Docent Council Dialogue

Winter 2013 Published by the Docent Council Volume XLIIl No 2

From Ethereal to Earthy The Legacy of Caravaggio

1 Inside the Dialogue

Reflections on a Snowy Morning...... Diane Macris, President, Docent Council Page 3

Winter Message...... Charlene Shang Miller, Docent and Tour Programs Manager Page 3

A Docent’s Appreciation of Alona Wilson...... JoAn Hagan, Docent Page 4

An Idea whose Time had Come...... Sandy Voice Page 5

Presentations:Works of Art from Burst of Light ...... Docent Contributors Pages 7-20

The Transformative Genius of Caravaggio...... JoAn Hagan Page10

Flicks: The Dialogue Goes to the Cinema...... Sandy Voice Page 10

A Docent’s Guide to the Saints...... Beth Malley Page 11

From the Sublime to the Ridiculous and Back...... Hope Vath Page 13

The Bookshelf: A Book Review...... BethMalley Page 15

A Passion for Stickley ...... Laura Harris Page 20 From the Collection of Stephen Gray

Docent Council Dialogue

The Dialogue is created by and for docents and provides a forum for touring ideas and techniques, publishing information that is vital to docent interests such as museum changes, and recording docent activities and events. The newsletter is published in Fall, Winter, and Spring editions.

Editorial Staff

Sandy Voice Co-Editor Copy

Beth Malley Co-Editor Layout and Graphics

Lillian Kezerian Associate Copy Editor

Contributors: Maria Adams, Judy Barton, Nat Brody, JoAn Hagan, Laura Harris, Lillian Kezerian, Beth Malley, Leta Marks, Susan Meisler, Carol Urick, Hope Vath, Sandy Voice

Cover Art: Joan Traverso

Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, 600 Main Street, Harord, CT 06103-2990 www.wadsworthatheneum.org

2 Reflections on a Snowy Morning Diane Macris, Docent Council President

It’s a snow day! Schools are closed, so I no longer have visitors? What could be better than sharing that a tour and suddenly find myself with a day to indulge in experience in a debriefing session with fellow docents other pursuits. Some of you may know that my home is who are both valued friends and colleagues? We docents pretty much buried in the woods. So on snowy days put a great deal of time and effort into attending training when I walk our basset hound, Emma, I often recite to and preparing our tours. Sometimes we feel tired and myself Robert Frost’s poem, Stopping by Woods on a wish for a break. When we get the break, however, as I Snowy Evening. It complements the feeling of hushed did today, we realize that we miss being at the museum beauty and solitude I get when surrounded by the giving that tour and seeing each other. towering trees cloaked in white. The poem also By the time you read this, 2012 will be over and there encourages reflection. Emma doesn’t so much walk as will be no more snow days this year. We will be looking meander, so I can take the time to reflect while I ahead to spring and enjoying both Burst of Light: meander with her. Caravaggio and His Legacy and the burst of light that This morning, I reflected on the tour I would have given comes with longer, and soon to be warmer, days. I know and the friends I would have seen. I had looked forward that whatever the season, we will enjoy sharing the to both. While it was nice to have a free morning, I also incomparable works of art in the Wadsworth Atheneum realized that I was missing something. What could be with the public and will cherish the company of all our better than sharing favorite works of art with museum docent friends. Winter Message Charlene Shang Miller, Docent and Tour Programs Manager

As I write this message, anticipation for Burst of Light: can be seen in Morgan Great Hall. Interestingly, Caravaggio and His Legacy is building towards its Amaryllis, a large-scale sculpture by her father, Tony opening on March 6. We expect a busy touring schedule Smith, was recently placed on the lawn in front of the for this exhibition and appreciate the docents signing up museum. Newly conserved, this reinstallation celebrates for the additional tour opportunities. Thank you the 100th anniversary of the artist’s birth. Another especially to the advance team of docents who have contemporary art installation of note is Deb Sokolow/ been diligently working to be ready to conduct tours on MATRIX 166 (on view through June 30) which intrigues opening day and week. Happily, Eric Zafran, co-curator and challenges with commentary on contemporary of the exhibition and former curator of European art, politics, human nature, and the cult of personality— returns to talk with the docents about the exhibition, and asking viewers to consider what is fiction and what is additional docent training focused on touring will then truth. The artist’s talk with the docents was illuminating follow. Mark your calendars: we look forward to the and humorous and certainly added to our understanding Docent Memorial Lecture with Keith Christiansen, of her exhibition. These works raise particular Chairman of European Paintings at the Metropolitan challenges in touring regarding audience, content, and Museum of Art, on Tuesday, April 23, at 6:00. In this even physical location and type; in training we free program, which is open to the public and discussed the opportunities for rich discussions, open- generously sponsored by the Docent Council, he will ended interpretations, and meaningful connections discuss Caravaggio and the revolution he led in painting. across the collections. Be sure to check out the other public programs planned Finally, I want to thank the Docent Council again for the in conjunction with Burst of Light which remains open wonderful festivities for my 10 year anniversary. I began through June 16. my tenure at the Wadsworth in September 2002 and the Concurrent with the Caravaggio exhibition, Ascension time has certainly flown by. I cannot thank you all by Bill Viola, a recently acquired contemporary work of enough not only for your dedication to the museum and art, is going on view in the Heublein Gallery. This video our visitors, but for the caring and the friendship that and sound installation coincides with the Caravaggio you express to me. Docents never cease to inspire me, exhibition as both artists utilize strong light and shadow and it is such a great pleasure and joy, professionally to communicate the subject matter with intense drama. and personally, to work with you! Another newer acquisition, Kiki Smith’s Daisy Chain, 3 A Docent’s Appreciation of Alona Wilson By JoAn Hagan

Te Amistad Centr for Art and Culture Welcomed Alona in 2010. She guided te Evoluton of David Driskel And shared his works of print and pen.

She curatd Memories, Colectve and Contmporary – Twent five years of te Simpson Colecton, Revealing stries of race and culture, Creatng a place for fact and reflecton.

She gave docent taining on Duncanson and Tanner, Te American in Afican American Art, And opened our tought t deeper meanings, Connectng te artsts wit insight and heart.

We feel Alona’s rapport wit docents. She gives us insights tat ilustat ways Alona Wilson To share te objects wit deeper meaning When turing visitrs trough te displays.

A greetng fom Alona is warm and wonderfl. Her taining insightfl, we al agree. We wish her wel as she leaves te Wadswort, And Godspeed in finishing her Ph.D.

4 An Idea whose Time had Come At the heart of what Protestants dismissed as By Sandy Voice institutionalized deception were images: the pictures and sculptures of saints and Madonnas, of the Savior, and—

most blasphemous of all—the Heavenly Father himself (see the Sistine Chapel). It was their firm conviction that these were the idols that that kept the faithful in thrall to the Pope of Rome and his minions. Perhaps the Reformation’s most dramatic expressions were the covert distribution of the vernacular bibles and the bonfires across the Netherlands, Germany, England, and much of Switzerland that consumed the “graven images.”

