Wednesday,
July 18, 2007
LAMCA Snag "Lost" Piertro da Cortona 's of " St.
Martina"
The
ANNOTICO Report
The
Cortona's works are plentiful in
"St
Martina" is a 37 1/2-by-30-inch oil,
painted circa 1635-40, during the same period when Cortona created his masterpiece at the Palazzo Barberini. Cortona, who lived
from 1596 to 1669, was also an architect, but he distinguished himself as a
fresco painter who propelled European Baroque painting to a new level.
In "St. Martina," he painted a Roman virgin said to have been
martyred in 226 or 228 for clinging to her Christian faith. Cortona
depicted her as the embodiment of health and beauty, but she survived various
tortures - including hanging by the bloody hook that she holds in the
painting - and was finally beheaded. In the picture, she rests her right
arm on the foot of a toppled sculpture she refused to worship.
The
gift fulfills his wish to add "some heavy hitters, some big, big
names" to LACMA's substantial holding of Baroque
paintings
By
Suzanne Muchnic, Times Staff Writer
July
17, 2007
A 17th century Italian
painting that had been hidden away in an English estate for 160 years has a new
home at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Pietro da
Cortona's "St. Martina," a luminous image
of a martyred young woman by an artist best known for his vast allegorical
fresco on the ceiling of the Palazzo Barberini in
J. Patrice Marandel, the museum's curator of European
paintings and sculpture, said the gift fulfills his wish to add "some
heavy hitters, some big, big names" to LACMA's
substantial holding of Baroque paintings. "Buying a painting by Cortona is like buying a sculpture by Bernini. It's about
the same level of importance, quality and beauty."
The museum and the foundation do not disclose prices paid for art in private
transactions, but Nancy Daly Riordan, chairwoman of the board at LACMA, said
the foundation has been "extraordinarily generous" during the last
year in contributions adding up to more than $10 million. About $2 million went
for improvements to the
Cortona's works are plentiful in
LACMA's Cortona is a 37 1/2-by-30-inch oil, painted circa 1635-40, the period
when the artist created his masterpiece at the Palazzo Barberini.
Cortona, who lived from 1596 to 1669, was also an
architect, but he distinguished himself as a fresco painter who propelled
European Baroque painting to a new level.
In "St. Martina," he painted a Roman virgin said to have been
martyred in 226 or 228 for clinging to her Christian faith. Cortona
depicted her as the embodiment of health and beauty, but she survived various tortures ? including hanging by the
bloody hook that she holds in the painting ? and was
finally b eheaded. In the picture, she rests her
right arm on the foot of a toppled sculpture she refused to worship.
Marandel said the painting was unknown to scholars
because it had not been published and had remained in the same English
collection since the 1840s. He became aware of the artwork about six months ago
when a
"The painting found me more than I found it," Marandel
said. The broker visited the museum about three years ago to offer an English
painting. When Marandel politely turned him down, he
sized up the collection for future prospects. The unknown Cortona
got the curator's attention.
"When I went to
The foundation officially approved the purchase Thursday. The painting is on
view at LACMA in the Thornton Gallery of the
suzanne.muchnic@latimes.com
http://www.calendarlive.com/galleriesandmuseums/
cl-et-lacma17jul17,0,5722582.story?coll=cl-home-more-channels
The
ANNOTICO Reports Can be Viewed (and are Archived) on:
Italia
Italia
Mia: http://www.ItaliaMia.com (3 years)
Annotico
Email: annotico@earthlink.net