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Category: Fine Art


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Saint Joseph Charpentier by Georges de la Tour (Vic-sur-Seille, 1593-Luneville, 1652)

1645. Canvas. 54" high by 39 3/4" wide. R.F. 1948-27

In this painting given to the Louvre in 1948 by Percy Moore Turner, la Tour has represented Saint Joseph in the simplicity of everyday toil, as indicated by the various objects placed in the foreground of the canvas. Like the figures, the two logos of wood, a mallet, an auger, a chisel and a wood shaving seem to be imbued with a mysterious life. The Child Jesus is seated beside his adoptive father, who is illuminated by the candle the child holds, shielding the flame with his hand-a favorite technique used by the artist. The pure profile of the child, "a true creature of light,"contrasts with the bent head of Saint Joseph, whose face is lit to reveal wrinkles, prominent veins and an anxious expression. This realistic tendency is counterbalanced by a deliberate stylization, evidenced both in the line drawing (the arabesque of the face) and in the simplification of a plane (Saint Joseph's leg). The difference between the style of the smooth surfaces and those in which the brush-stroke is visible in no way detracts from the unity of the picture, painted in a somber range of browns with only a trace of pure red (the child's belt ). Everything is portrayed simply, with a great economy of resources.

La Tour was not the solitary painter his works might lead one to believe. In 1620, by that time a respected citizen of Luneville, he took on an apprentice. By 1621 he was already qualified as a "master". It is highly probable (though not proven) that Georges de la Tour, like most of his contemporaries trained in Lorraine, went to Italy. This would account for the affinities of his work with that of the followers of Caravaggio, especially those from northern Europe, established in Rome.La Tour's Saint Joseph the Carpenter is, in fact, very similar to a picture of the same subject painted around 1616 by Honthorst (known as Gherardo delle Note) for Cardinal Borghese at Montecompatri (monastery of San Silvestro) near Rome. In any event, the direct style of the Dutch painter, dramatic and somewhat theatrical, is quite different from the art of la Tour, which is characterized by a rigorous, unadorned, and wholly "classical" construction. La Tour's figures are lost in meditation, as if in suspended action, and a religious feeling is conveyed, not so much by the lighting as by the quality of silence and solemnity evoked by this canvas-all of which gives this scene a timeless character.

This picture is generally assigned a rather late date in the artist's career, between 1640 and 1645, about the same as that of the Adoration of the Shepherds (also in the Louvre) and of the Repentance of Saint Peter in the Cleveland Museum (signed and dated 1645). The dating of la Tour's works is still hypothetical, however, and no definitive conclusions can be drawn here.

A replica of this picture hangs in the Museum of Besancon, testifying to the fame this work has long enjoyed.

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Femme A Demi-Nue by Antoine Watteau (1684-1721) French School

Black and red chalk on buff paper. 11.1" high by 9.13" wide. 

Often exhibited and often reproduced, this is deservedly one of the most famous drawings of Watteau, whose draughtsman's style it typifies perfectly: a deeply explored sense of color—thanks to the so-called "three-crayon" technique, in which white chalk is applied on a background of colored paper (a technique that Watteau had greatly admired in the drawings of P.P. Rubens), a sovereign grace of movements and postures, and an exceptional suppleness of execution. There are many sheets of sketches on which the artist gave rein to his imagination in composing a painting and animating it with figures. But his drawings were not deliberately conceived as preparatory studies for painted works. This one, for example, is not directly connected with a painting, but is merely one of the series of studies based on the theme of Nudes on a Chaise Longue (cf. K. T. Parker and J. Mathey, Antoine Watteau. Catalogue complet de sen oeuvre dessine [Complete Catalogue of his Drawings], Paris, 1957, I, No. 522 repr.)

