Recent acquisitions a selection 1996 1997 the metropolitan museum of art bulletin v.55 #2 1997 by alfonse K

The MetropolitanMuseum of Art Bulletin

Fall 1997

Recent Acquis A

SELECTION: 1996-1997

The

Museum Metropolitan

Art

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The MetropolitanMuseumof Art Bulletin Fall 1997 Volume LV, Number 2 (ISSN 0026-I52I) Published quarterly? 1997 by The Metropolitan Museum of Art, iooo Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10028-0198. Periodicalspostage paid at New York, N.Y., and Additional Mailing Offices. TheMetropolitan Museumof Art Bulletinis provided as a benefit to Museum members and availableby subscription. Subscriptions$25.00 a year. Single copies $8.95. Four weeks' notice requiredfor change of address. POSTMASTER: Send addresschanges to Membership Department, The Metropolitan Fifth Avenue, New York, Museum of Art, ooo1000 N.Y. I0028-0198. Back issues availableon microfilm from University Microfilms, 300 N. Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, Mich. 48106. Volumes i-xxxvii (1905-1942) availableas clothbound reprint set or as individual yearlyvolumes from Ayer Company PublishersInc., 50 Northwestern Drive #1o, Salem, N.H. 03079, or from the Museum, Box 700, Middle Village, N.Y. I1379.

Contents

Director's Note

Contributors

Ancient World

Islam

Medieval Europe

Renaissance and Baroque Europe

Europe 1700-1900

North America I700-I900

Twentieth Century

Africa, Oceania, and the Americas

Asia

GeneralManagerof Publications:John P. O'Neill. Editor in Chiefof the BULLETIN: Joan Holt. AssociateEditor:Tonia L. Payne. Production:Matthew Pimm and Rich Bonk. Design:Bruce Campbell Design. Mahrukh Tarapor,Martha Deese, and Sian Wetherill, Coordinators. All photographs, unless otherwise noted, by the staff of The Photograph Studio of The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Photographers: Joseph Coscia Jr., KatherineDahab, Anna-Marie Kellen, Paul Lachenauer,Oi-Cheong Lee, Patricia Mazza, Caitlin McCaffrey, Bruce Schwarz,Eileen Travell,Juan Trujillo, and Karin L. Willis. Other sources:Han Seok-Hong, p. 93 (melon-shaped ewer); ? I996 Sotheby's, Inc., p. 94. Copyright notices: Pablo Picasso, Harlequin (60.87), p. 68, Harlequin(1997.I49.5),p. 76, and Girl Reading(I996.403.I), p. 77, ? 1997 Estate of Pablo Picasso/ArtistsRights Society (ARS), N.Y. Paul Strand, Harold Greengard,Twin Lakes, Connecticut (I997.25), p.

71,

? 1997 Paul Strand

Archive, Aperture Foundation Inc. Walker Evans, [New Orleans](I996.I67.I), p. 79, ? Walker Evans Archive, The Metropolitan Museum of Art. On the cover: Paul Gauguin, Tahitians,see p. 58.

Director's

Note

This year'scrop of acquisitionsis so uniformlyfine with so manyoutstanding worksthat I am, again,temptedto substitute "notable"in the title of this Bulletin for the more modest"recent."We owe this richbountyin largepartto the generosity and perspicacityof a numberof exceptionallygenerousdonors,manyof whom are namedin this publication.First-ratepaintings by fourteenth-to eighteenth-century masters,by virtueof theirhigh pricesand greatrarity,havemadeincreasinglyinfrequent appearancesin thesepages,and so the bequestof nine picturesfrom Lore Heinemannconstitutesthe most important groupof earlypaintingsto enterthe Museumin manyyears.Threeof them fill importantgaps:two Giovannidi Paolo panelsfromhis SaintCatherineseries, commissionedfor an altarpiecein 1447, now give us five of the originalten scenes, confirmingthe Metropolitanas havingthe largestholdingsof this artist'sworksoutside Siena;the HeinemannPoussin, The Reston theFlightintoEgypt,datingfrom aboutI627, documentsan intimatephase of this greatclassicalpainter'sworkthatwe havebeen unableuntil now to representin what is otherwisethe finestcollectionof Poussinsin the WesternHemisphere.We also enthusiastically welcomefrom the

bequesttwo worksby G. B. Tiepolo:an allegoricalfigurein grisailleon a gold groundthathasa pendantin the Museuma I984 gift of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Wrightsman-and a superbmodellofor the RoyalPalacein Madrid,the thirdin our collection. Once again-and it is alwaysa major event-great Impressionistand Postimpressionistpaintingsby Cezanne, Gauguin,and Van Gogh weretransferred fromthe AnnenbergCollectionto the Museum.The AnnenbergFoundationGift madepossiblethe purchaseof the hauntingly beautifuldrawingby Gauguinchosen as the coverof this publicationas well as a marble magnificentmid-sixteenth-century reliefof the highestrefinementand sophisticationthat is a significantadditionto our holdingsof FrenchRenaissanceart.Van and Picasso'sBlue-period Gogh's Oleanders Harlequin,gifts of Mr. and Mrs.John L. Loeb,significantlyaugmentedour and early-twentiethPostimpressionist centurycollections.The gifts and bequests of Mr. and Mrs. KlausG. Perlsand FloreneM. Schoenbornhaveimmeasurablyenrichedour holdingsof the School of Pariswith worksof greatimportanceby, amongothers,Picasso,Braque,Modigliani, and Brancusi.Mr. and Mrs. Perlsalso gave

