Large print labels 5 1 2 3 6 4 Entry Shop 7 Introduction foyer wall ‘To walk through the National Gallery is to journey through the history of picture-making in Western Europe, from the thirteenth century to the beginning of the twentieth, and this exhibition aims to give a flavour of that experience.’ Dr Gabriele Finaldi Director, National Gallery, London The National Gallery, London is one of the world’s best- known national galleries of art. It was founded in 1824 when the British government bought 38 paintings from the estate of the banker John Julius Angerstein and made his Pall Mall town house the venue for the public exhibition of paintings. Now located in Trafalgar Square in the centre of London, the National Gallery holds just over 2300 paintings. It is one of the few major European art galleries whose collection was built through gifts and purchases, rather than based on a former royal collection. Its carefully curated collection has been a model for art galleries worldwide, including the National Gallery of Australia when it was established over a century later. Botticelli to Van Gogh: Masterpieces from the National Gallery, London is the first time in its near 200-year history that the National Gallery, London has toured an exhibition of works 33. Drawing on the strengths of their collection, this exhibition offers a rare opportunity to see 61 paintings by some of Europe’s most revered artists, including Botticelli, Titian, Rembrandt, Vermeer, El Greco, Velázquez, Goya, Turner, Constable, Van Dyck, Gainsborough, Renoir, Cézanne, Gauguin and Van Gogh. Spanning 450 years, it provides an overview of Western European art history through seven defining periods: Italian Renaissance painting; Dutch painting of the Golden Age; Van Dyck and British portraiture; The Grand Tour; The discovery of Spain; Landscape and the picturesque; and France and the rise of modern art. #BotticelliVanGogh Organised by The National Gallery, London, Art Exhibitions Australia and the National Gallery of Australia. Introduction to Room 1 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE PAINTING For most of the past 500 years, no art has been more consistently valued within European cultures than that created during the Renaissance. Characterised as the ‘rebirth’ of the arts and humanities, and spanning over 200 years, the Renaissance emerged from the 1340s in Florence, before spreading across Italy and beyond. Inspired by classical antiquity, Renaissance artists became famous during their lifetimes and were praised for their ability to create images of the world that were both highly crafted and convincingly true to life. The most prestigious subjects for painting were drawn from classical literature, history and the Old and New Testaments of the Bible. The job of the artist was to make these stories come to life. This was achieved through the pictorial invention of one-point perspective and the study of anatomy, colour, light and movement. For artists during the Renaissance this meant learning to draw architectural subjects, nature and the human body—both at rest and in motion. Room 1 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE PAINTING Wall labels for Room 1, clockwise 1 Paolo Uccello Italy c 1397–1475 Saint George and the dragon c 1470 oil on canvas The National Gallery, London Bought with a special grant and contributions from the Phillott and Temple-West Funds, 1959 NG 6294 Saint George slaying the dragon was one of the most popular Christian stories of the Middle Ages. In this interpretation from the early Renaissance Uccello has compressed two parts of the story into one small picture showing Saint George plunging his spear into the dragon’s head, while the princess serenely holds a leash around its neck. Uccello was fascinated with new ideas about perspective and the illusion of receding space within pictures. This painting demonstrates how instrumental artists of the early Renaissance were in developing new ways of representing stories in artful but increasingly realistic terms. Giovanni Girolamo Savoldo Italy c 1480–c 1548 Mary Magdalene c 1535–40 oil on canvas The National Gallery, London Bought 1878 NG 1031 In a scene taken from the New Testament, Savoldo depicts Mary Magdalene seated before the empty tomb of Christ early on the Sunday morning following his crucifixion. In the biblical scene—here transposed to the artist’s native Venice—Christ approached Mary as she cried outside his tomb. Savoldo was best known for his paintings of Mary Magdalene and for his atmospheric night-time scenes; in the background, dawn is seen breaking over the Venetian lagoon. The pictorial effects of dawn light on Mary’s shimmering satin shawl exemplify what sixteenth-century collectors most admired in his work. For kids Can you see light reflecting on the folds of the silver scarf? The scarf is enveloping Mary Magdalene, who is mourning