« 20th Century Catholic Movements (not very much) in America | Main | Those darned Italians! »
March 20, 2008
Sebastiano del Piombo exhibition
Yesterday I made it, finally, to the Sebastiano del Piombo show at the Palazzo Venezia. His painting best known in America (and actually in America) is the Christopher Columbus portrait at the Met (strange, the linked image is black'n'white). Sebastiano was indeed an amazing portraitist, and the portraits were the highlight of the show, however much the curators wanted us to look at some other works. A friend of Michelangelo and a rival of Raphael, Sebastiano did well as a portraitist and well-enough as a chatter-up of his papal sitters to be named keeper of the papal seal - il piombo, and hence, del Piombo. Portraitists had to spend a good bit of time with their sitters, and it shouldn't surprise us that personable artists like van Eyck, van Dyck, and Sebastiano del Piombo did well.
The exhibition space was splendid and dim - and a little strange. They had installed a wall covered with a velvety fabric. The paintings were hung about two feet behind this wall surface, framed by a window. The lighting was VERY dim in the gallery, though the paintings themselves were well-lit by lamps concealed in the false wall. It's hard to describe, but it was effective - certainly not a white wall with paintings jostling each other! There were about 20 drawings on display as well - I didn't spot any studies for paintings that were also on display, but I didn't linger long - that room was the only one that felt particularly crowded.
Sebastiano experimented with painting on slate instead of on canvas or wood panel - and in at least two of those paintings on show he used the color of the slate to leave figures floating in a kind of darkness - the head of Clement VII looked amazing that way.
My favorite comparison was stepping back and forth between the Met Columbus and the portrait of Andrea Doria. The great papal admiral made a much more interesting subject - the deep shadow and his gesture towards the piece of classical carving in front of him almost demands interpretation - and I don't know how to read it. Very disquieting.
My favorite portrait was the similarly ambiguous "Portrait of a Man in Armor," completed in 1512. You can find it on the slide show linked below - the Wadsworth Athenaeum owns it, but I can't find a version of it on their site. Sebastiano was fond of the quarter view - the sitter with a turned head - but this one is exaggerated in its playfulness. At least I found the figure playful. All in all, a good show!
Here's a review in the International Herald Tribune with a useful slide show.
Posted by CrankyProfessor at March 20, 2008 8:58 AM
Comments
It looks like the admiral is being painted on a stormy day, and he's pointing to the anchor, which is Christ and Hope. But maybe that's too simple.
.....I'm not at all sure myself! It might not be too simple. Renaissanc painters were tricky. --MCT
Posted by: Maureen at April 7, 2008 7:31 PM