Appalled and shaken by the scale and fury of the destruction, the Vatican marshaled its troops at the Council of Trent to mount a counterattack. One of the

Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, Saint Francis of Assisi in Ecstasy, major issues the Council tackled in its final session in c. 1595–96 The Ella Gallup Sumner and Mary Catlin Sumner 1561-3 was the role of sacred paintings in inspiring the Collection Fund, 1943.222 faithful to worship, venerate, and obey. The Church Fathers knew that since the vast majority of men and women in Europe were illiterate, images were still the It was Caravaggio’s moment. The Roman church had most powerful way to instruct the masses and foster been waiting for him. Assailed by the Northern devotion to the sacraments (particularly that of European Reformation, it urgently needed a sacred penance). To do otherwise was to condemn the poor and visual drama that simple believers could respond to unlettered to ignorance, heresy and, ultimately, the tangibly as if it were acted out in their presence. The damnation of their immortal souls. Perversely, the time had come to humanize the Gospel. church commissioned more works, actually many more. But it was prudent. It banished the extravaganzas that When Martin Luther nailed his Ninety-Five Theses to had found their way into churches: depictions of the doors of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany fabulous wonders done by dubious saints, liberties taken in 1517 on the eve of All Saints’ Day, the hammer blows with the likenesses of the Father and the Holy Virgin, sounded a death knell to Roman Catholicism as the sole and gross indecencies that made worship seem more like Christian religion in Western Europe. The Reformation, entertainment than reverence. The Council decreed that which became the basis for Protestantism, was born. sacred art must reflect the spirit of the savior himself. It would forego the seductions and profanities of worldly Much was at stake. Images were not just an accidental beauty for the supreme vocation of instilling piety. sideshow in the religious war between Catholics and Protestants. They went to the heart of the conflict. For The only problem was that no one knew what this kind new Protestants, the word as laid down in the Holy of art would look like. Michelangelo and Raphael, both Scriptures was everything. Gutenberg’s printing press of whom had been capable of reconciling the had made the sacred text translated into their vernacular representation of mortal flesh and immortal spirit, were languages available to all believers, enabling literate dead. It was embarrassingly unclear who would fill their Christians to have a direct, unmediated relationship with shoes. The prevailing stable of Mannerist artists their Savior. By contrast, the Roman clergy from the specialized in stylized figures with elongated limbs and Pope down to the parish priest believed that it alone held torsos that were gracefully torqued in space and colored the keys to salvation and that redemption could be in a rich palette of apricots, purples, and rose pinks. achieved through the mysteries and rituals of which they Unfortunately, they were too unmoored from nature to alone were the custodians. appeal to anyone but those with the most arcane tastes.

5 As the church saw it, the alternative was a return to the bridge the distance between the cardinals’ palaces and statuesque classical grandeur and emotional simplicity the great cathedrals and the people’s gambling dens, of Raphael, whose finely drawn figures harmoniously brothels, and wine shops. occupied deep space. The only late 16th century artists with the talent to achieve that revival were the Carracci Caravaggio never established a workshop as most other brothers—Agostino and Annibale. Their work was painters did, and thus had no school to spread his finely crafted and exquisite, but it was too high-toned, techniques. Nor did he ever set out his underlying too soft, cherubic, and idealistic. What was wanted for philosophical approach to art, mainly, the psychological the altarpieces of the newly populist church were images realism of his astonishing work. Famous while he lived, that were naturally simple and accessible—the remote Caravaggio himself was forgotten almost immediately grandeur of the High Renaissance masters brought down after his death. to earth. The talent pool was limited; that is, until the mid-1580s when a stocky teenager with a bulging low- However, his conversion of sacred painting from hanging brow and an attitude came to Rome to become ethereal to earthy gave rise to a group aptly referred to a painter. as the Caravaggisti. The new Baroque painters— Gentilleschi (Orazio and Artemesia), Ribera, Zurbura′n, Caravaggio was unkempt, arrogant, wounded in fights Ribalta, Saraceni, and Murillo among many others— which he probably started (he never met a fight he adopted Caravaggio’s muscular, realistic style. (His didn’t like, including a murder), potty-mouthed, influence can be seen later in the work of Rubens, sexually promiscuous, and friend of some of the most Bernini, and Rembrandt.) Fixing their focus on the deplorable company in Rome. But, as it turned out, the saints, the Virgin Mary, the martyrs, and the better- thug was a genius and such an unmistakable genius that known Bible stories, Baroque painters enhanced the the rich and mighty lined up to protect him from the appeal of their work to the common man by choosing consequences of his misdeeds. Fortunately, he never models from the streets. Reenacting the moment of separated his life from his art, but rather he brought his highest drama, they theatrically spotlighted their streetwise, raw-boned heft to his one-man revolution in muscular figures against deep shadowy backdrops, sacred painting. He painted the most powerful Christian chose jewel-tone colors, pushed the action to the art that has ever been painted and became an essential foreground, and infused their canvasses with passion, part of the Roman Catholic Church’s program to make energy and movement. the institution more attractive to the common people. Today, Baroque art is cherished for its own sake. No He was common, no question about that, and so were longer simply an agent of the Roman Catholic Church, it his subjects whose models were mostly thieves and retains the power to move, to excite, and to hold the prostitutes. Unlike his Renaissance and Mannerist viewer captive in its steady gaze. I’m reminded of a line predecessors, he brought the miracles and the mysteries from the movie, The Taxi Driver: “You looking at me?” right to the picture plane so that they were up close and personal to the viewer. His subjects were ordinary people—unbeautified, their clothes worn and torn, their feet grimy, their fingernails dirty, their mouths agape, and their brawny limbs wildly flung about. Even the holiest of subjects—Saints Francis, Peter, and John, Mary Magdalene, the Madonna, and Christ himself-- emerged from the dark only to have their imperfections exposed by a raking light. It was one thing for the priesthood to utter pieties about washing the unwashed in imitation of the Savior, it was quite another for a painter to rub their noses in the unsavory reality of the street poor. Caravaggio was probably the only painter to 6 Orazio Gentileschi Judith and her Maidservant with the Head of Holofernes, 1621-1624 By Susan Meisler

There are so many questions to be asked when looking at this dramatic scene. What emotions do the faces of these two women reveal? What does the masterfully painted clothing indicate about their social status? What are they holding? What is the back story? What will happen next?

Against a dark, featureless background, two women form a large triangle that fills the canvas. A theatrical light shines on both faces, each gazing in a different Orazio Gentileschi, Judith and her Maidservant with the Head of direction. One with widened eyes gazes upward with a Holofernes, 1621-24 The Ella Gallup Sumner and Mary Catlin Sumner Collection Fund, 1949.52 prayerful expression; the other with a fearful stare looks suspiciously into the distance. A smaller triangle is formed by two sets of arms that cradle a basket holding Several 17th century artists, including a younger a grayish, disembodied head. The artist, Orazio contemporary Michelangelo Merisi de Caravaggio, have Gentileschi, uses white fabric in the sleeves of both painted versions of this story. In the Wadsworth women and the cloth that lines the basket to frame the Atheneum's version, Gentileschi disregarded head. There is a sword and just a few drops of blood to Caravaggio's richly detailed background, choosing suggest the method of execution. instead to amplify the darkness surrounding the figures by adding strips of canvas to the top and left edges. The The women's clothing reveals their social skin. They are dramatic chiaroscuro, the richly textured fabrics, and the dressed in primary colors. A maidservant wears a rough- expressive, naturalistic faces are painted in the style of textured, dark blue dress with a white shawl hanging Caravaggio. Artemisia Gentileschi, the artist's talented from her shoulder. You can imagine the weight of the daughter, used many of the same techniques but chose a richly brocaded gold skirt and the fine red blouse vengeful, violent, bloody depiction based on personal embroidered with gold on her mistress. Black satin lines experience. She used herself as the model for Judith and her wrap and a gold bracelet circles her wrist. her rapist Agostino Tassi, who was also her father's colleague, as Holofernes. (See film review of Why is Judith, the mistress, dressed so lavishly? Her Artemisia.) costume is part of the plot against an Assyrian general Holofernes whose bearded head lies in the basket. The Roman Catholic Church was a leading art patron, According to the Book of Judith, one of the canons in especially in Southern Europe. Its goal was to revive the the Apocrypha, his forces laid siege to the town of spiritual connection of Catholics to the Church as a Bethulia. The heroic, young Jewish widow dressed response to the Protestant Reformation. Paintings, such herself richly and then courageously infiltrated the as those created by Caravaggio or Gentileschi, were Assyrian camp. After joining Holofernes in a lavish, commissioned as artistic propaganda. Heroic biblical drunken banquet, she beheaded him and, accompanied stories portrayed dramatically elicited strong emotional by her maidservant, escaped with his severed head responses and helped to persuade followers to rededicate concealed in a cloth-covered basket. When the themselves to their faith and the Vatican. Assyrians awoke to discover the head of Holofernes mounted on a wooden pike, they quickly fled their camp. It's a gory, but curiously (almost) bloodless scene.

