Tag Archives: Rome

Canaletto & the Art of Venice

Canaletto & the Art of Venice, The Queen’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace. London SW1, until 12th November 2017

Canaletto, Piazza San Marco looking west towards San Geminiano, c.1723-4, part of a set of six views of Venice.
Royal Collection Trust/(c) Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 2017

The two key figures in this remarkable show are Joseph Smith, British Consul in Venice, and George III. The former was also Canaletto’s agent and dealer encouraging the artist to depict Venetian life for the Grand Tour visitors, especially the English ones, in the first half of the 18th century. The latter in 1762 bought almost all of Smith’s collection of paintings, drawings, medals and books which included Canaletto paintings, drawings and etchings as well as the works of other Venetian painters of the day.

Canaletto, The Pantheon, 1742, part of a set of five Roman views.
Royal Collection Trust/(c) Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 2017

This superb exhibition proves how wise George III was and how fortunate we are to be able to see it brought together – it is the best group of Canaletto’s works in the world! Alongside his paintings of Venice are the series of 5 large-scale Roman views which Canaletto painted in 1742.  I particularly liked the smaller view of the Grand Canal (The Grand Canal looking north-west from near the Rialto) showing Smith’s palazzo with its new classical façade altered later by the artist.

Rosalba Carriera,’Winter’, c. 1726
Royal Collection Trust/(c)Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 2016

Add to this works by Sebastiano and Marco Ricci, Francesco Zuccarelli, Rosalba Carriera, Pietro Longhi and Giovanni Battista Piazzetta and one really gets an absorbing picture of life in 18th century Venice. I loved the Sebastiano Ricci of The Adoration of the Kings (1726) because of the way Christ’s arm and hand are outstretched touching one of the king’s heads in benediction.

Canaletto, The Mouth of the Grand Canal looking West towards the Carita, c.1729-30, from a set of 12 paintings of the Grand Canal.
Royal Collection Trust/(c) Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 2017

This exhibition should not be missed!

http://www.royalcollection.org.uk

Marco Ricci, Farinelli in walking dress, c.1729-30
Royal Collection Trust/(c)Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 2016

An Artistic Friendship

The Credit Suisse Exhibition: MICHELANGELO & SEBASTIANO, North Galleries, The National Gallery, London, until 25th June 2017

 

Sebastiano del Piombo, after partial designs by Michelangelo
Lamentation over the Dead Christ (Pietà), about 1512-16
Oil on poplar
248 × 190 cm
Museo Civico, Viterbo
© Comune di Viterbo

 

The North Galleries of the National Gallery provide a good background for this engaging exhibition which takes us back to Rome in the High Renaissance.  It was a time of war and religious conflict and against this the collaboration and friendship of Michelangelo (1475-1564) and Sebastiano del Piombo (1455-1547) is revealed.

Michelangelo
The Risen Christ, about 1532-3
Black chalk on paper
37.2 × 22.1 cm
Royal Collection Trust / © Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 2017 (RCIN 912768)

The talented oil painter Sebastiano arrived in Rome in 1511 and became part of the city’s vibrant art scene and he soon met Michelangelo who was painting the Sistine Chapel ceiling. They became friends and were allies against Raphael (1483 – 1520) who had been called to Rome in 1508 by the Pope to undertake the redecoration of the papal apartments.

Sebastiano del Piombo
Letter from Sebastiano del Piombo in Rome to Michelangelo in Florence, 2 July 1518
© Casa Buonarroti, Florence (IX, 468)

Paintings, drawings, letters and sculptures are used to tell the story with some exceptional loans such as the Lamentation over the Dead Christ (c1512-16) which was the first joint collaboration of Sebastiano and Michelangelo. Another of their projects the Borgherini Chapel in S. Pietro in Montorio, Rome (1516–24) – which obviously could not be brought to London – has been realistically re-created using modern technology.

Michelangelo
The Entombment (or Christ being carried to his Tomb), about 1500-1
Oil on poplar
161.7 x 149.9 cm
© The National Gallery, London (NG790)

Lasting over twenty-five years the friendship ended when Michelangelo returned to Rome permanently to paint the Last Judgement in the Sistine Chapel.  The reason for the falling out is thought to have been an argument over painting techniques – a difference which had brought them together but now drove them apart.

HRH The Prince of Wales viewing The Credit Suisse Exhibition: Michelangelo & Sebastiano on 13 March 2017
© The National Gallery, London

This is an exhibition that demands to be seen in the flesh and I warmly urge you to do so.

Michelangelo, finished by an unknown seventeenth century artist
The Risen Christ (‘The Giustiniani Christ’), 1514-15, finished in the early 17th century
Carrara marble
250 (201 without the cross) x 90 x 51 cm
Church of San Vincenzo Martire, Monastero dei Silvestrini, Bassano Romano (Viterbo)
© Photo Alessandro Vasari

http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk

BOOK REVIEW: HUBERT ROBERT

Hubert Robert

Margaret Morgan Grasselli and Yuriko Jackall with contributions from Guillaume Faroult and Catherine Voiriot

£45.00 GBP
Lund Humphries
ISBN: 9781848221918

hubert-robert-2d-cover-lores

This is a wonderful celebration of this multi-faceted artist and draftsman, Hubert Robert (1733-1808), who could also turn his hand to being an interior decorator and garden architect, including designs for the Queen’s Dairy at Rambouillet for Marie Antoinette.  We are fortunate that while the book has been published to coincide with the exhibition in Washington DC’s National Gallery of Art which ends at the beginning of October it will have a very long and useful life as a stand-alone reference work thanks to the scholarship and up-to-date research that the authors and contributors bring to it.