Known as a painter of "fetes galantes" (courtly festivals), it was in this capacity that the artist entered the Academy of Painting in 1717. True, Watteau had just begun to create a new repertoire of subjects, difficult to define—because his vision of the world was so personal and subjective. He sought to suggest an atmosphere of happiness, midway between dream and reality, and always fraught with a certain melancholy. This is exemplified in the Embarquement pour l'ile de Cythere (Embarcation to the Island of Cythera), also known, according to a possible double interpretation, according to a possible double interpretation, as Pelerinage a l'le de Cythere (Pilgrimage to the Island of Cythera)

This drawing of a half-nude woman was acquired in 1761 at an anonymous sale held in Amsterdam, which later proved to be the first sale of the collections of Gabriel Huquier (1695-1771), an Orleans engraver who was also a print-seller in Paris.

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Milon De Crotone by Pierre Puget (1620-1694)

1682, Marble. 106.6" high.

According to legend, the famous athlete Milo of Crotona, in his later years, tried to separate two halves of an oak which had been split by an ax-blow. His strength having failed him, he could not remove his fingers from the cleft in the wood and was killed by wild beasts.

The ancient prize-winner of the Olympic games is represented here standing with his left hand caught in the tree. He seeks vainly, in his exhaustion, to ward off the lion already tearing at him with teeth and claws. His excruciating suffering is apparent not only in his face— his mouth twisted in a shriek of agony—but in every part of his body, bowed by the effort that flexes and stiffens his muscles as his clenched feet grip the ground. This suffering is not, in fact merely physical: the tragic death of the hero can be interpreted as symbolic of the destiny of man, who is triumphant in youth and then vanquished by age and natural forces.

The dramatic subject of this sculpture, the daring asymmetry of the composition and the contempt for traditional models, particularly evident in the colossal stature of the man contrasting with the relatively small size of the lion, make it a typically baroque work. Pierre Puget worked mostly in the south of France and made several trips to Italy, thereby avoiding the influence of the classical style employed by the Parisian sculptors of the Royal Academy. Louis XIV appreciated his talent, however, and specially commissioned this Milo of Crotona. Puget worked on it for nine years. The sculpture was placed in the park of the palace of Versailles in 1682 and, despite the reservations of the pure partisans of classical art who advocated greater moderation in the portrayal of feelings, it was at once regarded as a masterpiece.

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Home, Sweet Home by William Robinson Leigh (American, 1866-1955)

1932. Oil on canvas. 40 x 60 inches (101.6 x 152.4 cm). Signed and dated lower left: W.R. Leigh 1932

PROVENANCE: Grand Central Galleries, New York (label verso); Mr. Eric Jonsson, Dallas, Texas; Thence by descent.

Home Sweet Home, W. R. Leigh's evocative painting of three men sharing a campfire set against a golden Southwestern sky, contains all the elements that have made the artist's work a perennial favorite among Western art collectors. It is masterfully drawn, saturated with the colors and tones of the western landscape, and it tells a compelling story of camaraderie on the plains. It was completed in 1931 at the height of Leigh's skill as a painter. By that time, the artist had spent many years traveling throughout the West, but with a particular interest in the Indian lands of New Mexico and Arizona. He used his travels to make meticulous sketches and oil studies of the land and people of the Southwest, often producing over one hundred images in any single location. Later, back in his New York studio, he referred to those sketches to create large works such as this painting.

William Robinson Leigh was born in 1866 and grew up in rural West Virginia where he showed a very early aptitude for art. Born into a family that had lost their fortune in the Civil War, Leigh was able to attend the Maryland Institute in Baltimore at the age of fourteen through the generosity of his aunt and uncle. He excelled at the institute and left to study at the Royal Academy in Munich only a few years later. He studied in Germany for another 12 years and returned to America with a mastery of the techniques of the Old European masters. While he had long dreamed of venturing into the American West to stoke his artistic imagination, the necessity of earning a living led to his decade long work as an illustrator for the leading illustrated publications of the day, such as Collier's and Scribner's. Like his contemporary Frederic Remington, Leigh bristled at the constraints and lack of creativity in terms of subject matter and style that were necessary in the illustration market. He felt that his true artistic talent would not reach its full potential until he could put aside his work as an illustrator.