7 Francisco de Zurbarán Second, let’s focus on what tells us who this man was. Saint Serapion, 1628 We know from his robes that he is a monk, one of two By Maria Adams items helps us to know he is St. Serapion as indicated by the small trompe l’oeil of a piece of paper on the wall. Another item, an emblem, tells us that he belongs to a religious order.

Next let’s think about what has been left out. Can we tell what religious order he belongs to? Do we see any specific indication of what period in history we are looking at? What is the time of day is it? Do we know how he died?

Finally, the things that were left out answer the questions I posed at the beginning. This work was commissioned by the order of Mercedarians, an ancient religious order founded to provide for the ransom of Christians, and it hung in the monastery in Seville in the room where the monks of this order were laid before burial. Peter Serapion was martyred during a mission to Francisco de Zurbarán, Saint Serapion, 1628 rescue some Christian prisoners from the Moors, but the The Ella Gallup Sumner and Mary Catlin Sumner Collection Fund, 1951.40 artist chose to portray him in the image of Jesus on the cross who also offered his life to save humankind. So, if This is one of those paintings that catch our attention we were a Mercedarian monk, we would immediately and stop us in our tracks. When we first look, we almost identify with the emblem of our order. We would find want to continue walking because this is not a pleasant inspiration in a life of personal sacrifice in the example subject. Do we want to move on? Or, perhaps as we of Jesus. We would understand that the time of day did look at it for just a few seconds, we now feel curious not matter when contemplating eternity. We would know about this man. Let’s take a closer look at the painting that St. Serapion, our brother, had left the world of evil and try to find answers to what makes this painting so and darkness and that the monumentality and the arresting, so dramatic? We should remember that this brightness of his robes were a symbol of eternal light. painting was not created for us so what is it that we’re We would be inspired by the realization that after great missing? suffering, he had achieved the peace and beauty of eternal life. If we try to put ourselves in the place of one To begin, let’s take a closer look at what is in the of these monks and we ourselves had made vows of painting. Then, let’s think about what has been left out. devotion and sacrifice, we would truly understand First, let’s notice the subject of the painting and the Zurbarán’s glorious work. colors used to represent him. The figure is that of a man Francisco Zurbarán was a Spanish painter in the 17th in a very white monk’s habit emerging from a very dark century. He painted still lifes and is most recognized for background. We are looking at an example of two his religious paintings. He also had great interest in popular techniques of painting in the Baroque period: sculpture. This painting is ideal for making comparisons the use of bright and dark or light and shadow called and contrasts with other paintings such as Bernardo chiaroscuro, used here in its extreme and dominating Strozzi’s St. Catherine of Alexandria, Caravaggio’s St. form which is known as tenebrism or dark areas relieved Francis of Assisi in Ecstasy, and Frans Hals’s Joseph by shafts of light. Both of these were certainly not Coyman. Items to compare and contrast could be invented by, but were made extremely popular by expression of emotion, the use of color, religious Caravaggio. In fact, Zurbarán was sometimes referred to subject, patrons, and cultural differences. as the Spanish Caravaggio. 8 Carlo Saraceni comes from the upper left, casting shadows and The Holy Family in Saint Joseph’s Workshop, highlighting the forehead and forearm of Joseph, the c. 1615 glint on the awl and chisel, the angels’ wings, the faces By Carol Urick of Jesus and one angel, and the face and hand of Mary. The light on Jesus and Mary is especially intense, The subject of this Saraceni painting is not found in the perhaps suggesting spirituality. Bible; however, it may have been taken from one of the early apocryphal texts or later biographies. Let’s take a What about color? What colors jump out at you? moment to look at Saraceni’s naturalistic, yet delicate Does the color of Mary’s face differ from Joseph’s? The work. scarf around Mary’s head, does it pick up any other colors? Do you see color contrasts that work really well At first glance, what is it we are looking at? here? How does the artist use color to draw us in? An intimate family scene in a workshop. We know it’s the holy family by the halos. We see two angels and the Golden halos, allow us to recognize that this is the Holy traditional red and blue of Mary’s robes. Family wearing the traditional red and blue of the How is Joseph portrayed? Virgin’s garments. The jewel tones stand out sharply He is a working man. We can see his lined face, strong from the brown and warm tans of the background and neck, and arms. Perhaps his hands are sunburned. He seem to draw us in no matter where we are in the has on a pouch that a working man might use to hold gallery. There is a hint of green in Mary’s complexion nails or tools. and the end of her nose is red. (Does she have a cold or is she crying?) What is she holding (the Christ’s abandoned swaddling clothes perhaps)? We notice the color of her cloak, a beautiful green which contrasts so well with the red in her robe.

What else besides color does the artist use to draw us into this space?

Figures are close to us, space is shallow, we feel like a lot of activity is going on in the piece, but yet the figures appear still. The background comes forward and really helps us to feel the closeness of the work. There is a lot of overlapping of figures. Everything appears to be held in place against the back wall. The space is defined with horizontal and diagonal lines. The shapes are both organic and geometric, especially in the case of the Carlo Saraceni, The Holy Family in Saint Joseph's Workshop, c. 1615 wood pieces. The Ella Gallup Sumner and Mary Catlin Sumner Collection Fund, Could Saraceni’s work be more than a pretty picture of How is Mary portrayed? the holy family in the workshop? Is it in reality a grim She presents as delicate, refined, and beautiful. She has prophecy of the Christ child’s fate? What is Baby Jesus an aura. She gazes directly at the Christ child. holding in his little hands? What do you think nails may What really jumps out at you? have been made out of back in this time? See the Some viewers may say light, others will feel it’s color. expression on his face as he holds these up to his Let’s start with light. Where does the light enter in this mother. Now look at Mary’s face and the way she points work? Where are the shadows? What does the light to her romping child. Is she scolding him, or could it be appear to be highlighting? The light on Jesus and Mary her expression is that of a mother who knows what is to —does it seem special? What might that suggest? Light come for her son? (That might explain the red nose.) 9 Could these tools in the child’s hand be symbolic of his crucifixion? Does it look as if one of the angels is watching this interaction between Mother and son?

Saraceni was born in Venice in 1579 and trained there. Chalk portrait His colors are typical of Venetian painting. He did go to of Caravaggio Rome in 1598 and became one of Caravaggio’s by Oavio Leoni, circa 1621 followers, and as we can see from this piece, his work was influenced by the dramatic lighting of this style of painting.

