The Dying Gaul from the Capitoline Museum, Rome

In celebration of 2013, the Year of Italian Culture, the National Gallery of Art was lent the masterpiece The Dying Gaul.  On loan from the Capitoline Museum in Rome this magnificent sculpture was at the National Gallery of Art until January 26. 2014.  I had the opportunity to see this masterpiece of pathos and beauty.

      The Dying Gaul, marble sculpture at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC.

The Dying Gaul, a marble sculpture created in the first or second century AD, features a soldier dying from a fatal knife wound. The Dying Gaul is a Roman copy of a Hellenistic bronze.  The marble was discovered during an excavation of the Villa Ludovisi gardens in 1621-1623.  When first found it was described as a dying gladiator, but in the 18^th century scholars found that it was probably a Gallic warrior due to the knotted hair and torque around his neck. According to this quote from the historian Polybius in the second century BC:

“. they fought wearing nothing but their weapons…Very terrifying too were the appearance and gestures of the naked warriors…all in the prime of life and finely built men.”

The fame of The Dying Gaul spread as it was copied and reproduced as etchings and bronzes, commemorated in a poem by Lord Bryon and celebrated by painters from Velasquez to David who incorporated the famous pose into their work.

                      Jacques-Louis David, Male Nude Study, 1780, oil on canvas.

In 1775 The Dying Gaul was further immortalize by sculptor Agastino Carlini and anatomist John Hunter.  They posed the flayed corpse of an executed smuggler into the famous pose and cast it in plaster for the students to draw.  The piece known as “Smugglerius” in on view today in Royal Academy of Arts in London.

William Pink after Agastino Carlini, Smugglerius, 1834 (original cast 1775), plaster.

Artists continue to find inspiration in this ancient masterpiece as seen in the work of modern artist John De Andrea (1941- ). In 1984 this photorealist sculptor created a contemporary dying gaul when he cast a human model and created a hyperrealistic sculpture using polyvinyl, oil paint and acrylic hair. The contrast between De Andrea’s modern, realist figure and the idealized, classical pose of The Dying Gaul is a surprising juxtaposition!

           John De Andrea, The Dying Gaul, 1984, polyvinyl, oil paint and acrylic hair.

Albrecht Durer: Master Drawings, Watercolors and Prints from the Albertina

The Albertina in Vienna, Austria is a museum known for it outstanding collection of works on paper.  The Albertina maintains a large collection of watercolors, drawings and prints by the Northern Renaissance master Albrecht Durer (1471-1528). This past spring the Albertina lent this vast and impressive collection to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC.

                                Self-portrait by Albrecht Durer, 1500, oil painting.

Durer is known in the history of art for his intense self-portraits, thought by many scholars to be the first self-portraits ever created. Indeed what scholars believe is the first self portrait made by an artist is in the exhibition. It is  a small detailed silverpoint drawing completed by Durer when he was just 13 years old.  (For more information about the silverpoint technique see my blog posting:mariedauenheimer.blogspot.com/.../silverpoint-drawing-history-and.html‎)

                    Self-portrait by Albrecht Durer, 1484, silverpoint on prepared paper.

In 1505 Durer travelled to Venice and developed one of his most elegant drawing techniques.Using a medium blue Venetian paper (made from blue rags) Durer drew with white gouache and dark ink to create luminous, chiaroscuro drawings. 

The Head of an Angel by Albrecht Durer, 1506, brush and ink with wash, heightened with white on blue paper.

When Durer traveled back to Germany he did not take this Venetian paper with him, but started making his own paper prepared with a ground, usually blue, but sometimes green and gray. This is how Durer made one of his most icon drawings “The Praying Hands”. The drawing was created in 1508 as a study for an altarpiece for a Frankfurt church (which burned down in 1724). The drawing was done as a part of a larger study of one of the apostles. The drawing was later cut down and made into two separate drawings.  (see below).

Praying Hands by Albrecht Durer, 1508, brush and wash, heightened with white on blue prepared paper.

Durer introduced many important artistic traditions to his Northern European colleagues. His use of linear perspective, masterfully complex woodcuts and engravings transformed printmaking. Durer’s treatises on human anatomy and proportion transformed the way artists depicted the figure. Finally, like Leonardo, Durer was fascinated with the overlap of science and art.