In 1897, he had made a brief trip to Wyoming for Scribner's magazine to gather material for a story on western wheat farmers. That trip whetted his appetite for more travels in the West, but economic necessity would keep him away from fulfilling that dream until 1906, when he entered into a mutually beneficial arrangement with the Santa Fe Railroad. In exchange for free passage to the Southwest, Leigh agreed to paint images of the Grand Canyon and other western subjects for use in the Railroad's advertising campaigns. Leigh had been invited by a friend from his Munich days to visit Laguna, New Mexico and his contract with the Santa Fe railroad allowed him to spend several weeks soaking up the Southwestern landscape and culture. That initial trip was profoundly influential on his career and development as an artist. During the next several years, he traveled extensively in the Southwest and throughout the West, including the Yellowstone territory of Wyoming and Montana. At each location, he spent as much time as possible painting outside, often under the shade of a large umbrella. He painted throughout the day and often arose in the middle of the night to capture the cool colors of the moonlit landscape.

In Home Sweet Home, Leigh utilized the long hours he spent painting directly in the field to present a quiet scene that is rich in detail and color. His three companions, two cowboys and a Navaho Indian are dramatically lit by a small campfire and are surrounded by their provisions and gear, the placement of which and the attention to such details as the labels on the cans in the camp boxes adds an extra touch of authenticity to the scene. In the background the three riders' horses are tethered at the horizon line and are contrasted against a brilliantly colored sky. All of Leigh's skills as an artist and storyteller are amply displayed in this one scene that was the result of hours of sketching and preparation.

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Portrait of Dr. Guichet (Version One) by Vincent van Gogh (1890)

1890. Oil on canvas. 22" high by 23.4" wide.  Collection: Private collection of Ryoei Saito(?).

Portrait of Dr. Gachet is one of the most revered paintings by Dutch artist Vincent van Gogh. It depicts Dr. Paul Gachet, who took care of him during the final months of his life. It was the only portrait painted by van Gogh during his stay at the doctor's home in Auvers-sur-Oise (27.2 km outside Paris), a 70 day period from May to July 1890. 

In 1990, it fetched a then-record price of $82.5 million ($75 million, plus a 10 percent buyer's commission) when sold at auction in New York.

There are two authenticated versions of the portrait, both painted in June 1890 at Auvers. Both show Doctor Gachet sitting at a table and leaning his head onto his right arm, but they are easily differentiated in color and style.

Background
In 1890, Van Gogh's brother Theo was searching for a home for the artist upon his release from the hospital at Saint-Rémy. Upon the recommendation of Camille Pissarro, former patient of the doctor who told Theo of Gachet's interests in working with artists, Theo sent Vincent to Gachet's second home in Auvers.

Vincent Van Gogh's impression of Gachet at times was unfavorable, writing to Theo: "I think that we must not count on Dr. Gachet at all. First of all, he is sicker than I am, I think, or shall we say just as much, so that's that. Now when one blind man leads another blind man, don't they both fall into the ditch?" However, a letter dated two days later to their sister Wilhelmina, he relayed, "I have found a true friend in Dr. Gachet, something like another brother, so much do we resemble each other physically and also mentally." It is perhaps with this affection van Gogh decided to paint his doctor's portrait.

Van Gogh's thoughts returned several times to the painting by Eugène Delacroix of Torquato Tasso in the madhouse. After a visit with Paul Gauguin to Montpellier to see Alfred Bruyas's collection in the Musée Fabre, Van Gogh wrote to Theo, asking if he could find a copy of the lithograph after the painting. Three and a half months earlier, he had been thinking of the painting as an example of the sort of portraits he wanted to paint: "But it would be more in harmony with what Eugène Delacroix attempted and brought off in his Tasso in Prison, and many other pictures, representing a real man. Ah! portraiture, portraiture with the thought, the soul of the model in it, that is what I think must come."

