Renaissance Master of Bronze was shown exclusively at The Frick Collection.
Although celebrated during the sixteenth century as a “sovereign over bronze,” Riccio today is not widely known nor are his works generally understood. Representing both classical and religious subjects, they range from figurative statuettes to narrative reliefs to functional objects. His small-scale statuettes — such as the inimitable Shouting Horseman, from the Victoria and Albert Museum, London — embrace the themes of monumental Renaissance sculpture and painting while his narrative reliefs — including his tour de force Saint Martin and the Beggar from the Ca’ d’Oro, Venice — demonstrate his remarkable ability to re-envision Christian themes in his own original classical idiom. Functional bronzes — like the Frick’s superb Oil Lamp — evoke, in miniature scale, the artistry and symbolic complexity of Riccio’s great masterpiece, the Paschal Candelabrum, which remains in situ in the Basilica of Saint Anthony, Padua.
Riccio was born Andrea Briosco and gained his nickname because of his curly hair. He worked in Padua at a time when it was internationally renowned: the Basilica of Saint Anthony, or il Santo, was a locus of pilgrimage and its university was the greatest center of Aristotelian studies in Europe. The city attracted students and eminent scholars from across the continent, some of whom became Riccio’s patrons and friends. Riccio began his career there as a goldsmith but a chronic affliction forced him to specialize in bronze, a less strenuous art form. In this new field, he could model in soft materials such as wax or clay and exercise his talent as an inventor of compositions in relief and in the round.
Riccio was first employed by Bartolomeo Bellano, one of Donatello’s pupils. Both Bellano and Donatello created some of their greatest monuments in bronze for the Santo’s choir. Riccio’s training and experience thus located him within the illustrious tradition of bronze sculpture in Padua, where he would become its greatest sixteenth-century master.
Andrea Riccio: Renaissance Master of Bronze was organized by Denise Allen, Curator at The Frick Collection, and Peta Motture, Senior Curator of Sculpture at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.
The exhibition is accompanied by a catalogue published by The Frick Collection in association with Philip Wilson Publishers, London. The catalogue was made possible by the generous support of the Robert Lehman Foundation, Inc. and the Thaw Charitable Trust.
Major funding has been provided by The Christian Humann Foundation, Mr. and Mrs. Howard Phipps Jr., and the Samuel H. Kress Foundation. Additional support has been generously provided by Mr. and Mrs. Walter A. Eberstadt, Mr. and Mrs. J. Tomilson Hill, Peter P. Marino, The Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation, Hester Diamond, and The Peter Jay Sharp Foundation. The project is also supported, in part, by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts and by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities.
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