Masterpieces of European Painting from The Cleveland Museum of Art
November 8, 2006, through January 28, 2007
| |
 |
|
|
| |
Andrea d’Angnolo del Sarto (1486–1530), The Sacrifice of Isaac, c. 1527, oil on poplar, The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio |
|
|
From Cleveland to New York:
The Exhibition
While the expansion project has meant that The Cleveland Museum and its glorious treasures have been closed to visitors, it has given the Frick the opportunity to present fourteen extraordinary works in New York. The paintings shown at The Frick Collection, chosen by Chief Curator Colin B. Bailey, are all by European masters and range in date from the early Renaissance to the mid-nineteenth century. The selection is broadly in keeping with the temporal and aesthetic boundaries established by Henry Clay Frick. Each work reflects its creator’s meditations on the human condition, told in his distinctive manner. These images explore challenges to one’s faith (as depicted in del Sarto’s Sacrifice of Isaac and La Tour’s Saint Peter Repentant), human suffering (Caravaggio’s Crucifixion of Saint Andrew), mental and physical frailty (Velázquez’s Jester Calabazas), maternal love (Zurbarán’s Christ and the Virgin in the House at Nazareth and Poussin’s Holy Family on the Steps), the complications of romantic love (David’s Cupid and Psyche), and human powerlessness against the forces of nature (Turner’s Burning of the Houses of Lords and Commons). Magnificent in their execution, novel in their composition, and poignant in their storytelling, these paintings are true masterpieces. We are grateful to The Cleveland Museum of Art for allowing us to share them with our audience.
The exhibition is made possible, in part, by the generous support of Melvin R. Seiden in honor of Sherman Lee and by Mr. and Mrs. Walter A. Eberstadt in honor of Michael J. Horvitz. The accompanying catalogue is made possible, in part, by Lawrence and Julie Salander.
|