Van Gogh wrote to his brother in 1890 about the painting:
“I've done the portrait of M. Gachet with a melancholy expression, which might well seem like a grimace to those who see it... Sad but gentle, yet clear and intelligent, that is how many portraits ought to be done... There are modern heads that may be looked at for a long time, and that may perhaps be looked back on with longing a hundred years later.”

Van Gogh painted Gachet resting his right elbow on a red table, head in hand. Two yellow books as well as the purple medicinal herb foxglove are displayed on the table. The foxglove in the painting is a plant from which digitalis is extracted for the treatment of certain heart complaints, perhaps an attribute of Gachet as a doctor.

Exhibition
First sold in 1897 by van Gogh's sister-in-law for 300 francs, the painting was subsequently bought by Paul Cassirer (1904), Kessler (1904), and Druet (1910). In 1911, the painting was acquired by the Städel (Städtische Galerie) in Frankfurt, Germany and hung there until 1933, when the painting was put in a hidden room. The Reich Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda confiscated the work in 1937 as part of its campaign to rid Germany of so-called degenerate art, leading to Hermann Göring hurriedly selling it to a dealer in Amsterdam. The dealer in turn sold it to collector Siegfried Kramarsky, who brought it with him when he fled to New York, where the work was often lent to the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Kramarsky's family put the painting up for auction at Christie's New York on May 15, 1990, where it became famous for Ryoei Saito, honorary chairman of Daishowa Paper Manufacturing Co., paying US$82.5 million for it, making it then the world's most expensive painting. The 75-year old Japanese businessman briefly caused a scandal when he said he would have the Van Gogh painting cremated with him after his death, though his aides later claimed Saito threatening to torch the masterpiece was just an expression of intense affection for it.

Though he later said he would consider giving the painting to the Japanese government or a museum, no information has been made public about the exact location and ownership of the portrait since his death in 1996. Reports in 2007 have claimed the painting was sold a decade earlier to the Austrian-born investment fund manager Wolfgang Flöttl.  Flöttl, in turn, had reportedly been forced by financial reversals to sell the painting to parties as yet unknown.

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Buste D'Alexandre Brongniart Enfant by Jean-Antoine Houdon (1741-1828)

1770. Terra cotta. 14-1/6" high. Signed "REMBRANDT F: 1770".

During the second half of the eighteenth century, there was considerable development in the child portrait, a genre that had been relatively neglected up until that time. Influenced by the writings of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, French society became deeply interested in the problems of education and was moved by the discovery of the charms of the childhood.

A faithful portrayer of his times, Houdon was not unaware of this new form of expression and himself began to do portraits of children. Thus he created numerous busts including several of his own young daughters. One of his most successful creations is his portrait of Alexandre Brongniart who was the son of the famous architect Alexandre-Theodore Brongniart, a close friend of Houdon. Although Houdon was accustomed to portraying male subjects in a noble manner, he adopted a simple, familiar approach so as to capture the delicacy of the child's face. The viewer is immediately captured by the mischievous yet intelligent expression of the seven-year-old boy. Moreover, Houdon's young model was to have a brillant career. At age 30 he became director of the famous Sevres ceramics works and gained a reputation as a chemist and geologist as well.

The terra cotta original of this bust was unequaled in delicacy of modeling. It remained in the Brongniart family until 1898, when it was acquired by the Louvre, along with its companion piece, the bust of Louise Brongniart, Alexandre's younger sister. One finds in these two sculptures the freedom of execution which characterizes Houdon's works; the fleshy areas seem supple, the movement is wholly natural, the hair is treated in detail, and a touch of light falls on the delicately carved eyes which creates the illusion of life. The success of these "Little Brongniarts," when shown at the Salon of 1777,was so great that the artist produced several copies of them. One, in marble, is now the National Gallery in Washington.

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Sophonisba Receiving the Poisoned Cup by Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (1606-1669)

1634. Oil on canvas. 56" high by 60 1/4" wide. Signed "REMBRANDT F: 1634". Collection: The Prado, Madrid. Also known as Artemisia Receiving Mausolus' Ashes.