the death of her friend Jesus. Notice the first light of the morning in the background and the contrasting dark tones across the painting. What might this tell you about the mood in the painting? Domenico Ghirlandaio Italy 1449–1494 The Virgin and Child c 1480–90 tempera on poplar The National Gallery, London Mond Bequest, 1924 NG 3937 Made for private worship at home, this picture provided not only a focus for Christian prayer but a fictive window into an ideal landscape beyond. How Ghirlandaio has rendered both figures with fleshy but well-defined features in his picture is characteristic of Florentine painting and drawing in this period. The stiff folds of the Virgin’s red dress and the solidity of Christ’s body are designed to reinforce the three-dimensionality of the holy figures. This style was part of a tradition that intended to give the subjects a real and enduring presence. Giovanni Battista Moroni Italy 1520/4–1579 Portrait of a gentleman with his helmet on a column shaft c 1555–56 oil on canvas The National Gallery, London Bought 1890 NG 1316 This full-length portrait, the most ambitious and expensive variety of Renaissance portraiture, depicts an unknown man dressed partially in armour standing beside a broken column. While the column may indicate the man’s fortitude, suggesting not only strength but the endurance of ancient values or family lineage, architectural ruins often featured in Moroni’s portraits of this period. Moroni spent his life working in and around the prosperous cities of Lombard in northern Italy. This portrait dates from his time in Brescia, where his paintings were revered for their naturalism, limited colour palette and his ability to convey the dignity and prestige of his high-status sitters. Sandro Botticelli Italy c 1445–1510 Four scenes from the early life of Saint Zenobius c 1500 tempera on wood The National Gallery, London Mond Bequest, 1924 NG 3918 Botticelli is seen as the quintessential Florentine artist and one of the most celebrated of all early Renaissance painters. This picture is the first in a group of four panels that tell the story of the life of Zenobius, patron saint of Florence. The style belongs to a category of painting known as spalliere, because they were displayed at the height of an average person’s spalle, or shoulder. Read like a cartoon strip from left to right, this painting shows off Botticelli’s mastery of one-point perspective to present Zenobius moving through the colonnaded streets of Florence as he rejects marriage, is baptised, witnesses his mother’s baptism and is ordained as Bishop of Florence. Carlo Crivelli Italy 1430/5–c 1494 The Annunciation, with Saint Emidius 1486 egg and oil on canvas The National Gallery, London Presented by Lord Taunton, 1864 NG 739 Crivelli’s best-known painting, this altarpiece was created for a convent of Observant Franciscan nuns in the Italian town of Ascoli Piceno, where the artist lived from 1478. This format allowed him to show off his mastery of perspective and trademark skill at foreshortening, in a picture that combined classical architecture and ornamental detail with events from Ascoli’s history and the biblical story of Mary’s Annunciation. Crivelli loved playing games with his viewers by suggesting that his paintings were both flat and three- dimensional; the shadow cast by the fruit and vegetable sitting on the bottom shelf is a wonderful case in point. For kids Can you spot an angel in the picture? There are many different characters appearing across the painting. Look closely and notice the different activities the people are involved in. Imagine that you could step into the painting. Which character would you like to be? Titian active Italy c 1506–1576 Noli me tangere c 1514 oil on canvas The National Gallery, London Bequeathed by Samuel Rogers, 1856 NG270 The scene depicted in this picture is from the Resurrection in which Christ appears to Mary Magdalene in the Garden of Gethsemane (John 20:14–18). When Mary reaches out to him, Christ instructs ‘Noli me tangere’ [Do not touch me], as it is time for his followers to let go of his earthly presence and await the Holy Ghost. In Titian’s interpretation the focus is on the interplay between the two figures in the landscape. The contrapposto, or twisting pose, of Christ shows off Titian’s ability to animate the human figure, while the vibrant hues are characteristic of the Venetian school of painting and his mastery of light and colour. Jacopo Tintoretto Italy c 1518–1594 The origin of the Milky Way c 1575 oil on canvas The National Gallery, London Purchased 1890 NG 1313 Tintoretto, the son of a dyer or tintore, epitomised the exuberance of the Venetian school of painting. Before 1857 this picture was known as The nursing of Hercules. It depicts the story of how the god Jupiter attempted to obtain immortality for his son Hercules, who was born to a mortal woman.