This is considered one of his finest paintings and among one of the most beautiful paintings of the early 16th century. It is a unique combination of naturalism and The Transforming innocence. Genius of Caravaggio By JoAn K. Hagan

Dark bushy brows and ebony eyes, A mass of black hair and imposing size, Thin black beard and threadbare hose, Carelessly dressed in rumpled black clothes. The Dialogue Goes to the Movies Raised in Caravaggio, apprenticed in Milan, Artemisia Arrived in Rome at age twenty-one. French with English Subtitles Astonishing vision and skill coalesce R Rated To make the young artist an instant success. By Sandy Voice Most biopics about artists promote the notion that art is His new way of painting with shadow and light Caught human emotions in rapture or plight. essentially passion poured into pigment. To feel what’s Beggar and barmaid were models for saints. happening on the canvas you have to internalize the Bold chiaroscuro defined the constraints. agony and the ecstasy that inspired the work. Artemisia, a high-toned bodice ripper about the early life and times Caustic, irascible, proud, indiscreet, of the Italian Baroque painter Artemisia Gentileschi Brawls in the tavern and fights in the street. (daughter of Orazio), comfortably fits that mold. Living for pleasure at soiree and feast. This handsomely photographed 1997 film, whose indoor Defiant, rebellious behavior increased, scenes recreate the heavy chiaroscuro of Caravaggio paintings, takes a decidedly 90s view of a woman whom ‘Til he murdered a youth on a tennis court And fled from Rome as a last resort. feminist art historians rescued from obscurity in the Finding refuge and patrons on Naples’s shore, early 1970s. The movie builds a largely undocumented He continued his passion for painting once more. love story around a rape trial. When Artemisia was 17, Agostino Tassi, who was her father's friend, Pardoned by the Pope in sixteen-ten, collaborator, and sometime rival, was brought to trial for He now could make Rome his home again. raping his nubile star pupil. However, the film does But his journey there was out of reach. suggest the two were actually in love. The acting is He died of a fever on a Tuscany beach. excellent, and the lovers are portrayed with pathos rather than the usual garden-variety bathos. Although it errs on An instant of truth dramatically viewed the side of the sentimental, it’s a film with a brain. In gritty realism and soul-searching mood, Penetrating light and impenetrable shadow Marked the transforming genius of Caravaggio 10 A Docent’s Guide to the Saints Many miracles were assigned to him. He converted By Beth Malley thousands because of “the miracle of his personality.” He died in Goa and was buried there. His body was recovered a few weeks later with no decomposition at which time the people of Goa buried and honored him. He is the patron saint of all missionaries of the Roman Catholic Church.

The Communion of Saints by Fra Angelico Tempera on Wood, National Gallery, London St. Serapion—P e t e r S e r a p i o n , was born in England in 1178 and Moments in the lives of many saints have been the traveled as a boy with his father subject matter of numerous works of art. Who are they, to fight in the Third Crusade. In why are they saints, what do they represent and what are 1222, he joined a new order of monks, their stories? Following are thumbnail sketches of those the Mercedarians, in Spain who offered themselves as saints we are likely to encounter in our galleries with the ransom for Christians held captive by the Moors in hope that it is easier to talk to visitors about the work of North Africa. He subsequently made several voyages art if armed with a bit more information on the subject. there to serve as a hostage. There are conflicting accounts of his death, the most pertinent one of which seems to be that he was tortured and killed in Algiers in St. Francis of Assisi—Born in Italy to a 1240 after surrendering his own freedom to guarantee prosperous merchant and his wife. he the ransom of 87 Christian captives. With his hands and renounced his lavish life and devoted feet bound, the monk was beaten and disemboweled; himself to the care of others—the sick, finally, his neck was partially severed so that his head the poor, and those in need. Although sagged to one side as he expired. The saint's clothing is never ordained himself, he founded the Franciscan white and simple to represent purity. St. Serapion was order. He lived on the spiritual level and spoke the canonized in 1728 for choosing a heroic death for the language of the soul. His only goal was to live a Christ- sake of the faith. like life. His mystical experiences, including receiving the stigmata, caused him suffering for many years. His legacy is the order he founded, his simplicity, his St. Peter— Simon Peter and his brother humility, and his love of the church (as opposed to fear). Andrew, both fishermen, were among He is the patron saint of animals, merchants, and Christ’s original 12 followers. In the ecology. He is often shown with a cross, a skull, a Gospel according to Matthew, Jesus in a rosary, and a white lily. dialogue with his disciples addresses Simon by what seems to be the nickname Peter, from St. Francis Xavier—Born in the Spanish Petros meaning rock in Greek. Playing on words, Christ province of Navarre. Following an early says, “On this rock, I will build my church.” Known as encounter with Ignatius Loyola (founder “The Rock,” Peter was the first Pope of the Catholic of the Jesuit order), Francis became his Church. Peter was present at many of the miracles, ardent and lifelong follower. He became including Jesus’s walk on water, His transfiguration, and one of the first members of the Jesuit the healing of the guard’s ear in the Garden of order and was ordained a priest with Gethsemane. He was there at the table of the Last Ignatius and five others. He spent his life as a Supper. He also denied knowing Jesus three times, an missionary and learned to live with and among people of event documented in the gospels. He preached, presided many faiths and traditions. He lived in poverty and over the new church, and was then crucified upside ministered to the sick and poor by day, praying by night. down by Nero. This was Peter’s wish so as not to be 11 killed in the same manner as Jesus. He is often depicted St. Joseph—He was a man with with keys (for the Kingdom of Heaven), letters (he a common touch, quiet, giving, authored many), sometimes chains for his and a bit mysterious. Displaced, a imprisonment. He often appears with an upside-down common worker, he had no name cross as well, symbolizing his martyrdom. but carpenter. He was left with dreams and the work of his hands. Despite his humble work St. Cecelia—A Roman virgin and and means, Joseph came from a royal lineage, martyr, she converted her descended from David, the greatest king of Israel. The husband and his brother to just man was simply, joyfully, wholeheartedly obedient Christianity. She did not desire to God. He married Mary, named Jesus, and shepherded marriage but was given by her the precious pair to Egypt, finally bringing them to father. It is said that music played Nazareth. Because of his quiet faith and courage, he was at her wedding feast and she sang to the Lord. She chosen by the eternal Father as the trustworthy guardian worked tirelessly to recruit converts. Tragically a soldier and protector of his greatest treasures; namely, his drew his sword and killed her in the bathroom of her divine Son and Mary, Christ’s mother. There are several home. The story of her wedding and her conversion symbols or representations for St Joseph, including an works is undocumented in any church papers and it has old man holding a lily and a carpenter's tool such as a been thought to be a fabrication. Her life resembles that square. He is also pictured holding the infant Jesus. You of other women of her time, although the conversion of may spot a ladder, a bible, and a lamb. He is the patron Valerian her husband and Tiburtius her brother in law saint of many groups such as carpenters, children, and are documented. She is the patron saint of musicians. pregnant women, and working people.