Once again, Rembrandt's subject is unknown. The work does not seem to be Biblical in nature, so scholars have proposed various secular characters.

The painting is commonly thought to depict Sophonisba, whose story was related by Livy (Book 30). The wife of Syphax Masinissa, she was taken prisoner by Scipio, who then asked her to remain with him. When the lady's husband learned of this invitation, he sent Sophonisba a cup of poison.

The Prado prefers to identify the subject as Artemisia preparing to drink a cup of wine which contains the ashes of her husband, King Mausolos. This tale is told by Aulus Gellius in Noctes Atticae. Rubens had just painted his own version of this subject for Amalia van Solms of Holland, whose collection Rembrandt mave have seen. The story of Artemisia was also included in a book by Dutchman Jacob Cats. However, Cat's version was not published until 1636, two years after Rembrandt completed this canvas, and it is not known whether the story was circulated before that publication.

This painting was formerly in the Cabinet de Toilette of the New Palace in Madrid.

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Le Sacre De Napoleon by Jacques Louis David (1748-1825)

1806 and 1807. Canvas. 241"" high by 367" wide. Signed below, at right : L. David febat, Dated below, at left : 1806 and 1807.

When Napoleon was proclaimed Emperor of France by the Senate on May 18, 1804, he insisted that the nation be consulted and discreetly urged the Pope to officiate at the coronation, thus identifying himself with the tradition of the Pepins and Charlemagnes.

Two successive ceremonies took place : at a solemn session on December 1, the Senate submitted the results of the plebiscite to the Emperor, and on December 2, Napoleon received the triple unction from the hand of Pius VII in the Cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris. David, a former member of the National Convention, had been promoted to painter to His Majesty. In this capacity he had received the commission for a painting commemorating the coronation and was a witness to the event.

Seated in a box near the main altar, he made sketches of the ceremony. Afterwards he made many drawings, redoing a single study several times. In order to arrange the figures, he asked his former pupil, Madame Mongez, to make figurines which could be arranged in various ways. To achieve the architectural perspective, he consulted Degotti, the scenographer at the Opera. An old church was converted into a studio and placed at his disposal, so that he could work comfortably on the immense canvas, which he was not to complete until the end of the year 1807.

After a first sketch, in which he had shown Napoleon crowning himself, David finally immortalized the crowning of Josephine. The three principal characters are linked by their gestures which narrate the unfolding scene. The Pope, seated before the main altar, raises his hand as a sign of benediction, while the Emperor holds up a crown and turns toward the  Empress. She kneels on a cushion, her head bowed. The soft profile of Josephine marks the exact center of the picture, and Napoleon's gesture links the figures massed near the main altar and those grouped at the left of the canvas. The admirable composition, clear and balanced, is enhanced by beautiful lighting which brings out the essential nature of the ceremony and intensifies the richness of the  colors. The brocaded silks of the costumes, the large plumes of the hats, the purple of the velvets, the gold of the embroideries and the magnificent products of the goldsmith's art glitter in all their sumptuousness.

Amid this splendor, David set up a whole gallery of portraits, bringing to life again the high dignitaries of the Church and of the Empire. The imperial family is in a conspicuous position: the Emperor's sisters and sisters-in-law, along with Joseph and Louis Bonaparte, occupy the left foreground of the picture, while Napoleon's mother, surrounded by her chamberlains and ladies in waiting, seems to preside over the ceremony from the central rostrum. Actually, on that day she was far from Napoleon and was with Lucien, who together with Jerome, had rebelled against the Emperor's tyrannical hold on his family. David achieved immediate and great success. On January 4, 1808, the Emperor visited the studio and ordered that the canvas be hung in the main Salon of the Louvre, where the public was admitted starting on February 7. Visitors came in droves and displayed genuine enthusiasm. On the 14th, many artists paid public homage to David and placed garlands of laurel and flowers before his masterpiece. On March 20, the exhibition was closed for David to begin a copy requested by the Americans. After appearing at the Salon, which did not reopen its doors until October 14, the original canvas was hung in the palace of the Tuileries. In 1814 it was returned to David, who turned it cover to the Beaux-Arts administrators in 1820. Exhibited at Versailles from 1837 to 1889, it has hung in the Louvre ever since.

