Reflections 12 - European Paintings, 1250-1800 I

 May 1, 2021

I've now visited as many of these galleries as are available to view - less than half of the total, if my old map of the museum is till to be believed.  It may be well over a year before the other galleries are reopened, so this seems like an appropriate time to reflect on what I've seen to date. 

The visits have helped me understand what I most respond to.  A  readily understandable composition with a clear focal point. The use of color to draw attention and highlight. Religious-themed paintings that humanize their subjects: a teenage Madonna, a chubby Christ child. Portraits in which I can't take my eyes away from the eyes of the portrait's subject, that convey the force of the sitter's personality. Paintings that are "painterly" rather than linear, in which freedom in the use of the brush is evident.

As far as the display is concerned, it's probably premature to comment, since I assume many of the paintings will be hung in different places once the renovations are completed. I like the ample captioning. I like the fact that Northern and Italian paintings from the same period are often shown together, given the many interconnections among the artists and the many ways in which they influenced each other. And despite my grumblings about political correctness, the signage did encourage and enable me to look at some of the works in new ways.

What I didn't like is the chronological incoherence of the galleries. We vault from early Renaissance Italy to 18th century France, then back to 15th and 16th century works.  Given the way the galleries are arranged numerically, a new visitor not well acquainted with European art history might well have a hard time discerning the most basic trend: from paintings uniquely centered on religious subjects to those that encompass a variety of new genres - portraits (beginning with donor portraits, perhaps?), landscapes, genre scenes, paintings with historical and classical themes, and so on. And that visitor might miss the way in which changes in painting reflect the evolution of a society more focused on the individual, a society in which the bourgeoisie plays a more prominent role.

As a thought experiment, I decided it might be fun (!) to rearrange the paintings in numerically sequenced galleries with a more chronological focus. The Tiepolos in Gallery 600 would remain there; the gallery's dimensions make the space ideally suited to the enormous works on display there, and its position at the top of the grand staircase makes it a highly impressive portal to the European painting collection.  But afterwards, the order would be quite different:

The paintings in gallery 624,  devoted to the Trecento, would be moved to gallery 601.

The paintings in gallery 604, devoted to 15th century Italian works, would be moved to gallery 602.

The paintings in galleries 602 and 603, devoted to 15th century Italian and Northern works, would be moved to galleries 603 and 604 (or stay where they are).

The paintings in gallery 606, devoted to 15th and early 16th century religious themes, would be moved to gallery 605. 

The paintings in galleries 625 and 626, devoted to 16th century landscapes and portraiture, would be moved to galleries 606 and 607.

The contents in gallery 601 and 608, devoted to the High Renaissance, would be moved to (or stay in) galleries 608 and 609.

The contents of gallery 623, devoted to 16th and 17th century oil sketches, would be moved to gallery 610.

The contents of gallery  618, devoted to painters who worked in 17th century Rome, would be moved to gallery 611.

The contents of gallery 621, devoted to 17th century history painting, would be moved to gallery 612.

The contents of gallery 617, devoted to the depiction of Blacks in the 17th century, would be moved to gallery 613.

The contents of gallery 627, devoted to 17th century genre and still life painting, would be moved to gallery 614. 

The contents of gallery 622, devoted to the Grand Tour, would be moved to gallery 615.

The contents of gallery 620, devoted to 18th century portraiture, would be moved to gallery 616.

The contents of gallery 622, devoted to Tiepolo, would be moved to gallery 617.

The contents of gallery 605, devoted to French painters of the 18th century, would be moved to gallery 618.

The contents of gallery 616, devoted to French women portraitists and to portraits of French women, would be moved to gallery 619.

The contents of gallery 615, devoted to 18th century British painters, would be moved to gallery 620.

The contents of gallery 614, devoted largely to the French Neoclassicists, would be moved to gallery 621.

Now, I know all this is completely impractical.  My plan doesn't at all take into account the varying sizes of the galleries vis-a-vis the number of paintings that would go into each. And I realize I have totally neglected the Dutch works, which have been temporarily moved to the Lehman collection but will presumably be returned to the second floor when the renovations are completed. Still, I think it behooves the curators to think about the overarching narrative(s) they want to convey and how galleries might best be ordered to achieve their goals.

And yet - there are other goals, one of which is to boost attendance. So how about an introductory gallery of "greatest hits" - works from across the centuries that are especially celebrated or especially beloved. Of course, there's the danger that many visitors might never get beyond this gallery.  But the gallery could also serve as the anteroom whose signage summarizes the broad themes explored in further depth in the remaining galleries. That way, even visitors focused on seeing the "greatest hits" would learn something.