the Museuman exceptionallyfine and rare monumentalGreekbronzetripodof the sixth centuryB.C. Otheroutstandinggifts addedwelcome peaksto the rangeof our holdings,including Li Gonglin'sClassicof FilialPiety-a majorNorthernSonghandscrollof about 1085thatis a promisedgift of OscarL. and JackC. Tang-and, pacemy editor,a simply deliciousSaintMargaretcarvedin Francein the latefifteenthcentury,a promisedgift of Anthonyand LoisBlumka. Also clearlyworthyof beinghighlighted is the acquisitionof seventy-threephotographsof the painterGeorgiaO'Keeffe that arethe heartof the famouscomposite portraitby her husband,AlfredStieglitz. For this splendidadditionwe areindebted to the late artistthroughthe Georgia O'KeeffeFoundationandJenniferand JosephDuke. These picturesareespecially gratefullyreceived,as they werenot among the nearly450 photographsthat Stieglitz gaveto the Museumand werenot included in his 1949bequest,despitethe fact that he regardedthem to be amonghis greatest achievementsand wantedthem to remain in the city. Philippede Montebello Director

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Contributors

AmericanDecorativeArts North America I7oo-900oo: Alice Cooney

Frelinghuysen(ACF),Curator;PeterM. Kenny(PMK),AssociateCurator; CatherineHooverVoorsanger(CHV), AssociateCurator. AmericanPaintings and Sculpture North America I7oo-900oo: H. Barbara

Weinberg(HBW), Curator;KevinJ. Avery (KJA),AssociateCurator;CarrieRebora (CR),AssociateCurator. Ancient Near EasternArt AncientWorld:Prudence0. Harper (POH), Curatorin Charge. Arms and Armor Asia:DonaldJ. LaRocca(DJL),Associate Curator. Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas Africa,Oceania,and theAmericas: Julie Jones (JJ),Curatorin Charge;Alisa LaGamma(AL),AssistantCurator;Heidi King (HK), ResearchAssociate. Asian Art Asia:JamesC. Y. Watt (CYW), Brooke RussellAstorSeniorCurator;MaxwellK. Hearn(MKH), Curator;MartinLerner (ML), Curator;BarbaraBrennanFord (BBF),Curator;MiyekoMurase(MM), ResearchCurator;StevenM. Kossak (SMK),AssociateCurator. Costume Institute

Drawings and Prints Renaissance and BaroqueEurope:GeorgeR. Goldner(GRG), Drue Heinz Chairman; CarolynLogan(CL),AssistantCurator.

Islamic Art Islam:Daniel Walker(DW), PattiCadby BirchCurator;StefanoCarboni(SC), AssistantCurator.

Colta Ives (CI), Curator; Europe 700oo-900oo:

PerrinStein (PS),AssistantCurator. EgyptianArt AncientWorld:CatharineH. Roehrig (CHR), AssociateCurator.

MedievalArt and The Cloisters MedievalEurope:WilliamD. Wixom (WDW), Michel David-WeillChairman; Timothy B. Husband(TBH), Curator; CharlesT. Little (CTL), Curator;Barbara DrakeBoehm (BDB), AssociateCurator.

EuropeanPaintings Renaissance and BaroqueEurope:Keith Christiansen(KC),JayneWrightsman

Musical Instruments

Curator. Europe 700oo-900oo: Katharine B.

(LL),FrederickP. Rose Curatorin Charge.

Baetjer(KBB),Curator;KeithChristiansen (KC);GaryTinterow(GT), Engelhard Curator;SusanAlysonStein (SAS), AssociateCurator. EuropeanSculptureand DecorativeArts Renaissance and BaroqueEurope: James David Draper(DD), HenryR. Kravis Curator;JessieMcNab (JMcN),Associate Curator;JohannaHecht (JH),Associate Curator. Europe 700oo-I900oo: William Rieder

(WR), Curator;ClareLeCorbeiller(CLC), Curator;WolframKoeppe(WK),Assistant Curator. Greekand Roman Art AncientWorld:CarlosA. Picon (CAP), Curatorin Charge;JoanR. Mertens (JRM),Curator;Dietrichvon Bothmer (DvB), DistinguishedResearchCurator; ElizabethJ. Milleker(EJM),Associate Curator;ArielHerrmann(AH), Senior ResearchAssociate.

North America 700oo-9oo: Laurence Libin

Photographs Malcolm Daniel (MD), Europe 700oo-900oo:

AssociateCurator.NorthAmerica Jeff L. Rosenheim(JLR), 700oo-9oo: AssistantCurator.TwentiethCentury: MariaMorrisHambourg(MMH), Curatorin Charge;Jeff L. Rosenheim (JLR);LauraMuir (LM), SeniorResearch Assistant;Doug Eklund(DE), Research Assistant. TwentiethCenturyArt TwentiethCentury: WilliamS. Lieberman (WSL),Jacquesand NatashaGelman Chairman;LoweryS. Sims (LSS),Curator; SabineRewald(SR),AssociateCurator; LisaM. Messinger(LMM),Assistant Curator;Nan Rosenthal(NR), Consultant; J. StewartJohnson(JSJ),Consultantfor Design and Architecture; JaredD. Goss (JDG), ResearchAssistant.

Europe 700oo-900oo: Jennifer A. Loveman

(JAL),SeniorResearchAssistant.