                         Male Nude by Albrecht Durer, 1513, pen and brown ink on paper.

Indeed in Durer’s sublime watercolor “The Great Piece of Turf” (1503) his art “creates a balance between scientific observation and artistic poetry”.

The Great Piece of Turf  by Albrecht Durer, 1503, watercolor and gouache on paper.

In 1514 Durer experienced a personal crisis when his mother died. During his mourning he created his “master prints” about despair and death. They include his print of St. Jerome for which he did his magnificent study.

An Elderly Man of Ninety-Three Years by Albrecht Durer, 1521, brush and ink, heightened with white on gray-violet  prepared paper.

The National Gallery of Art exhibits closed in June. However I highly recommend the superb catalog published by the National Gallery of Art.It is called "Albrecht Durer, Master Drawings, Watercolors and prints from the Albertina" by Andrew Robison and Klaus Albrecht Schroder.

“Color Line Light” Drawing exhibition at the National Gallery of Art

Yesterday I saw the new drawing exhibition, “Color, Line, Light,French Drawings, Watercolors and Pastels from Delacroix to Signac” at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC. The show was organized with Musée des Impressionnismes, Giverny and is on view in Washington, DC until May 26, 2013.

A wonderful antidote for the doldrums of winter this exhibition includes an impressive array of drawings, many in full color, from the mid 19^th century to the early 20^th century.  The 100 works, from the collection of James T. Dyke, show off many brilliant drawing techniques and subject matters ranging from landscape, still life to figures and portraits. Indeed this exhibition will make you reach for neglected art materials and experiment!

          Paul Signac, Barges on the Seine at Samois, 1900, Watercolor and gouache.

The drawing techniques showcased in this broadly ranging show includes watercolor, gouache, pen and ink, charcoal, pastel and mixed medium. The periods of art represented include romanticism, realism, impressionism, postimpressionism, pointillism (neoimpressionism), symbolism and the Nabis.

                                   Paul Huet, A Meadow at Sunset, pastel.

Watercolor techniques range from the tightly rendered paintings of Alexandre Calame, the confident brushwork of Gustave Dore, to the fresh and freely painted pointillist works by Paul Signac.

                     Gustave Dore, A River Gorge in a Mountain Landscape, watercolor.

Charcoal drawings range from a luminous figure study by Albert Besnard to the dark, ominous, tonal work of Charles Angrand and sensitive realism of Leon Augustin Lhermitte.

Leon Augustin Lhermitte, An Elderly Peasant Women, charcoal.

The show features the use of pastels, which in the 19^th century became a favored medium by many artists thanks to the development of richer pigmented chalk pastels.  Paul Huet uses a bright palette to layer color in describing a meadow at sunset.  While Auguste Louis Lepere uses an analogous palette of pastels to draw a pastoral scene.

                Auguste Louis Lepere, Chestnut Trees above a River, 1900, pastel.

It is often thought that the impressionist artists didn’t create many drawings as they painted spontaneously from life. This show offers many opportunities to see impressionist works on paper. An atmospheric pastel drawing by Claude Monet was done in London while he waited for his oils paints to arrive. Edgar Degas is one of many impressionist artists who enjoyed drawing techniques.  The exhibition includes a few masterful drawings by Degas they are inspired in their use of the compositional space and in there animated effects.

                       Edgar Degas, A Dancer at the Bar, charcoal and white chalk.

I recommend an excursion to the National Gallery of Art to see this inspired exhibition.  I also recommend the exhibition catalog.

Michelangelo's "David-Apollo" at the National Gallery of Art

On Friday I had the privilege of seeing Michelangelo’s sculpture ”David-Apollo” (1530) at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC.  This beautiful marble sculpture is on loan from the Museo Nazionale del Bargello, in Florence, to celebrate 2013, the Year of Italian Culture.  The name of the sculpture alludes to the conflicting stories that the figure is David, slayer of Goliath or Apollo, god of light and sun.

                                 Michelangelo's "David-Apollo", marble, 1530.