Its place in the Museum of French History in the Palace of Versailles is occupied by a replica acquired in 1946. David completed this copy in Brussels in 1822 with the help of Rouget, who had already assisted him in the execution of the original canvas. It was exhibited in 1826 and 1827 in New York, Philadelphia and Boston.

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L' Inspiration Du Poete by Nicolas Poussin (1590-1665)

1655. Canvas, R.F.266. 72" high by 83 1/2" wide. Acquired by the Louvre in 1911, Inventory R.F. 1774.

This was probably Poussin's most admired work, as evidenced by the declaration of Mettra to Frederick the Great in 1768: "The picture is the most important one in France by this master; it has likewise retained all its purity and freshness." But it has more than one quality that merits our attention.

Its Provenance is among the most distinguished. It figures in the inventory of the Mazarin collection (1653). It was still in the Mazarin Palace in 1655. According to Chantelou's  account,  It was probably this particular painting before which Bernini is said to have paused.

Poussin  revealed  himself as the magnificent  "creator of myths" so admired by Bernini in painting this coronation of an epic poet. For the painting was inspired by Calliope, the favorite muse, as she appeared in ancient sculpture or in the Iconology of Ripa. The face of the poet resembles that shown in the frontispiece of a 1641 Virgil engraved by Mellan. Poussin used a similar subject in a painting now in the Hanover museum which came from a collection of the kings of Hanover.

This theme of the poet carried off by Apollo fits perfectly into the context of humanistic inspiration that Poussin executed around 1630, perhaps under a continuing Renaissance influence.  (In the fourteenth century, the coronation of poets at the Capital was reestablished, and it quickly came to be regarded as a greatly coveted honor). But in parallel with this allusion to humanisam, Poussin reveals in the Inspiration what he owed to the clear hues and luminosity of the compositions by Veronese or by Titian early in hi career, to the figures of Raphael's Stanze (Apollo and Marsyas, Stanza della Segnatura, Vatican), and to the composition of certain ancient reliefs (Hercules in the Garden of the Hesperides, Villa Albani).

A study of the play of these influences on Poussin's  style furnishes a clue as to the most probable date of the picture. Chantelou, in 1665, declared that "It had been done more than forty years ago". n any case, the work must have been executed  well before 1640 when the two men met. It would seem likely that it was painted around 1630. The muse recalls the Virgin of the Virgin of the Pillar (Louvre, 1629) and the studied refinement of the luminous effects is highly reminiscent of the Martyrdom of  Saint Erasmus ( Vatican, 1628-1629).

In the years 1627-1629 Poussin painted his last "baroque" compositions (Virgin of the Pillar and Saint Erasmus), then began his first "classical" pictures, of a solid and more serene composition with more muted colors (Bacchus, Stockholm Museum). Of these, the very highest rank must be assigned to the Inspiration, whose great dignity and poetic sentiment both compel respect.

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L'Aigle De Suger by French Art, first half of the 12th century

First half of the 12th century. Porphyry and gilded, 16.9" high.

The Eagle of Suger is deservedly the most famous hard-stone vessel of the Middle Ages, but also the strangest, The body of the bird consists of an amphora of red porphyry onto which a neck, wings, a spread tail and feet of engraved vermeil are attached. This vessel comes from the treasure of the Abbey of Saint-Denis, the richest store of treasures ever assembled in a French monastery.

Its "inventor," Suger, took care to tell us about it in his writings. Suger, Abbe of Saint-Denis, was a dominant personality of the Middle Ages—friend of King Louis VI, Counselor of Louis VII, and regent of the kingdom during the letter's crusade with his wife, Eleanor of Aquitaine.