ANCIENT

WORLD

Human-HeadedBison

is occasionallyseatedon a throne, the feet of which reston a pairof human-headedbovines. The part-human,part-bovinemonster, shown later in winged form, is a persistent ancient Near Easterndivine image, guarding the gatesof first-millenniumB.C.Assyrianand Achaemenidpalaces.In the Sasanianperiod (3rd-7th centuryA.D.) the winged humanheaded bull appearsas an architecturalmotif and on stamp seals. The subtly modeled body and head of this naturalisticallyreclining figure turn slightly. The body cavity present on the sculptureand on other contemporaryhuman-headedbison sculpturesin the Louvre, British Museum, and Iraq Museum may indicate that the creature was part of a largercomposition, perhaps comparableto scenes on cylinder seals.

Mesopotamia,2nd dynastyof Lagash, ca. 2oo B.C.

Serpentine(lizardite) H. 4'2 in. (.II-5 cm) Inscribed:To Nanshe his lady,for the life of Ur-Ningirsugovernorof [Laga]sh... Rogers Fund, I996 I996.353

One of a smallgroup of nearlyidentical sculptures,thishuman-headedbovinewas dedicatedby a rulerof the southernMesopotamian stateof Lagash.The creaturehas the body hair, beard,and dewlapof a bison. Associatedat this earlyperiod with the sun god Shamash, the human-headedbison supportsthe divinity in sceneson cylinderseals:Shamashstands with one foot on the back of the creatureand

Male God Egyptian,Dynastyi8, reignofAmenhotepIII (ca. i39pi-353 B.C.) Granodiorite H. (overall)36's in. (g1.8cm) Rogers Fund, I9I9 I9.2.15s Fletcher Fund, I996 I9f96.362

The opportunity rarelyarisesof reuniting long-separatedsculpturalfragmentsto create a virtuallycomplete Egyptianstatue. The head of a god, acquiredby the Museum in I9I9, has long held a prominent position among worksfrom the time of AmenhotepIII. The torso, in a private collection for three decades,was only recently recognized as belonging to the head. The attire and the

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divine was-scepterheld verticallyin front of the body identify it also as part of a god's statue. The style dates it to the reign of Amenhotep III. Although the surfacesof the two pieces indicate that they spent most of the past three millennia in differentenvironments, the dimensions and the position of the breakin each suggested a match. When brought together, they fit exactly. The specificgod representedhere cannot be determined,since no identifyinginscription or attributesarepreserved.However, the statue almost certainly belongs to the series of divineimagesinstalledby AmenhotepIII in his vastmortuarytemple,which once stood behindthe so-called Colossi of Memnon in westernThebes.The sculpturessymbolizedthe congregationof gods at Amenhotep'shebsed,a festivalcommemoratingthirtyyearsof his reign and intendedto rejuvenatethe agingking. CHR

Tripod Greek,2nd half of the 6th centuryB.C. Bronze H. 29'2 in. (74.9 cm) Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Klaus G. Peris, I997 I997. I45.I

This monumental rod tripod servedas a support for a largebronzecauldron,which would have rested on the heads of the three horse protomes that decoratethe stand's upper rim. Three recumbent sphinxes appearbetween the horses. The tripod rests on feline paws, and the remainingdecoration includes a palmette atop the central rod of each leg and lotus blossomsbelow the protomes.The entire object is essentiallycast in one piece rather than soldered from numerous components. However, the feet, which are hollow cast, together with their connecting stretchers,may have been made separately. Elaboratebronzetripodswere majorvotive dedicationsin Greeksanctuaries.This classof stand has a long historyin Greeklands and ultimatelyderivesfrom ancient Near Eastern prototypes.Fragmentsof Archaicexamplesare attestedfrom everyareaof the Greekworld. However,only a handfulof typicalArchaicrod tripodshas survivedcomplete, for exampleone from Trebenischte (BelgradeMuseum), and the elaboratelydecoratedtripod in Berlin (Staatliche Museen), said to come from Metaponto in southern Italy. The Perls gift, splendidly preserved,is a fitting counterpartto the late ArchaicEtruscanbronzerod tripod in the Museum'scollection (acc. no. 60.II.II), which displaysfine mythological, animal, and floral decoration in relief. CAP

vitrifying. Blue-greenwas its usual color, although the formula could be varied to produce differenthues. The techniquewas adopted by Archaic East Greek workshops to producesmall, elegantsculpturalvaseswith imagerythat was meant to evoke the exotic land of Egypt. This example belongs to a well-known series, probablymanufactured on Rhodes, in which a figure kneels in the posture of a pharaonicdevotee to present an ovoid vase. The personage,of uncertaingender, wears a wig ending in two spiral tresses like those of the goddess Hathor; a chalice of palm fronds on top of the figure'shead forms the neck of the vessel. A dotted pattern on the back and shoulderssuggests the leopardskin worn by Egyptian priests.A frog perches atop the lid of the offertory vase; his open mouth forms a secondaryoutlet for the two interconnected compartments of the vessel. AH

Attributed to the Polyteleia Painter Dinos (mixing bowl) Greek(Corinthian),Transitionalperiod, ca. 630-615 B.C.

Terracotta H.

714

in. (I8.5 cm)

Classical Purchase Fund and Louis V. Bell Fund, I1997

The terracottastandon which "extravagance"). the bowl originallyrestedis lost. The Museum's collectionof Corinthianvaseshas hitherto representedthe majorshapesand stylisticdevelopments.The Polyteleiadinosdocumentsthe transitionfrom the earlyto the maturephaseof Corinthianceramicproductionin a work of extraordinary qualityand charm. JRM

I997.36

The finest vases from the region of Corinth aregenerallydatableto the seventhcenturyB.C. Distinguished by the vivacity and precision of their decoration, they tend to be small in size.