                                       Michelangelo's "David-Apollo" Detail

Michelangelo (1474-1564) was a master of the High Renaissance and best known for his colossal masterpiece “David” (1501-1504) which dominates the Galleria dell’ Accademia in Florence. Michelangelo is considered to be one of the greatest artists of all time.  His creations in painting, sculpture, architecture and drawing are among the greatest masterpieces of Western art.

                                  Michelangelo's "David", marble, 1501-1504

While “David” is a large, highly polished piece the “David-Apollo” is an unfinished, smaller than life size sculpture.  This unfinished quality allows the viewer insight into Michelangelo’s process.  According to the National Gallery of Art,  Michelangelo used a point chisel to rough out the forms and a claw chisel to refine the figure.  The roughened areas formed with the point chisel can be seen on the back of the figure and the tree stump.  This juxtaposition of the refined and roughened marble later inspired 19^th century French artist Auguste Rodin.  Below is one of Rodin’s sculptures to demonstrating this technique.

                                    Auguste Rodin, "Galatea", marble, 1889

While Michelangelo posed his “David” in a position of contrapposto, “David-Apollo” displays a twisting pose called serpentinata. 

I highly recommend a visit to the National Gallery Art before March 3, 21013 when “David-Apollo” returns to Florence.

Illustrators Club "Sketch Day" at the National Gallery of Art

On Sunday March 13, 2011 a group of illustrators and friends met at the National Gallery of Art for another Illustrators Club "Sketch Day".  After meeting in the museum's rotunda our group of about fifteen broke up and explored the museum looking for places to draw.  Along with a few others I ended up in the European Sculpture Galleries which features twenty magnificent rooms filled with hundreds of sculptures from the time of the Renaissance to the 20th century.  My favorite rooms feature the work of Edgar Degas and Auguste Rodin.



The National Gallery of Art's Rotunda.



Sayeh Behnam sketching Rodin's "Sphinx".

After sketching for two hours we all met up in the museum cafe for sharing of our experiences, artwork and refreshments. As usual the work was varied and inspiring! IC member and drawing professor Jason Axtell drew fluid and energetic sketches from the sculptures. Meredith Nelson ventured outdoors to sketch the St. Patrick's Day Parade, while Web Bryant spent his time doing an amazing toned paper drawing of Augustus Saint-Gaudens' "Shaw Memorial". The youngest members of the group Lily Dunlap, age 11 drew Rodin's "Morning", while high school junior, Samatha Bryant sketched from a Ingres painting.



Jason Axtell with his drawings.



English professor and IC friend Sam Przybylowicz shows her lovely drawing of Paul Manship's sculpture.



IC President David Labrozzi with his sketches from the sculpture galleries.



IC friend Lily Dunlap and her sketch of Rodin's "Morning".



Web Bryant's sketch of the "Shaw Memorial".



Marie Dauenheimer's sketch of "Morning" by Rodin.

Venice: Canaletto and His Rivals at the National Gallery of Art

Last Saturday I attended an educators seminar about the Venice: Canaletto and His Rivals exhibition at the National Gallery of Art (NGA) in Washington, DC. I have attended these seminars in the past and they are excellent.

The program began with a lovely breakfast and introduction to the program. Our first speaker was Eric Denker, Senior Lecturer at the NGA, giving an overview of the exhibition and putting it into context. Denker began the lecture by reviewing the geography of Venice. Venice is made up about 110 small islands all connected by about 450 bridges. The Grand Canal which weaves its way through Venice is 2.5 miles wide. In all Venice is only 3 miles long x 2.5 miles wide. Of course it seems much larger, especially when you are lost in its labyrinth.

In the 18th c. Italian painters started following in the Dutch tradition of painting cityscapes. The first documented "view painting" or vendutismo of Venice was painted in 1697 by Dutch artist Gaspar van Wittel called Gaspare Vanvitelli. He painted in his Rome studio from large, detailed sketches.



The Molo from the Bacino di San Marco, 1697 by Gaspar van Wittel.

Giovanni Antonio Canal called "Canaletto" was born in Venice in 1697. His painting style developed and matured quickly and by the 1720s he was painting commissioned views of his native city. Canaletto's early works are large, atmospheric works, often including genre scenes.



The Piazza San Marco, looking East, 1723 by Canaletto.

