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Articles
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| Renaissance sculptor gets first show |
VOICE writes, "Florentine Renaissance sculptor Desiderio da Settignano earned a reputation for refinement during the dozen years he carved marble. Had he lived longer — he was about 35 when he died — he might have become better known.
As it is, no one ever bothered to give him a show — until now. The National Gallery of Art, the Louvre and the Bargello in Florence, a main repository of the artist's sculptures, decided to remedy the deficit and co-organize the first exhibition ever devoted to Desiderio. It will open Sunday in the West Building of the National Gallery with 18 of his busts and reliefs — nearly half his total output — plus a few works by members of his immediate circle.
"This is not the biggest exhibition, but it may be one of the biggest smaller shows that the National Gallery has put on," said gallery director Earl A. Powell III at a preview yesterday. "We try very hard to be about quality, and I think this is a case in point. It's a remarkable show." "
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Desiderio was born in the quarry town of Settignano around 1429 to a family of stonecutters. He learned sculpture in Florence, following the tradition known as stil dolce (sweet style), noted for its subtlety of treatment, figural grace and expressive power.
His earliest fame came from low reliefs strongly influenced by Donatello. Two of these in the show date to the early 1450s, when the sculptor was first establishing his mastery. Both portray the Madonna and Child in finely chiseled detail.
A number of his portrait busts are featured, primarily of young boys. This subject was popular in Florence at the time. Busts of children with thoughtful or happy expressions were likely placed in homes to serve as models for the young progeny of patrons.
Such was possibly the purpose of "A Little Boy" (circa 1455-1460), a bust of white marble portraying a 3- or 4-year-old with a thoughtful and relaxed expression. The sensitive carving conveys a lifelike suppleness of flesh, as well as the silky texture of the youngster's hair.
Portrayals of this sort led the Renaissance artist and biographer Giorgio Vasari to praise Desiderio in his book on the lives of artists. He wrote that the sculptor was "naturally endowed with gracefulness and lightness in the treatment of heads. His women and children possess a soft, delicate and charming manner."
These qualities abundantly endow "The Christ Child (?)" (circa 1460-1464), a marble bust whose instructional uses seem irrefutable. From the 18th century to the 20th century, this sculpture of a boy about 5 years old was mounted over a doorway inside the chapel of a Florentine church. Its back was flattened, enabling its attachment to the wall, and a small hole drilled in the crown provided anchorage for a metal halo.
Another bust of a boy about the same age captures a moment of merriment. The subject of "Laughing Boy" (circa 1460-1464) turns his head to the left, his lips open in a wide grin between dimpled cheeks. Unfortunately, a large crack completely circles the neck. Scholars believe the blemish, which is apparently very old, occurred because of flaws in the marble. Since stone of that low quality would not have been used for a commission, the piece may represent an experiment in capturing spontaneous joy. Possibly the subject is one of the sculptor's two sons or a nephew.
Though clearly appropriated for religious purposes, maybe to represent a young Christ, the sculpture might have originally portrayed a Florentine child. It depicts a thoughtful imp, head tilted slightly downward and lips on the verge of a smile. Such fleeting expressions and natural poses are typical of the artist's stonework.
A subsidiary show featuring photographs of Desiderio's sculpture will run concurrently in the gallery's Art Library Atrium. The pictures were taken by art historian Clarence Kennedy early last century primarily for a limited-edition series on the history and criticism of sculpture. Thirty-five silver-gelatin prints are presented, not only of sculptures in the companion show, but also of works that cannot travel, like the "Funerary Monument of Carlo Marsuppini" and the "Tabernacle of San Lorenzo."
"Desiderio da Settignano: Sculptor of Renaissance Florence" and "Character of Form: Clarence Kennedy Photographs the Sculpture of Desiderio da Settignano" will open Sunday at the National Gallery of Art and continue through Oct. 8. Located on Constitution Avenue between Third and Seventh streets, NW, the gallery is open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.; (202) 737-4215; www.nga.gov.
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Posted on Sep 05, 2007 13:55pm.
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