St. Jerome—Considered by St. John the Baptist--John was many to be the “Doctor” of the the son of Zachariah, a priest of church because of his erudition, the Temple in Jerusalem, and he was the most learned in the Elizabeth, a kinswoman of Mary, Sacred Scriptures among Roman who visited her. He lived as a Christian priests. He is one of the hermit in the desert of Judea until most important figures in the about 27 A.C.E. When he was 30, history of the Church. Born in 342 A.C.E. in Italy and he began to preach on the banks schooled in religion; he was sent to Rome by his father of the Jordan against the evils of to study. He was fluent in Latin and Greek. He was a the times and called men to translator of the Bible into its official Latin version (the penance and baptism "for the Kingdom of Heaven is Vulgate), brilliant scholar, monk, traveler, teacher, letter close at hand.” He attracted large crowds, and when writer, and consultant to Popes and Bishops. He is Christ came to him, John recognized Him as the usually portrayed in one of three scenarios: as a Messiah and baptized Him, saying, "It is I who need penitent, disheveled and partly naked, kneeling before a baptism from You". When Christ left to preach in crucifix in the desert and beating himself with a stone, Galilee, John continued preaching in the Jordan Valley. with a skull and hour glass nearby; a scholar at work in Fearful of his great power with the people, Herod his study with books and pen and ink; or as a Doctor of Antipas, Tetrarch of Perea and Galilee, had him arrested the Church wearing Cardinal’s robes and holding a and imprisoned at Machaerus Fortress on the Dead Sea. model of a church. His symbols are a cardinal's hat and When John denounced his adulterous and incestuous a lion. He is the Patron Saint of archeologists, archivists, marriage with Herodias, wife of his half-brother Philip. bible scholars, librarians, libraries, schoolchildren, students, and translators. 12 John was beheaded at the request of Salome, daughter From the Sublime to the Faintly of Herodias, who asked for his head at the instigation of Ridiculous and Back her mother. He is often shown with a red cloak, a staff, By Hope Vath and a hair shirt. We can all whip out our art history books or read page after page online about the High Renaissance, Mary Magdalene—There is Mannerist, and Baroque styles of art. In this brief perhaps no figure in biblical overview, I’ll attempt to make the reasons for the history as controversial or transition from one art style to another and the mysterious as Mary Magdalene. differences between them fast and easy to read (refer to In the Gospel of Luke, she is the the At-a-Glance chart at the end of the article). woman who anointed Christ’s feet Starting in Florence in the early 1400s, a cultural rebirth from whom the image of the took place that spread to Rome and Venice and then in repentant sinner is derived. John 1500 to the rest of Europe. Basically, by the time of the affiliates her with the sisters, “divine” Raphael’s death in 1520, Renaissance artists Martha and Mary, and their brother Lazarus. However, had solved the problems of representing reality in a it is only tradition that identifies her with the person convincing way through the use of composition, ideal named Mary Magdalene from whom Christ exorcised proportions, and perspective. The period of artistic seven devils (Luke) and who was present at the foot of mastery from 1500 to 1520 is called the High the cross with His Mother Mary, saw him laid in the Renaissance. Think Leonardo, Michelangelo, and tomb, and was the first to witness his resurrection. Raphael. Think of our own Through the centuries she has been labeled a prostitute, Portrait of a Man in Armor Jesus’s wife, apostle, and writer of heretical gospels. by del Piombo. Although her name was cleared of any association with prostitution by the Second Vatican Council in 1969, the curious life of Mary Magdalene is still heavily studied and strongly debated, especially in recent times. She is a popular subject for artists and paintings in all styles and media exist. Her feast day is July 22 and her symbols Sebastiano del Piombo, Portrait are a cross and skull (for being present at the death of of a Man in Armor, c. 1512 The Ella Gallup Sumner and Christ), a vessel used for oils (she went to the tomb to Mary Catlin Sumner Collection anoint Christ’s body), and a red cloak and red hair. Fund, 1960.119 Having achieved the sublime, where would artists go next?

The answer was obviously to paint disorder rather than perfection and harmony, especially since the times were unstable following the sack of Rome and the Reformation, and many artists tend to be reactionary by nature. Art historians commonly use the term Mannerism from the Italian di maniera, which means a work of art done according to an acquired style rather than depicting nature to describe art that follows the Renaissance and precedes the Baroque. However, 17th century writers used it as a derogatory term for the decline of art after Raphael, especially in the 1530s and 40s.

13 Often strangely beautiful and mesmerizing, Mannerist many followers (known as Caravaggisti) who copied his art can also be seen as shockingly audacious in its dramatic lighting, and he influenced great artists such as obvious disregard for all that artists of the High Rubens, Velazquez, and Rembrandt. Caravaggio’s Saint Renaissance had achieved. Figures are distorted and Francis (c. 1595) is an early example of his elongated and effects are often bizarre. Mannerist artists revolutionary style and one of the many treasures of the include Pontormo, Rosso, Parmigianino, Bronzino, and Wadsworth’s collection. Tintoretto. Most critics consider El Greco an art movement unto himself even though many of his works The At-a-Glance Chart have Mannerist attributes. An example of Mannerist art High Renaissance (1500-1520) at its best is Strozzi’s Saint Catherine of Alexandria (c. • Spatial depth 1610-1615) in the Wadsworth’s collection. • Harmony • Symmetrical, centralized compositions • Understandable arrangement of figures • Natural proportions • Graceful poses • Realistic colors • Use of chiaroscuro to model forms

Bernardo Strozzi, Saint Catherine of Alexandria, c. 1610-15 The Ella Gallup Sumner and Mary Catlin Sumner Collection Mannerism (1520-1600) Fund. Endowed in memory of A. Everett Austin, Jr. by Mrs. A. Everett Austin, Jr., • Confusing sense of space, discord 1931.99 A movement that started in the late 16th century in • Oblique compositions Rome, Baroque was initially thought of as grotesque and • Elements disperse toward the frame overwrought. It was often used to discredit the art that • Twisting, turbulent figures th dominated the 17 century. However, thanks to the • Distorted, elongated bodies Roman Catholic Church who became its biggest • Unstable poses supporter through large-scale commissions, it lost its negative connotations, Baroque was seen to combine the • Lurid, arbitrary colors technical achievements and grand scale of the • Unreal lighting Renaissance with the drama and intensity of Mannerism. Baroque art emphasizes emotion over rationality and Baroque (1600-1750) action over stability. Catholic popes, who were • Realistic space financing cathedrals and art works to attract new worshippers and reaffirm the triumph of their faith after • Psychological realism the Counter-Reformation, saw the passion and drama of • Strong diagonals Baroque art as sympathetic to their efforts to protect • Unusual placement of figures their flocks from the incursions of the Lutheranism that • Natural proportions was spreading throughout Northern Europe. Artists • Realistic poses came to Rome from all over Europe to study Baroque as well as High Renaissance masterpieces in art academies • Intense light-and-dark contrasts, strong colors and took the ideas home to put a cultural twist on their • Dramatic lighting art.

Caravaggio is the superstar of the Baroque era. His “down and dirty” realistic style was directly opposed to the pale distorted creatures in Mannerist art. He had

14 Jusepe de Ribera brown and grey–Ribera’s favorite colors. The A Philosopher (Possibly Protagoras?), (1637) narcissistic gluttony and self-indulgence of The Sense of By Nat Brody, Docent Taste contrast with the stern intensity of A Philosopher. Considered together, these portraits reveal the breadth of Man is the measure of all things, of those which are, of Ribera’s ability to portray individuals with different those which are not, that they are not. (Protagoras) personalities.

In 1636 Ribera received a commission from the Prince A Philosopher provides ample evidence of Ribera’s of Liechtenstein to paint by his own hand 12 images of creativity. His selection of an individual with dramatic philosophers. A Philosopher is one of six completed physiognomy portrayed in an active spatial format paintings in this series. How did Ribera transform an painted in a tenebrist manner has transformed a beggar impoverished citizen of Naples into the philosopher into a philosopher with characteristics that capture Protagoras? He selected a person with strong features, a dimensions of Protagoras’s personality and Roman nose, and broad forehead wearing tattered brown philosophical orientation. clothes (note the ragged sleeve) with luxuriant grey beard and hair. The well-thumbed book in his hands provides a clue to his profession. The strong features are congruent with Protagoras’s reputation as a philosopher who could teach his pupils how to argue persuasively.