 

His time in Rome, where he met and became friends with Fragonard, Panini and Piranesi, led to his penchant for depicting ruins often peopled with figures and for which he became known as ‘Robert des ruines’. He received the support of wealthy patrons and in 1784 was appointed ‘Keeper of the Museum’ (the future Louvre Museum).  He was imprisoned for a while after the French Revolution but on his release continued with a series of paintings depicting the Louvre’s Grande Galerie.

Hubert Robert (1733-1808). Painting Gallery Being Used as an Artist's Studio, 1789 Paris, Musée du Louvre. RF1938-69.

Hubert Robert (1733-1808).
Painting Gallery Being Used as an Artist’s Studio, 1789
Paris, Musée du Louvre. RF1938-69.

I have long been interested in 18th century French art and have enjoyed seeing works by artist such as Boucher, Greuze, Fragonard, Vigée- Le Brun and so on, but my favourite has always been Robert.  To me he captures the spirit of the time perfectly and while his works are out of my reach I now have the great pleasure of this book to enjoy.

Hubert Robert (1733-1808) Burning of Rome, c. 1771 Musée d'Art Moderne André Malraux, Le Havre

Hubert Robert (1733-1808)
Burning of Rome, c. 1771
Musée d’Art Moderne André Malraux, Le Havre

 

http://www.lundhumphries.com

The Years of La Dolce Vita – The Birth of Celebrity Culture in Focus, Estorick Collection of Modern Italian Art

The Years of La Dolce Vita – The Birth of Celebrity Culture in Focus, Estorick Collection of Modern Italian Art, 39a Canonbury Square , London N1, until 29th June 2014

Marcello Geppetti (1933-1998) Richard Burton and Liz Taylor kissing in Ischia, June 1962 MGMC & Solares Fondazione delle Arti

Marcello Geppetti (1933-1998)
Richard Burton and Liz Taylor kissing in Ischia, June 1962
MGMC & Solares Fondazione delle Arti

Rome in the1950s and 1960s saw the birth of celebrity culture and the establishment of paparazzi photographers who often are the bane of the famous but whose images the public eagerly await.

Marcello Geppetti (1933-1998) Audrey Hepburn, Rome, 1961 MGMC & Solares Fondazione delle Arti

Marcello Geppetti (1933-1998)
Audrey Hepburn, Rome, 1961
MGMC & Solares Fondazione delle Arti

It started because Italian cinema was flourishing thanks to the films of directors such as Fellini, Antonioni and Pasolini and the fact that American filmmakers wanted to use Cinecittà Studios as they were less costly than Hollywood. Stalwarts of the cinematic archive such as Ben-Hur (1959) and Cleopatra (1963) were shot there.

Marcello Geppetti (1933-1998) Rock Hudson and Cary Grant at Cinecittà, June 1961 MGMC & Solares Fondazione delle Arti

Marcello Geppetti (1933-1998)
Rock Hudson and Cary Grant at Cinecittà,
June 1961
MGMC & Solares Fondazione delle Arti

This meant that film stars came to Rome and after working at the studio in the day time went to the vibrant Via Veneto with its bars and restaurants to relax in the evening. Thus stars such as Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, Alain Delon, Audrey Hepburn, Lauren Baccall, John Wayne and Charlton Heston became targets of the paparazzi.

Marcello Geppetti (1933-1998) Carlo Ponti, Sophia Loren and Vittorio De Sica, Rome, 1961 MGMC & Solares Fondazione delle Arti

Marcello Geppetti (1933-1998)
Carlo Ponti, Sophia Loren and Vittorio De Sica, Rome, 1961
MGMC & Solares Fondazione delle Arti

However, then as now, not all stars appreciated being the focus of a camera lens in their personal time and there are some images of them trying to stop the photographer shooting them. The ones of Anita Ekberg trying to scare off paparazzi are well worth going to see on their own.

Marcello Geppetti (1933-1998) Franco Nero assaulting Rino Barillari at the Trevi Fountain, 1965 MGMC & Solares Fondazione delle Arti

Marcello Geppetti (1933-1998)
Franco Nero assaulting Rino Barillari at the Trevi Fountain, 1965
MGMC & Solares Fondazione delle Arti

Ekberg was, of course, a major star in Fellini’s 1960 film La Dolce Vita (The Sweet Life) and this eponymously titled exhibition combines the real-life images of Marcello Geppetti with behind-the-scenes shots on the film set by its cameraman Arturo Zavattini. Indeed it should be remembered that Paparazzo was the name of a charcter in the film.  It adds up to a very enjoyable and heady mixture that brings the era to life with clarity and focus.

Arturo Zavattini (b. 1930) Set of ‘La Dolce Vita’, Marcello Mastroianni Solares Fondazione delle Arti

Arturo Zavattini (b. 1930)
Set of ‘La Dolce Vita’, Marcello Mastroianni
Solares Fondazione delle Arti

www.estorickcollection.com

Marcello Geppetti (1933-1998) Jayne Mansfield and Mike Hargitay leaving “Piccola Budapest”, Rome, October 1962

Marcello Geppetti (1933-1998)
Jayne Mansfield and Mike Hargitay leaving “Piccola Budapest”, Rome, October 1962