Within a few years art dealer Joseph Smith was commissioning Canaletto to create paintings for British patrons who were traveling to Italy on the Grand Tour. Smith wanted the paintings of Venice to be bright, sunny and detailed. In a sense these paintings were high end sourvenirs of the Garnd Tour, which included travel to Rome, Florence and Venice.



The Entrance to the Grand Canal, with Santa Maria della Salute, 1729 by Canaletto.

As Canaletto's commissions increase he brought his talented nephew Bernardo Bellotto under his wing. Starting at age 16 he created 55 paintings of Venice.



The Piazetta, looking North, 1743 by Bernardo Bellotto.

It is interesting to note that many of Canaletto's paintings of Venice are 'spliced" together. They are scenes that don't exsist in life, but are idealized views of an amazingly beautiful city. I highly recommend The Venice: Canaletto and His Rivals exhibition at the National Gallery of Art. The exhibit closes May 30,2011. There are films, lectures and concerts in conjunct with this exhibit: http://www.nga.gov/exhibitions/veniceinfo.shtm

Illustrators Club "Sketch Day" at National Museum of Natural History

On Sunday February 13, 2011 ten artists, illustrators and students meet at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History for another Illustrators Club "Sketch Day". We broke up and drew in the many beautiful exhibit halls, attracted to gems, minerals, dinosaurs, skeletons and underwater creatures. The mediums used varied from Lucinda Levine's fluid watercolor to Kristy Orr's energetic pen and ink to Samantha Bryant's colored pencil and watercolor technique.

After sketching for two hours we meet for lunch at the National Gallery of Art for refreshments and critique. It was great fun to share the drawings and techniques and discuss the next "Sketch Day". Another artist, sketching cherubs at the National Gallery of Art (in celebration of St. Valentine's Day) joined us when she saw us sharing our work.

Thanks to Sayeh Behnam for planning another successful "Sketch Day"! Please consider joining us for the next "Sketch Day", the date is Sunday March 13, 2011 at 11:00AM location TBD.



Kevynn Joseph shares his sketch of a dinosaur skeleton.



Kevynn Joseph and Kristy Orr enjoy discussion of sketches.



Sketches of cherubs from the National Gallery of Art.



Lucinda Levine's watercolor of a bear skull.



Kristy Orr's pen and ink of a modern African dress.



Samantha Bryant's watercolor colored pencil painting of the mineral azurite.



Web Bryant's charcoal study of a skeleton.



Web Bryant's oil painting based on sketches from "Sketch Day' to US Botanic Gardens.

National Gallery of Art Program "Seeing Rembrandt's Thoughts"

Last week I attended an educational program at the National Gallery of Art (NGA) on how art conservators, using x-radiographs, can see how Rembrandt developed his paintings. The program was lead by Melanie Gifford, Research Conservator for Painting Technology at the National Gallery of Art's Conservation Department. The program began with Gifford explaining how Rembrandt worked. He typically covered his canvas with a red ground, followed by a gray ground, he would then freely draw and block in the figures using brown paint. His underpainting was applied with bright pigment and in an exuberant manner. The final layer was applied thickly with an impasto that is one of Rembrandt's signatures. He layered the paint on the canvas, almost sculpting the features of his sitters. He also used a sharp tool to scratch paint out. We were able to observe these techniques by viewing the Rembrandts in the Dutch Galleries at the NGA with the use of monocular devices and by looking at x-radiographs of the paintings.



Detail of Rembrandt's "Self Portrait", 1659, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC.



"A Polish Nobleman" by Rembrandt, 1637, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC.

During the program we examined paintings once attributed to Rembrandt, but now believed to be by Rembrandt's workshop. By studying the underpainting conservators can reconstruct how the paint was applied. The bravado with which Rembrandt painted is difficult to copy. Below is a painting once thought to be by Rembrandt, but now thought to be by his student Govaert Flinck.



"Man in Oriental Costume" by Rembrandt and his Workshop (probably Govaert Flinck), 1635, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC.

On March 5, 2011 I will be attending an all day workshop at the NGA called "Views of Venice: Canaletto and His Rivals". This program will focus on the upcoming National Gallery of Art exhibition on Canaletto's paintings of Venice (February 10-May 30, 2011).