Protagoras is separated from the viewer by a table. He The Bookshelf does not look directly at the viewer. He exists in a solipsistic space compatible with his central thesis that The Lost Painting: The Quest for a Caravaggio man is the measure of all things. His withdrawal is not Masterpiece by Jonathan Harr passive. His right shoulder is higher than his left By Beth Malley shoulder. The strong highlighted face is tilted slightly. The basement of a decaying palazzo on Italy’s Adriatic The left cloak of his costume forms a strong diagonal coast houses an ancient archive unknown to scholars. paralleled by the brightly lit sleeve of his right arm. One day, Francesca Cappelletti a young graduate student These slanted lines are balanced by the opposite slant of from Rome, picks her way through its layers of dust and the right edge of the costume, the slant of the head and cobwebs in the dim light furnished by a by a single bulb the slight tilt of the books held in his hands. The to make a discovery which inspires a search for a balanced tension of diagonal lines creates an image of painting of almost incalculable value that has been lost an active, engaged person compatible with Protagoras’s for almost 200 years. emphasis on the individual’s role as a judge of the The artist: Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, master nature of reality. of Italian Baroque, genius, revolutionary painter, and Ribera’s tenebrism endows Protagoras with a brooding general hell-raiser. Caravaggio drank and brawled his dramatic intensity. The effect is achieved by the use of a way through the streets of Rome, all the while painting dark ground. Coarse brushes filled with lighter paint works of transcendent emotional power. He rose from tones are painted over the ground creating an impastoed obscurity to fame and wealth but harbored a rage that surface that reflects the light deriving from the left side led him to commit murder, flee Rome, and finally die of the painting. The grey hair and beard, reddish flesh young and alone under strange circumstances. tones of the face, and the grey-white of the book all Caravaggio scholars estimate that 60-80 of his works are contain highlights on the left side of the painting that extant. One can only hope that others will turn up in a contrast with the darker shadowed right side of the storeroom or a small church mistaken for a copy. painting. Protagoras may be compared to an earlier by Prizewinning author Jonathan Harr embarks on a Ribera in the museum’s collection, The Sense of Taste. spellbinding journey to discover the long-lost painting Both paintings are naturalistic and contain vivid known as The Taking of Christ. representations of ordinary individuals. Both feature 15 The painting’s mysterious fate and the circumstances of of still life, but experts disagree about the painter’s its mysterious disappearance have captivated identity. Geeraerds, born in Antwerp, moved north Caravaggio aficionados for years. After Cappelletti during the 17th century to Holland, where this genre was brushes the dust and grime from the clue that has so becoming popular. This painting is similar to several captured her imagination, she tracks the painting across attributed to him. a continent and hundreds of years of history. But it is not The works of both painters are realistic and intimate, until she meets art restorer Sergio Benedetti that she and each chose shapes, textures, placement, and lighting finally manages to assemble all the pieces of the puzzle. that, to his eye, balanced his composition. The Lost Painting is a detective story, one of those spellbinders you can’t put down once you’ve begun the first page. Harr’s book is a remarkable brew of sleuthing and history. Borrow from the Docent Lounge bookshelf!!

Compare and Contrast By Judy Barton

Master of the Hartford Still Life (Follower of Caravaggio) Still Life with Flowers and Fruits (c. 1600-10) Jasper Geeraerds, Still Life with Lobster, c. 1645 and The European Paintings and Sculpture Purchase Fund, 2012.3. Jasper Geeraerds Still Life with Lobster (c. 1645) Similarities Both included natural and man-made objects, some with reflective surfaces. All are viewed from a similar angle “Still life paintings suggest both the good life and that on a table covered at least partly by a white cloth. life is short,” explains a Connections Gallery caption. Objects in the foreground dangle as if to encroach on the viewer’s space or anticipate a tumble.

Has someone just stepped away from each table? The Hartford Master imagined that someone had arranged flowers and cut fruit. In the Geeraerd’s work, it appears that someone had peeled a lemon, filled a glass, and knocked over a cup.

Both painters repeated circles: fruit and container shapes, flower heads or centers, and bread and patterns on metal (Geeraerds).

An X-ray of the Master of Hartford work shows the

Master of the Hartford Still Life (Follower of Caravaggio), Still Life with ghost of a swagged curtain in the damaged upper right, Flowers and Fruits, c. 1600-10 The Ella Gallup Sumner and Mary Catlin something Geeraerds did include in his finished work. Sumner Collection Fund, 1942.353 To reference vanitas (mortality and impermanence), the The Master of Hartford, painting from Italy, was one of anonymous artist used blemished fruit while Geeraerds the earliest European works to dedicated to the subject showed wilting roses and dead animals.

16 In Western culture, objects can be symbols: the Hartford Jusepe de Ribera Master’s butterfly* represents a soul or rebirth, his flies The Sense of Taste, c. 1614-1616 harbingers of disease or misfortune. Geeraerds’s lobster By Leta Marks might imply a good omen, his conch shell a spiral signifying energy, his bread, grapes, and cup the Eucharist. These objects may or may not have been meant as symbols.

Differences The Hartford Master included three containers: a dark and a clear vase holding flowers that bloom in different seasons, and a basket containing fruit and leaves; the vessels form a receding triangle. Stems and leaves in the vases lead the viewer’s eye in assorted directions, so one hunts for implied diagonals in the edibles scattered about.

Geeraerds’s plan is more obvious, with a clear diagonal leading from the shell to a rose; the curtain forms another diagonal. The table front draped in cloth forms Jusepe de Ribera, The Sense of Taste, c. 1614–16 the bottom of a triangle. The Ella Gallup Sumner and Mary Catlin Sumner Collection Fund, 1963.194 Geeraerds’s objects appear more valuable than those in the anonymous painting. The metal and porcelain were Jusepe de Ribera, who was called by his Italian costly; in northerly Holland, the shell, the citrus, and the contemporaries, Lo Spagnoletto (the Little Spaniard) lobster were imported and expensive. Perhaps the wood because, after leaving his birthplace near Valencia, chest is actually a jewelry chest. Spain, he lived and painted in Italy. His shoemaker father wanted Ribera, who was born in 1591, to study Like Caravaggio, his contemporary, the Hartford Master for a higher occupation, but instead Jusepe apprenticed used “cellar lighting,” with the sole light from high left. to the painter Francisco Ribalta in Valencia before Caravaggio painted still lifes as well as small botanical moving to Italy where he lived in Rome and Naples vignettes in larger works. He, too, sometimes included until his death in 1652. He married Caterina Azzolino, clear glass, transparent shadows, and a basket at the daughter of a Sicilian artist. table’s edge. Now let us look at this painting, The Sense of Taste, one Geeraerds painted a more illuminated scene and may of a series depicting the five senses. It departs from the playfully have reflected his own image in the glass. tradition of mythological personifications of the senses, The oil-painting skill levels of the two artists differ. The choosing instead an identifiable personality for his wall caption for the anonymous painting calls it a tour model. Let’s look at this figure to see the artist’s choices de force of 17th century Roman painting showing in portraying this man, what he’s doing, and then to botanical erudition. But, the caption adds that although determine why The Sense of Taste is included in this similar to works by Caravaggio, the painting lacks his Baroque exhibit, Burst of Light, Caravaggio and His “convincing naturalism” and “has a slightly stilted, Legacy. archaic quality.” By contrast, Geeraerd’s roses seem soft Who is this man? What do the details of his presentation and perfumed. In the Master of Hartford’s work, even tell you about him? After looking at him for a minute or the flies avoid the artist’s cut fruit. two, what descriptive words (adjectives) come to mind? *I believe this insect is a butterfly rather than a moth because its Portly, scruffy, beefy, rustic, sunburned, happy, antennae have knobs whereas these are lacking in moth antennae. gluttonous, friendly, dirty….