This dinos,a bowl for the diluted wine consumed at symposia, is exceptional for the beautifulfigureworkexecuted on a relatively largescale. While the goats, panthers,lions, and sphinxes may appeararbitrarilydisposed, two pairsof heraldicsphinxes in each zone establishthe coordinatesgoverning the composition. The meticulously incised articulation of the animals, supplemented by added red pigment, and the rhythm of the filling ornamentsjustify the quality of elegant profusion that is implicit in the artist'sname (the Greekpolyteleiameans "luxury"or

Vase in the Form of a Kneeling Figure East Greek, ca. 65o-550 B.C. Pale blue-green faience with added brownglaze H. 4'2 in. (1. 4 cm) Purchase, Malcolm H. Wiener Gift and Anonymous Gift, I996 I996. 64

The vase is made of faience by a technique invented in Egypt. A composition of quartz sand bound with water and clay, faience could be molded into small objects and had a surfacethat, when dried and fired, was selfII

Architectural Element Etruscan,ca. 50o B.C. Terracotta L. I234 in. (32.4 cm) Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Klaus G. Perls, 1997 I997. 145.2

The large architecturalfragmentdecorated with a female head apparentlycomes from the corner of a roof. Open above, it is shaped to channel water into a drain, now mostly broken away, that emergoedbeneath the head. The head, with its triangularface, very high forehead,and large almond eyes under steeply upswept brows, has close parallels among the antefixesfrom Cerveteri(ancient Caere), a major Etruscancenter near Rome, and can be attributedto an artistfrom the same regionalschool. Details of the face and the elaboratejewelryare renderedin wellpreservedcolor. The undersideof the piece is painted with bold patternsthat include two differentkinds of rosettesunder the eaves and stripesalong the drain channel. AH

The psykterservedas a wine cooler and was placed in a calyx kratercontaining cold water or packed with snow. When filled with wine, it floated like a ship with a keel, rising when empty and tilting without capsizing, a signal to the attendant that more wine had to be added. It makes its first appearance,both in

Attributed to Smikros Fragmentary Red-figured Psykter Greek(Attic),ca. 5I5 B.C. Terracotta Diam. I5/8 in. (27.I cm) Gift of Thomas A. and Colette Spears, I996

black-figure and in the new red-figure

I996.250

technique, in the second half of the sixth century B.c., and many great vase painters

?,i -took delight in decoratingthe new shape. : Smikros, to whom the vessel was attrib0~~~i<i7ij7

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~uted

by J. Robert Guy, was a friend and of Euphronios. Smikros'scavalcadeof pupil 5 young horsemenin Thraciancloaksand widebrimmed petasoiwas inspired by the rider in similar costume on the Euphronios cup in Munich, but unlike the anonymous youth of the cup, here each rider and perhapsone or two of the horses have been given their names; not all the names, however, are completely preserved. On psyktersthat have no rings attached to the shoulder the decoration encirclesthe vessel, a naturalway of ornamenting a vase that, being afloat, could be spun around. Similar scenes are found on the two psyktersin the Metropolitan attributed to Smikros'sgreat contemporaryOltos. ADvB _?.

Head of a Man from a Grave Monument Greek(Attic),3rd quarterof the 4th centuryB. C. Marble H. io'4 in. (26 cm)

Gift of Mrs. Frederick M. Stafford, I996 1996.522

This head of a mature man is from the figure of an Athenian citizen that once stood as part of a familygroupwithin a largefuneraryshrine in an Attic cemetery.During the fourth century B.C. up to five figureswere often shown in high relief inside deep freestandingniches, which were decoratedwith pediments. The time and place that these scenes were thought to representare unknown, but it is likely that both the dead and the livingwere being depictedin an idealsphereintendedto express the enduringcommunityof the family.Figures areoften shown shakinghands,perhapssymbolizing not only farewellbut also the link betweenthe living and the dead acrossthe boundariesof the grave.Toward the end of the centurysome completely freestanding figureswere placed within covered niches, and this head may well come from a statue in such an elaborategravemonument. EJM

Head of Athena Greek,late3rd-early2nd centuryB.C. Marble H.

in. (48.3 cm)

Purchase, Lila Acheson Wallace Gift, I996 I996. 178

This colossal female head, well over twice lifesize, is known to representAthena by the fact that it originallywore the goddess'scharacteristicCorinthian-shapedhelmet, which was added separatelyand perhapsmade of bronze ratherthan of marble.Two small holes at the top and back of the head presumably servedto secure the piece of armorwith metal pins. The hair is pulled back from either side of the face and rolled into a low chignon behind. The ears are pierced to receivemetal earrings.The lower edge of the neck is not broken, and it preservesa smooth surfacewhere it would have been joined to the body. The goddess, depicted with partedlips and wide-open eyes, turns her head sharply to the right. This indication of abruptmovement in such a monumental statue suggests that the figurewas representedstriding forward, probablyas a votive image of the warrior goddess in her role as protectorof a city, ratherthan as a cult statue within a temple. In terms of chronology, both the dynamic action and the passionateexpressionof the figurepoint to the time of the so-called High Hellenistic baroque. CAP

Portrait Head ofAntinoos Roman,Late Hadrianicperiod,A.D. Marble

I30-38

H. 93/vin. (24.8 cm) Gift of Bronson Pinchot, in recognition of his mother, Rosina Asta Pinchot, I996 I996.401

Antinoos, the young beloved of the Roman emperor Hadrian, drowned in the riverNile during an imperial visit to Egypt in A.D. I30. In accordancewith Egyptian custom, the distraught emperor initiated a cult venerating the dead boy, for the Egyptiansbelieved that those who met such a death becameassimilated with Osiris, god of the underworld. Outside Egypt numerous statues of Antinoos were erected that representedhim as a beautiful youth, often in the guise of Dionysos, a Greek god closely relatedto Osiris. This head is a good example of the

sophisticatedportraittype createdby imperial sculptors to incorporatewhat must have been actual featuresof the boy in an idealized image that conveysa godlikebeauty.The ovoid facewith a straightbrow, almond-shapedeyes, smooth cheeks,and fleshylips is surroundedby abundanttousledcurls.The ivy wreath encircling his head associateshim with Dionysos, a guarantorof renewaland good fortune. EJM

