aim of the present exhibition is to trace the movement of works of art, ideas
and artists in the Mediterranean region in the fifteenth century. The first third
of that century saw the abandonment of Gothic modes and the dissemination of new
artistic theories and forms which were developed in the Netherlands and Northern
Italy. More than one hundred paintings and objects have been brought together
here with the aim of examining the routes by which these new ideas were spread,
the artists involved in this process and the centres where they developed. The
exhibition will make it possible to examine some key works in the development
of the Renaissance figurative idiom within the cultural context in which they
were created. In addition, it will bring together paintings which have been separated
for many years, such as Rogier van der Weyden's Saint George from the National
Gallery, Washington, and his Virgin and Child from the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum.
This concept of artistic, aesthetic and cultural exchange has determined the choice
of works included in the exhibition, and special attention has been paid to the
movement of the artists who created them, to the techniques they deployed, to
the function and purpose of the works, and to the means by which they moved around.
The paintings and objects on show reflect this process of the diffusion of ideas,
of technical and scientific knowledge, and of literary and artistic preferences.
The exhibition is structured into three sections that interconnect with three
periods of artistic development in the fifteenth century. The survey opens with
the section entitled A Cosmopolitan Mediterranean, spanning the years 1390 to
1440. The first rooms feature works in the International Gothic style, and include
a survey of French art and its relations with the Germanic world and the Low Countries,
emphasising the prevailing importance of Italian art at that time. Among the works
included are paintings by Gonçal Peris, Gherardo Starnina, Miguel Alcañiz, Bernat
Martorell, Alvaro Pirez and miniatures by the Master of Boucicaut. The exhibition
continues with a central section entitled A Bi-polar Mediterranean, spanning the
period 1440 to 1460. Works on display reflect the prevailing influences of Flemish
naturalism on the one hand, and Italian innovations in the field of perspective
on the other. These two approaches took hold in the Low Countries, led by the
city of Bruges, and in a cluster of southern centres such as Barcelona, Valencia,
Avignon, Nice-Marseilles, Genoa, Naples and Messina. Another issue analysed here
is the dissemination and influence of Flemish modes in the Iberian Peninsula and
North and South Italy. Among the artists featured are Robert Campin, Rogier van
der Weyden, Jan van Eyck, Petrus Christus, Hans Witz, Joan Rexach, Barthélémy
d'Eyck, Colantonio, Antonello da Messina and Donato de Bardi. Miniature painters
include the Maestro de Peire Roig de Corella and Jean Fouquet. The third section
of the exhibition, Artistic Centres and Regions of Southern Europe, covers the
years 1460 to 1500 and examines the Italian concept of space, the Franco-Flemish
contribution to Italian art and the arrival of Northern artists in Italy. Artists
included in this section are: Jaume Huguet, Bartolomé Bermejo, Pablo de San Leocadio,
Juan de Flandes, Pintoricchio and Aine Bru. Also included are illuminated manuscripts
by Jean Bourdichon and various anonymous masters such as that of the Missal of
Domenico della Rovere from Turin.
The exhibition has benefited from major international loans from some of the world's
most important museums, institutions and private collections such as the Metropolitan
Museum, New York, the National Gallery of Art, Washington, the Musée du Louvre,
the Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence, the British Library, London, the Bibliothèque
National, Paris, the Pierpont Morgan Library, New York, and the Borromeo Collection.
|Rogier van der
Weyden, Saint George, ca.1430-1432. Oil on panel. 14.3 x 10.5cm. Washington,
National Gallery of Art (Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund)||Jan
van Eyck, Saint Francis receiving the Stigmata, ca.1432. Oil on panel.
29.2 x 33.4cm. Turin, Galleria Sabauda||Petrus
Christus, Saint John the Baptist in the Desert, ca.1440-1445. Oil on panel.
40 x 12.5cm. Cleveland, The Cleveland Museum of Art||Hans
Witz, The Pietà, ca.1440. Oil on panel. 33.3 x 44.4cm. New York, The Frick
| || || || |
Messina, The Crucifixion, ca.1450-1455. Oil on panel. Bucharest, Muzeul
National de Arta al României||Francesco
Laurana, Female Bust, ca.1484-1496. Marble. 43 x 42 x 18.5cm. Paris, Musée
The Annunciation in Book of Hours, ca. 1460. Parchment. 172 x120 mm. Los
Ángeles, The J. Paul Getty Museum. || |
The Renaissance Mediterranean. The movements of artists and works of art between
Italy, France and Spain in the XV Century.
Dates: 31 January to 6 May 2001.
Organisor: The Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum and The Consorci de Museus de la
Sponsored by: CAM (Caja de Ahorros del Mediterráneo)
Mar Borobia, Curator of Old Paintings of the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum.
Temporary Exhibition Rooms. Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum.
times: Tuesday to Sunday from 10.00 to 19.00. Ticket office closes at 18.30. Open
all day Sundays.
Entrance charges: Temporary Exhibition:
600 ptas; Reduced price: 400 ptas (students and visitors aged over 65 with proof
of status) Temporary Exhibition and Permanent Collection: 1100 ptas; Reduced price:
600 ptas (students and visitors aged over 65 with proof of status).