17 Describe his clothing—particularly his shirt. What do Are there horizontal lines? Vertical? Round or oval you notice about his ear, his hair style? Silky and fine shapes, geometric or organic? The wine glass and bottle material, but dirty, torn, missing buttons, and too tight. form an implied diagonal line. Notice the earring in his ear and his short cropped hair. Does he need a shave? Is he wearing a chain with coins Discuss texture in this painting and explain how the or religious medal? Or, as one writer has queried: Is that artist achieves these tactile details. Point out the man’s a wart or growth on his neck? shirt, the wine bottle, and glass. Explain how Ribera Looking at these details, what do you suppose he does achieves these effects with his techniques—especially for a living? If your audience described him as a laborer his brush strokes and shades of color. of some kind because of his portly tanned hands, ruddy cheeks, and dirty thumbnails, how do you explain his once-fine shirt and the earring? Is he dressed in his Finally, let’s talk about light and Caravaggio’s influence finest for his dinner out? He might not wear this shirt to on Ribera. Take a look around the room, especially, if work or perhaps it’s a hand-me-down. you can see from here, St Francis of Assisi in Ecstasy. Explain Ribera’s dramatic use of light, where it falls, its Now let’s look at the table in front of him which seems to source, and the contrasting dark background. Define the be somewhat like a stage. On it rest objects that terms tenebrism, chiaroscuro, and Baroque. contribute to the meaning of the painting. Identify them. What is in the bowl? Some critics say eels, others pasta, cuttlefish, squid, or vegetables topped with grated Depending on your audience, explain naturalism—why cheese. I like to say eels as students often respond with and how Ribera chooses an individual character with a “ugg.” What else is on the table? Paper cone with distinct personality instead of an allegorical, unrealistic olives, six of which have poured on the table, crusty roll, one to personify the sense of taste. Debate whether or salt shaker, and bay leaf. What is he holding in his right not the artist is suggesting a moral in this man’s joy of hand? A glass filled with red wine held by the base and eating. Does this painting imply that this man’s gluttony not the stem, for he might crush it with his huge hand! is a sin or that a life focusing on the senses is Describe what is in his left hand resting on the table. A materialistic and lower than a spiritual life. Also, is half-filled carafe that looks as if he just poured some there a hierarchy of senses? wine from it into the glass.

Describe his gaze and the expression of his mouth. His And now to end our observation and interpretation of gaze is keen and direct. Is he looking at us and about to Ribera’s painting, let me ask you the following question: speak? Perhaps it’s a toast to a friend or to us. Salute! If Ribera painted you, describe the favorite foods you would you choose to have on that table to evoke your Now that we have discussed the man, let’s talk about the happy face? artist’s choice of color. The colors Ribera has chosen are earthy and monochromatic. He has used silver and the rosy skin tones but no primary color.

What shape has he implied in his composition? There is a triangle with the table as base and the top of his head as apex. Triangles are repeated with his neck line, the salt shaker and the paper cone. Point out that the items on the table are in a line and not arranged like a still life, but note that the piece of food joins them together, filling the space between the olives and bread.

18 Compare and Contrast In the Wadsworth Atheneum’s permanent collection By Lillian Kezerian there are two Annunciation paintings by Italian artists separated by almost 250 years. The paintings, while The Annunciation reflecting the artistic conventions for Annunciation Workshop of Niccolo di Buonaccorso, died 1388 works, show contrasts in execution. The earlier one, not The Annunciation dated, is attributed to the Workshop of Niccolo di Giovanni Battista Caracciolo, 1615-20 Buonaccorso of Siena. The later one by Giovanni Battista Caracciolo, a Neaopolitan follower of Paintings of the Annunciation are among the most Caravaggio, is dated variously by scholars as between frequent subjects of Christian art, particularly in the 1615 and 1629. Middle Ages and the Renaissance. The story of the First Impressions: One-third of Buonaccorso’s painting “announcement” by the angel Gabriel to Mary that, is in gold. There are many different and colorful though a virgin, she will give birth to a son whose name patterns, both in the physical setting and the elaborate will be Jesus, appears only in the Gospel of Luke. In the clothing and halos of the angel and Mary, making Gospel of Matthew, an angel appears to Joseph and tells Buonaccorso a 14th century Matisse. The colors, him not to be afraid to take Mary as his wife because the patterns, and the positions of the two main figures child she has conceived is from the Holy Spirit. (The clearly tell the viewer that something important is legal penalty for Mary’s supposed fault, becoming happening. We are not in a simple peasant’s abode. In pregnant before marriage, was stoning.) comparison with Caracciolo’s painting, the first impression is of darkness—the large vaulted space gives There are few details in Luke’s account: we know the feeling of being in a cave. Color is seen mainly in nothing about the setting, time of day, season or what the muted red and blue of Mary’s clothing and the white Mary was doing. Over the centuries certain artistic and bluish tones of Gabriel’s robe. Buonaccorso’s traditions have developed for the compositions: Gabriel figures are regal and static. By contrast, Caracciolo is usually on the left, (standing or kneeling); Mary is on shows the influence of Caravaggio’s naturalism. Gabriel the right, standing, seated or kneeling. She is in some is in action, his bare legs moving, his arms outstretched kind of an interior, while Gabriel may be outside the toward Mary. She has tilted her head and is holding building entirely. Her impregnation by the Holy Spirit herself in an attitude of humility. Their flesh looks real may be shown by a dove overhead or a stream of light. and their halos are not so prominent as in the If you have seen one Annunciation painting, you will Buonaccorso. likely not need a wall label to quickly identify another one.

Workshop of Niccolo di Buonaccorso, The Annunciation, before 1388 Giovanni Battista Caracciolo, The Annunciation, 1625-30 The Ella Gallup Sumner and Mary Catlin Sumner Collection Fund, 1951.94 The Ella Gallup Sumner and Mary Catlin Sumner Collection Fund, 1932.28

19 Light: It is the use of light that strongly differentiates linked by hinges. A gilt monogram with the letters CA the two paintings. In Buonaccorso, there is no indication and B appears in the upper left of the Caracciolo of a light source for the overall scene; no shadows are painting clearly identifying it as his work. cast by the figures or the dominating architectural Note: The only available reproduction of Caracciolo’s painting was elements. But what is very obvious is the diagonal and extremely dark, making details difficult to distinguish. When the unnatural shaft of light that goes from the upper left of actual painting is on view, we may notice additional differences the painting straight down to Mary’s head, or more between the two. exactly, to her ear. This portrays the doctrine that the Holy Spirit spoke directly to her at the moment of impregnation—the “Word becoming flesh.” At the upper end of the shaft is a baby’s head—the Jesus who will be born. Editor’s Note: With Caracciolo, we also have Caravaggio’s influence Because so many docents were not in the program when the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art presented Stephen Gray’s of tenebrism: from an illuminated dove (symbol of the collection, we thought it appropriate for Laura to present a Holy Spirit) high in the vaulted space, light encircles compare and contrast of three Stickley chairs now on view. what is the most important part of the painting—the Incorporating these into your tour becomes much easier with Laura’s insights. sculptured figures of Gabriel and Mary. The gleam of light on the floor leads the viewer’s eye from the A Passion for Stickley darkness to a recessed niche where there is a bed or From the Collection of Stephen Gray bench and a hanging curtain. By Laura Harris