Fragment of a Volute Krater with Dionysiac Mask Roman,ist-early 2nd centuryA.D. Marble H. II'4 in. (28.5cm) Purchase, David L. Klein Jr. Memorial Foundation Inc. and Nicholas S. Zoullas Gifts, 1997

I997.II

Largemarblevasescarvedwith figuredreliefs rankamong the more strikingand ornate creationsproducedby the neo-Atticworkshops of the late Hellenistic and imperialRoman times. The vesselsarefor the most partkraters, and their iconographyis usuallyDionysiac, as befits a shape traditionallyassociatedwith wine. The fragmenthere comprisesone handle and partof the neck and shoulderof a volute krater.A large mask of a luxuriantly beardedDionysosadornsthe baseof the handle. It is carvedagainsta backgroundof grape leavesrenderedin low relief, which is an

unusual detail. This type of Dionysiac mask is well attested in handle attachmentsfor elaboratemetal buckets (situlas),but its appearancein a volute krateris a truly eclectic and remarkableadaptationon the part of the neo-Attic sculptor. The shape and decoration of the handle, which is embellished on either side by an eight-petaled rosette, are characteristicof this type of krater,as are the moldings adorning the upper neck of the vase. A raisededge at the bottom of the fragment indicates that the body of the vessel was also carvedwith figured reliefs. CAP

Mithraic Relief Roman,Antonineor Severanperiod, late 2nd-early3rd centuryA.D. Bronze H. i4 in. (35.6 cm)

Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Klaus G. Peris, 1997 I997. I45. 3

In the Roman world Mithras, a deity of Easternorigin, became the focus of a mystery religion, one in which the secret teachings and ritualswere revealedonly to initiates. Assimilatedwith the sun god Helios, Mithras was reveredas the supreme cosmic ruler. His worship was spreadthroughout the empire by his many devotees within the Roman legions. This relief depicts Mithraskilling a bull, a scene centralto the cult, although variously interpretedin recent scholarship.The god, in Easterndress and with flowing Alexander-like

locks, braceshimself with one knee against the bull's body while pulling its muzzle backward and plunging his sword into the vital spot behind its shoulder. His usual allies, a scorpion, dog, and snake, join in the attack, while busts personifying the Sun and Moon appearin the uppercorners.This is a very rare bronze version of a composition familiarin other media, especiallymarble. Its bold, competent style can be ascribedto the Antonine or Severanperiod. AH

I S L A M

Two Fragmentary Leaves from a Qur'an Manuscript Iran, 1137

Ink, gold, and pigmentsonpaper Right:8 x 418 in. (20.3 x Io.5 cm); left: 82 x 4 4 in. (21. 6 x 12.2 cm)

Louis E. and Theresa S. Seley Purchase Fund for Islamic Art and Rogers Fund, I996 1996.294.6,.7

These two Qur'an leaves, together with six others,once belonged to the same manuscript,

which is firmly dated by its original colophon (found on two of the folios) to the year A.H. 53I/A.D. 1137 and was signed by the Persian calligrapherMuh.ammadibn Muhammad alThe eight leavesin the Metropolitan's Zanjamn. collectionarethe only ones known to have survivedfrom this Qur'an and were previously unrecorded.They form two distinct groups of consecutive folios: three include the beginning of the text; the remainingfive representthe last pages of this Qur'an. The text, copied in small and elegant Eastern Kufic script with sections in cursive (naskh)

calligraphy,was also lavishly illuminated in gold and pigments of different colors. The two pages reproducedhere, which referto a literarytradition discussing the number of verses contained in the Qur'an, were copied in both Kufic and naskh.The splendid border decoration of interlacingcircles in gold filled with blue set against the plain backgroundof the paper can be regardedas the earliestsurviving example of this particulargeometric pattern in manuscriptillumination. sc

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Textile Fragment EasternIslamicarea,2nd half of thei3th century or i4th century Lampasweave;silk and silveredleatherover cotton L. I4 in. (35.5cm) Purchase, Friends of Islamic Art Gifts, i996 1996.286 Pairsof birds with long tail feathers,crests, open wings, and extended talons flank palmettes defined with internalsections. The metallic threadof the pattern is richly silhouetted againsta blue ground. Despite the fragment's small size, the repeatingnature of the patterncan be readilydiscerned,with birds and palmettesorganizedcontinuously in staggeredrows. Other portions of the same textilearein the Musee Historiquedes Tissus, Lyons;the Musees Royauxd'Artet d'Histoire, Brussels;and the DanskeKunstindustrimuseum, Copenhagen.The cloth belongs to a recently studiedgroupof figuredsilksthought to have been producedin the Middle Eastand Central Asia during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries.With a pattern and motifs derived solely from pre-Mongol Islamic tradition (manyeasternIslamicpiecespostdatingthe Mongol invasionsof the mid-thirteenthcentury combineIslamicand Chineseelements),but with certaintechnical featuresin common with CentralAsian silks, the Metropolitan's and relatedfragmentshave been tentatively attributedto an areaborderingCentralAsia, perhapsKhorasanin easternIran. DW

MEDIEVAL

EUROPE

Christ and typological parallelsbased on classical literature.Normally, pieces would depict feats of strength, such as those of Hercules (from mythology) pitted against those of Samson (from the Old Testament). CTL

Follower of the Master of the Lorsch

Game Piece with Episode from the Life ofApollonius of Tyre

Calvary German(MiddleRhineland),act. ca. 1425 Christ on the Road to Calvary German(MiddleRhineland),ca. I440 Alabaster

German (Cologne), ca.

