National Gallery of Art #16

It's time for another visit to the National Gallery of Art.

The north entrance of the National Gallery of Art (West Building).

A recent visit included a docent-led tour of Italian Renaissance paintings.  Of course, during Year 2 in Florence, we saw a lot of Italian Renaissance paintings.  So, we were happy to see what the National Gallery had in its collection.  While Susan appreciates Italian Renaissance paintings, Greg genuinely adores them and can't seem to get enough.

Of course, the National Gallery's collection includes paintings of the Annunciation. The 1450 painting below by Fra Carnevale is especially nice.  It features brightly colored Florentine neo-classical architecture in the background and the ever-present flower in the hands of Archangel Gabriel. 

Another painting features the story of David slaying Goliath.  What makes this 1455 painting by Castagno unique is that it's painted on a ceremonial shield. The docent speculated the shield might have been carried in a religious procession.  You might remember from Year 2 that David slaying Goliath is a frequent subject of Florentine art.  If you believe that art reflects politics, then David represents small but deadly Florence while Goliath represents anyone who might seek to conquer Florence.  

Another fine example of Italian Renaissance painting is Sellaio's 1480 painting of John the Baptist.  Sellaio was a Florentine and a student of Lippi, along with Botticelli.  Greg especially liked this painting because it features Florence in the background.  What John was doing in Florence, Greg has no idea.  

Detail showing Florence in the background of the painting

One of the finest works of art in the National Gallery's collection is Raphael's 1510 painting The Alba Madonna.  The three figures in the painting (can you identify all three) gaze at the same object, indicating that each knows what will eventually come.  

English art critic Andrew Graham-Dixon said this about Raphael's painting:  "The Alba Madonna is a breathtakingly beautiful work of art, all the more impressive since recent restoration work brought back the original, delicate pastel colours used by the artist, and revealed the subtle depth and brilliancy of the landscape background. The buildings on the hilltop at the right-hand edge of the composition are caught by a raking light and have been misted by varying degrees of haze to create the illusion of relative distance from the eye – a technique known as aerial perspective. The far mountains are similarly hazed by distance to a rich azure, while the sky above varies in colour from Wedgewood blue, at its apex, to a cool milky-white on the horizon. This range of colours is repeated in the folds and shadows of the Madonna’s blue robes, which at once echo and animate the circular shape of the composition. A monumental, comforting figure, clothed in robes that look as if woven from a piece of fallen sky, she seems like a world unto herself." 

Another Florentine work of Renaissance art is the sculpted marble ciborium pictured below.  The piece reminds Greg of the lantern on top of Florence's cathedral.

The lantern on Florence's cathedral

Thanks for again visiting the National Gallery with us.