A man of humble origins who achieved supreme honors, he made his abbey a splendid artistic center, regarded by modern critics as a cradle of Gothic art. Hostile to the prohibitions of Saint Bernard, his contemporary, he sought to endow his church with magnificent liturgical vessels, deeming nothing too beautiful for divine services.

It was for this purpose that he had the eagle executed. He rediscovered the long-forgotten porphyry urn in a closet. Enchanted by the gloss and beauty of the stone, and adding a stroke of genius, he had it embellished with this setting of vermeil, thus transforming the old receptacle into an incomparable art object. Astonished by the success of his initiative, he had this inscription engraved in Latin around the neck: "It is with gems and gold that this stone deserves to be enshrined. It was a marble, but now it is more precious than a marble."

The eagle may recall certain Roman or Byzantine images, but the accuracy of the carved feather, the imperial movement of the bird's head, and its imperious gaze make it a work in which the naturalistic traits can be seen a forerunners of Gothic style.

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Portrait D’un Vieillard Et Son Petit-Fils by Domenico Ghirlandaio (Florence 1449-1494)

1490. Painted on wood, later transferred to canvas, R.F.266. 24" high by 18" wide.

This picture which the Museum of Berlin had wished to acquire,  entered the collection of the Louvre in 1880 and has since been one of its most popular works. It was purchased from a dealer in Florence, at the same  time as the “Crucifixion” by Fra  Angelico.

The identity of the old man with a swollen, pimply nose, who leans tenderly towards a small boy, remains a -mystery. Because the man wears the fur-bordered,  red “lucio” cloak of a Florentine magistrate, it is likely that he was a member of the Ridolfi family-a family of magistrates and that of the historian to whom the picture belonged.

The painting has also been compared to another double portrait by Ghirlandaio, formerly in the Benson collection and today at the Metropolitan, that of Francesco Sassetti  and his grandson Theodore, seen against a landscape background. (Sassetti was a representative of the Medicis in Lyons and Avignon for whom Ghirlandaio painted, in 1485, the "Life of Saint Francis" on the walls of the Sassetti family chapel and the "Nativity" altar piece in the Santa Trinita church. These latter two works are probably his greatest masterpieces.)

In both portrait paintings the attitudes and faces of the boys are very similar, but the two old men are quite different.

There is another very fine study by Ghirlandaio (a silverpoint on rose-colored carta tinta) of the same old man of the painting at the Louvre. His eyes closed, he is probably on his death bed. This drawing, purchased by Count Tessin, had previously belonged to Vasari, Crozat and Mariette, and is now at the Museum of Stockholm.

The Louvre picture is quite representative of Ghirlandaio's  art, showing his taste for discreet naturalism and well-balanced composition (the landscape seen through the skillfully placed window gives depth). The intimate feeling is an influence of Flemish art. The tempera technique is typically Florentine (as in the "Visitation" also at the Louvre, the light playing over the faces gives a texture composed of multiple streaks of yellows, greens, rose). Equally Florentine is the accentuation of contours which, in this painting, has a harshness for which the artist was criticized.

Easel paintings form only a minor portion of the works of Ghirlandaio, who was primarily a fresco painter (he would have liked to cover all the walls of Florentine personalities in all his grand, calmly rhythmed  religious compositions. Because of this practice, Andre Chastel called him, aptly, "the painter of the bourgeois epic".  But, more than an official portraits, this picture is the representation of the link of wondrous affection between the old man near the end of his life and the child who is just beginning his. If the contrast between old age, ugliness and the pure beauty of childhood is a familiar theme in Flanders and the Netherlands, it is not treated here with the same intention to be realistic or anecdotic, but only to emphasize the bond of affection, by a convergence of glances, by the child's gesture, so quiet yet so full of emotion, of snuggling up against his grandfather.

The very simplicity of expression makes it one of the richest and human paintings of the 15th century.
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