7'2x

1170

Walrusivory Diam. 2 4 in. (5.7 cm)

Purchase, Stark and Michael Ward Gift, Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, and Pfeiffer and Dodge Funds, I996 1996.224

This piece, from the medieval game of tables (a precursorto backgammon),illustratesthe LateAntique legend of Apollonius of Tyre, whose wife, buried at sea, was miraculously resurrected.Here two men lower her coffin while two otherswatch.The scene is conceived in spatiallayers:coffin, figureslowering it, onlookers,and sail.The illusionof deep space is enhancedby almostthree-dimensionalcarving, with some areasin the round, a rarefeature in walrus-ivoryreliefs.While the subject is unique in Romanesqueart, the plastic style of figure carvingand the fine detail have parallels in Cologne ivories of the second half of the twelfth century. The figuresand acanthus bordercan be relatedto an ivory reliquaryin Brusselsand to the cupola reliquaryin Berlin produced in Cologne between II70 and 1190. The Brusselsreliquaryhas nearlyidentical borders,which indicates that a single workshop produced ecclesiasticaland secular

II'2 in. (18.8 x 29 cm) Inscribed: +o. mensch. sich. disv . figur. an. was. got. durch. dich. hot. geton . des. soltan . im . danken . sicherlich. so . git. er. dir. sin

himmelrich[Beholdthis man and see what God has done throughyou. Youshouldsurely hold him in your thoughts,for this is how he givesyou the heavenlykingdom] The Cloisters Collection, I996 i996.58I

The composition of this devotional relief relies on a larger-scalerelief in terracottaof about I425 (now fragmentary,but known through an 1837engraving),which was originallyin the churchof Saint Martin,in Lorsch, on the Middle Rhine, between Koblenz and Mainz. Notwithstanding the compositional indebtedness, the focus here shifts from the historicalnarrativeto the emotional intensity that chargesthis scene, conveyed primarily through the dense composition and the exaggeratedlygrotesqueportrayalof Christ's tormentors. Thus the composition servesits devotionalfunction, reinforcedby the inscription, which exhorts the viewer to contemplate the sufferingof Christ and to recognize that through his sufferingalone can humanity attain the Kingdom of Heaven. There are two nearlyidentical reliefs, one in Berlin and the other in the church of the Heilige Geist, Passau.The dialecticalvariations in their inscriptions may suggest that the works originated in different localities, perhapsof considerablegeographicalseparation, thereforebringing into question the dissemination of designs and styles, as well as workshop practices. TBH

objects. Anothergame piece, depictingthe Entombment of Christ (BurrellCollection, Glasgow), is so similarthat it may be from the same set, one divided thematicallybetween the Life of

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Book of Hours Northeastern France, ca. I270 Tempera and gold on vellum 65s x 6 in. (7.5 x 15 cm)

Promised Gift of John L. Feldman, in memory of Rosemily Petrison Feldman

This Book of Hours, written in Latin and French, is richly decoratedwith historiated initials, marginalimageryof greatvarietyand whimsy, and line endings inhabited by real and fantasticbeasts.Among the many figural initials, ten of exceptionalsize illustratethe Hours of the Virginand the PenitentialPsalms. While the painting includes some conventional imagery,such as the Virgin and Child enthroned at the opening of Matins (above), it is absolutelyextraordinaryin the degree to which images of unidentified devout and saintly women are presented.The woman for

whom the book was made, Marie, is named in a prayeron folio I98v. This gift significantlybroadensour collection of Gothic illuminated manuscripts,representing the earliestBook of Hours in the medieval department'sholdings. Antedating the Hours ofJeanne d'Evreux (acc. no. 54.I.2)

by more than two generations,it was produced in the second half of the thirteenth century, when such books of prayersreplacedpsalters as the preferredcycle of devotions among wealthy, educated, and, especially, female patrons. BDB

Circle of the Strassburger Werkstattgemeinschaft Southernand centralGermany, act. ca. i470-oo00

The Adoration of the Magi German (Munich), 1507

Pot metaland colorlessglass,silverstain, and vitreouspaint 27'

x 17'34in. (6g.g9x 43.8 cm)

Inscribed:hansschwinli. v munchenI507 The Cloisters Collection, I996 1996.262

The style of this panel-characterized by weighty figures,individualizedfacial types, a vivid palette, and rich textures-is typical of southern German glass painting, while the slightly coarse,earthyvisages, elongation of the figures,and broad planes of their drapery, separatedby tubularfolds, are more specific to Oberbayern,as seen in worksof contemporarywood-panelpainterssuch asJan Pollack and Mairvon Landshut.The arrangementof the composition,in which the principalscene is separatedfrom a deeply recessedlandscape by a wall, curtain, or other barrier,and the use of a single piece of glass for each element followformaldevicesestablishedby Nuremberg painters in the late I48os. However, the Virgin's

face,with its archedeyebrows,etchedlowerlids, singlelip line, and nubbychin, is typicalof the a loose Strassburger Werkstattgemeinschaft, associationof glass-paintingworkshopsoperating acrosssouthern and central Germany from about 1470 to

i500

that were allied with the

gifted Strasbourgpainter Peter Hemmel. Although no windows are known by the Werkstattgemeinschaft after 1499, the Metro-

politan's panel stylisticallyand technically reflectsits influence-particularly in the extensive use of the stylus and stick work to model the highly textured mattes and in the liberalapplication of silver stain. The composition relies in part on Martin Schongauer's engravedversion of the same subject dating from the I470s. TBH