Other Typical Details: In both paintings, Mary has a When viewers encounter objects from Stephen Gray’s prayer book. According to medieval legend (not in extraordinary Arts and Crafts furniture and decorative Luke’s Gospel), Mary was a considerable scholar. In arts collection, it isn’t the use of precious materials or both paintings there is a bed, far more visible and intricate and ornate forms that captures their attention. decorated in Buonaccorso’s than in Caracciolo’s, but Rather it’s the use of simple ordinary materials. each has been placed to reflect the belief that Mary was Simplicity was the credo of the Arts and Crafts the bed on which Christ was to sleep before his earthly Movement that emerged at the turn of the last century awakening. both in the United States, England, and, in a less defined way, Europe. Stephen believed that the early In Buonaccorso’s work, Gabriel holds a scroll with the works of the furniture manufacturer, Gustav Stickley, Latin words “Ave Maria Gratia Plena which translates represented some of the most original and well-crafted into the familiar “Hail Mary, full of grace.” As written in objects of the movement. Luke, they are the first words spoken by Gabriel to Mary. Concurrent with the Arts and Crafts Movement was the impact of the artist and teacher Arthur Wesley Dow. The lily is a symbol for innocence, purity, and Dow like many artists of the period was influenced by immortality and usually appears in Annunciation the woodblock prints which had been introduced to the paintings. Buonaccorso has Gabriel holding a lily; West with the emergence of Japan on the world stage. Caracciolo puts a vase of flowers against a cabinet on Dow incorporated the use of the well-defined line, which Mary is holding her book. Presumably they are Notan*, simple blocks of color, and the translation of lilies. nature into exquisite design. He emphasized fine craftsmanship and his students, employing a variety of Provenance: Buonaccorso’s painting is believed to be a art media, followed his teachings. Among the artists he panel from a polyptych. In the Metropolitan Museum of influenced was Stickley who carried Dow’s harmonious Art, there is a panel of the Lamentation over the Dead combination of lines, masses, and colors into his Christ similar in size and decorative features to the furniture design. It was these pieces that captured Wadsworth’s painting. The panels would have been Stephen’s heart. 20 Many docents already know much about Stephen’s the Stickley chair is the rectilinear form, the elements of passion for collecting from our wonderful exhibition of modernism (reduced forms, simple lines, everyday part of his collection here at the Wadsworth Atheneum materials), and yet the hominess of the final product. from October 2008 to January 2009. We can view a How did Stickley achieve this? He used the actual sampling of his gifts to the museum on the second and construction elements of the chair (mortise and through third floors of the Avery building. tenon with keys) and the grain of the wood as the decoration. Yet he used materials that were from nature If we look at the Gustav Stickley Rabbit Ear dining and lent themselves to a comfortable home environment. chair (1901) on the second floor, we notice that it is constructed of solid quarter-sawn white oak. The wood At the time this chair was produced, Stickley was also slabs were cut on a diagonal to emphasize the publishing an extremely popular and widely read pronounced grain of the oak.This process consumes magazine called The Craftsman. Subscribers would read much more of the original wood but at the turn of the about his vision for a comfortable and serene household last century, before WWI depleted the forests, there was using philosophical theories that also encouraged the use plenty of old growth oak. We notice the construction of of certain furnishings and décor to achieve these the chair as well. It has mortise and through tenon joints objectives. For the dining room he noted that, “…the with keys that secure the pieces of wood so that no dining room is the center of hospitality and good cheer, screws or nails are needed. Leather, wood, and hand- the place that should hold a special welcome for guest hammered brass tacks are the materials used for the and home folk alike.” chair. The wood has been fumed with ammonia vapors and aniline dyes to create the “old” color. Moving to the third floor, there are two other chairs from the Stephen Gray collection on view. They are both rare and quite different. Let’s compare the differences. The Eastwood armchair (1903) is massive. Its legs are made from thick chunks of wood. The back is actually curved. The flat arms show the graining of the wood. The cushions are leather and thick. Once again, Stickley has used quarter-sawn white oak. Again, notice the use of the mortise and through tenon joints to construct the chair. The chair has rectilinear construction using horizontal and vertical slats, and pared-down geometric Side Chair, c. 1902 American, Eastwood, New York forms. Gustav Stickley (1858-1942) Oak,leather and brass Gift of Stephan Gray, 2009.11.8

The design is simple and solid, a reaction to the machine-made and excessively decorated Victorian furniture and gimcracks that were so popular at that time. Stickley wanted furniture that could be bought by the average household and enjoyed in a serene, timeless environment. The early work often represented experimentation with design and assembly of materials that meant that Stickley could frequently produce only few pieces. It was these pieces Stephen sought. Eastwood Arm Chair #2638, c. 1903 Gustav Stickley, Eastwood, NY In viewing the dining chair in juxtaposition with the Gift of Stephen Gray, 2009.11.1 other chairs on the platform, we can see that all were Seat #725 (footstool), c. 1901 Gustav Stickley, Eastwood, NY created during the same period. What is striking about Gift of Stephen Gray, 2009.11.2 21 Yet, there is the look of comfort for the people who want to relax in their living rooms. Fine craftsmanship is evident in its handmade design. In his magazine, The Craftsman, Stickley describes the living room as, “…the most important room of the house...where the business of home life may be carried on freely and with pleasure…where the family life centers and from which Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art radiates that indefinable home influence that shapes at Coming Exhibitions 2012-13 * last the character of the nation and of the age….” Contrast the Eastwood armchair with the Harvey Ellis Contemporary Memories: Selections from the armchair (1903). Both are rectilinear, both are made Collection of The Amistad Center for Art & from quarter-sawn white oak, and both were meant for Culture the living room. Compare the heft of the wood. Through April 21 Compare the decoration. Does the Harvey Ellis chair depend on the grain of the wood or the construction Connections Gallery: Still-Life devices for the ornamentation? Instead we see an inlaid Through June 30 floral form made from copper and pewter on the center slat of the chair back. The seat is made from rush rather Deb Sokolow/MATRIX 166 than leather. Notice the curved apron under the seat. That curve is a trademark of Harvey Ellis, who worked Through June 30 for several months at the Stickley factory before he died. The legs of the chair rest on slats of wood on the floor. Burst of Light: Caravaggio and His Legacy This is called a “shoe foot” chair. Which chair appears Through June 16 to be more comfortable to you and why? Bill Viola’s Ascension Through August 11

Hartford Youth Art Renaissance April 20-May 19

Emancipation! Opens May 18 Arm Chair, c. 1903 American, Eastwood, NY Harvey Ellis and Gustav Stickley *Subject to change Gift of Stephen Gray, 2009.11.5

Why has the curator placed these decorative art forms in this gallery? Recall the connection between Arthur Wesley Dow and the Arts and Crafts Movement. Dow believed that art need not imitate nature but should develop organically from the formal abstract relationships of line, color, and tone. The pottery and metalwork on display exemplify these ideas. Because Dow was Georgia O’Keeffe’s teacher, a comparison with The Lawrence Tree could extend your tour theme Notan--the combination of lights and darks especially as used in Japanese art: the design or pattern of a work of art as seen in flat areas of dark and light values only. 22 23