Saint Margaret French(Toulouse),ca. 14 75 Alabasterwith tracesofgilding

H. i X in. (39cgrm)

Promised Gift of Anthony and Lois Blumka Margaret,the EarlyChristiansaint also known as Marina,experienced many painful ordeals before her decapitation aTAntioch of l'isidia in centralAsia Minor durinigthe reigni of .. lniipcror [)ioclctian (284-305). Having bccn swallowed by the devil in the guise of a dra,gon.the saint burst ulinharme-id fiomn its body after making the sign of the cross. Dating fromiabOLut1475, this l.ate (Gothicwork is alnoutstandinig examipleof the late-fifteenth-ceniltury l.anguedocstyle, which was focused in the medieval city v of Toulouse. A masterpiecein spitc of the damage, this scuilptirure is rem-aik able for the contrast of the idealism n and delicacy of the figure against : the scaly and coarsetextures of the base at the of lizard-turned-dragon the composition. 3

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Taddeo Gaddi Italian (Florentine),act. by I334, d. I366 Saint Julian Temperaon wood,gold ground Paintedsurface2o0 x 13 8 in. (52.7 x 35.2 cm) Bequest of Lore Heinemann, in memory of her husband, Dr. Rudolf J. Heinemann, I996

I997.IIT.I Although cut down, this lateralpanel from an altarpieceis otherwisebeautifullypreserved and is distinguishedby its lyricism,delicacyof execution, and the exceptionallyelaborate tooling of the gold ground. Unfortunately, no other fragmentsfrom the same polyptych are known, and the originalplacement of the work is a matter of conjecture.The protector of travelers,Julian was a popular saint in Florence.He is shown here dressedas a young noble or knight, holding the swordwith which he accidentallyslew his parents-a tragic case of mistaken identity. Taddeo Gaddi was Giotto's most faithful pupil and one of the leadingartistsin Florence in the firsthalf of the trecento. This panel dates from the early 1340s and is contempo-

rarywith a less well preservedbut otherwise almost complete altarpiecealreadyowned by the Museum. KC

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EUROPE

Stefano da Verona Italian, ca. 1375-1438

Sheet of Figure Studies (recto and verso) Ca. I435

Pen and brownink overblackchalkor charcoal II7s x 838 in. (30ox 22.4 cm) Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, I996 i996.364a,b

This is one of a small handful of extant drawings by Stefano, who was among the leading northern Italian artistsof the earlyfifteenth century.The son of a Frenchpainter,Stefano worked throughout northern Italy, but only one signed picture by him survives, The Adorationof the Magi of about 1435 in the Brera,Milan. The seated female figure on the verso is very similarin style and characterization to the Virgin in that work, though becauseof her pose she seems here to be a Madonna of Humility. Her companion is

identifiableas Saint Anthony Abbot, based on his attributes.The three figureson the recto are perhapsstudies relatingto an Annunciation. The style of the drawing,with its long flowing lines and elegant elongated figures,is typical of the period, though here it is carried to an extreme of refinement and subtlety. The sheetwas almostcertainlypartof a model book that also included other drawingsnow in Florence and Dresden. GRG

Paolo Uccello (Paolo di Dono) Italian (Florentine),1397-I475 The Crucifixion (triptych) Temperaon wood,gold ground Overall,with engagedframe, I8 X 218

in.

(45.7 x 55.5 cm)

Inscribed(on centralpanel): (at bottom) S. FILICITA;(on cross):IN.R.L Bequest of Lore Heinemann, in memory of her husband, Dr. Rudolf J. Heinemann, I996 I997. II7. 9

One of the founders of Renaissancepainting, Uccello is best known today for his frescoes in a cloisterof SantaMariaNovella, Florence, and the battlescenespaintedfor a room in the Medici Palace.However,recentscholarship also ascribesto the artista groupof devotional works,among which this triptych-virtually unknown in the literatureon Uccello-is a particularlyfine example.Probablypaintedin the mid-i43os, it shows the Crucifixionwith, in the wings, the angeland Virgin of the Annunciation,the Madonnaand Child, and the fourteenth-centurymystic Saint Bridget of Sweden,shown performingan act of self-

mortificationby drippinghot candlewax onto her barearm. Includedin the Crucifixionis a Brigittine nun identified by an inscription as "SuorFelicita,"and it is possible that the triptych was painted for the Brigittine covent of Santa Maria del Paradisonear Florence. Uccello was trained as a Gothic artist, and this work combines a Gothic sense for pattern and use of gold-as, for example,in the flowing hairof MaryMagdalen-with a feeling for sculpturalform. The blackenedbackground behind the Virgin in the Annunciation is oxidized silver. KC

Sodoma (Giovanni Antonio Bazzi) Italian (Sienese),1477-i549 Christ Presented to the People (Ecce Homo) Oil on canvas 2358 X 23X4

in. (60 x 59.I cm)

Gift of Asbjorn R. Lunde, in memory of his parents, Karl and Elisa Lunde, I996 I996.26I

Trained by a minor artistin a provincialcenter in Lombardy,Sodoma moved to Siena, in Tuscany, when still in his earlytwenties. There he became, togetherwith Domenico Beccafumi, a leading painter. Indeed, such was Sodoma's fame that he receivedimportant commissions in Rome, Florence, Ferrara, and Pisa. ChristPresentedto the People,a work of extraordinaryexpressivepower, dates from the last decade of Sodoma's careerand is characterizedby a sombernessand seriousness of purpose that looks ahead to CounterReformationpainting. The figuresarepressed insistentlyagainstthe pictureplane, and what might be called a Lombardfeeling for surface and light is used to emphasizethe actualityof

Christ and his physical suffering.Sodomahas employeda typicallyLeonardesquecontrast, juxtaposing Christ'spathetic but dignified calm with the animal-likeferocity of a screamingsoldier. With a clawlike hand the turbanedfigure of Pilate, his gaze directed outward, presentsChrist for judgment to the viewer. It is easyto understandhow this unpublished picture-so Lombardin sensibility-should havepassedas a workby the sixteenth-century Milanese painter and theorist Giovanni Paolo Lomazzowhen it was in the Northumberland Collection in England during the nineteenth century. KC

Raphael Italian, I483- i52o

Studies of the Christ Child Ca. 1513-14

Red chalk 8Y x 658 in. (21.9 x I6.7 cm)

Purchase, Florence B. Selden Bequest, 1997 '997.75

This spirited sheet of studies was drawn by Raphaelin preparationfor a painting of the Holy Family, known today through workshop versionsin the GalleriaBorghese,Rome, and the KunsthistorischesMuseum, Vienna. In the paintings the Christ child is shown standing in his mother's lap and lurching forward toward the kneeling figure of a young Saint John the Baptist. The two largerstudies on this page were made with the Christ child in mind, and the one at the extreme right is quite similarto the painted image. The

smallersketch at the lower left corner shows an alternatepose that is quite far from the final result. The drawing is notable for its economy of means, with firm outlines and free parallel hatching to createshadow. Despite the relatively few lines employed, Raphaelhere is able to renderthe forms with both supplenessand sculpturalvolume. Drawn well afterhis arrival in Rome, the figuresclearlyreflecthis grasp of classicalsculpture. GRG

Urs Graf Swiss, ca. I485-I529/30

Bust of a Bearded Old Man 1521

Brushand blackink 52 x 4 8 in. (14 x IO.3 cm)

Signedand dated in pen and blackink (lower right): I521 / VG [in monogram]

Rogers Fund, 1997 I997.19

Grafwas one of the most inventiveand prolific graphicartistsin earlyRenaissanceSwitzerland, producingwoodcuts, engravings,and designs for book illustrationsand stained glass. He was also among the firstto createdrawingsas independent works of art. This portrayalof an old man is an example of such an autonomous object, drawnwith brush and black ink in a manner that evokes engraving.In addition to the strongly delineated contours, hatchings, and cross-hatchingsthat characterize its technique, the drawing displays exuberantV-shaped forms and lines of various weight to suggest light and shade, typical of Graf's distinctive manner.

This old man once was thought to represent Saint Paul, but Graf includes neither the attributesnor the symbols traditionallyassociated with this figure. Instead, the artist isolates the form and focuses on the characterizationof the face. The psychologicaldistance and inner life suggestedby the man's downcast gaze seem to expressthe solitude of an individual before God, one of the main tenets of the ProtestantReformation. It thus may be that Graf sought to reshapethe traditional manner of representingan apostle in a more timely, if enigmatic, way. CL

Giovanni di Paolo (Giovanni di Paolo di Grazia) Italian (Sienese),act. by 1417, d. I482 Saint Catherine of Siena Exchanging Her Heart with Christ Temperaand gold on wood PaintedsurfaceIIY x 878 in. (28.9 X 22.5 cm) Bequest of Lore Heinemann, in memory of her husband, Dr. Rudolf J. Heinemann,

The Mystic Marriage of Saint Catherine of Siena Temperaand gold on wood PaintedsurfaceII 3 x II 3 in. (28.9 x 28.9 cm) Bequest of Lore Heinemann, in memory of her husband, Dr. Rudolf J. Heinemann,

I996

1997.17.3

I997.117.2

These two panels, incandescent in their mystical ardor,are from the base, or predella,of an altarpiececommissioned in I447 for the hospital church of Santa Maria della Scala, Siena. The predellawas added to the altarpiece shortly after I460, in commemoration of the canonization of Saint Catherine, and is the first narrativecycle of her life. It is also one of the high points of Giovanni di Paolo's vast output. With these two pictures the Museum now possesses five of the ten original scenes.

The daughterof a Sienese dyer, Saint Catherine(1347?-I38o) becameone of the most influentialreligiousfiguresof fourteenthcenturyItaly.At the age of sixteen, following a vision, she became a Dominican tertiary. Her ardentspiritualityand ministryto the poor and the plague-strickenwon her a wide following.She alsoworkedtirelesslyto convince the pope to return to Rome from Avignon. A biography written by her confessor, Raymond of Capua, provided the source for Giovanni di Paolo's scenes.

In the firstpanel Catherine is shown levitating in front of a cluster of church towers and gables. In her hand she holds her bleeding heart, which seemed to her to leap out of her body to be united with that of Christ. The second scene takes place in a chapter room of the church of San Domenico and shows Catherine'smystic marriageto Christ, the culminationof numerousvisions.Raymond writes,"WhileDavid tenderlyplayed[hisharp], the Mother of God took Catherine'shand in her own and presentedthe maiden to her son,

sweetlyinviting him to marry[Catherine]in faith."Whereas in the first panel Giovanni has suspended the laws of perspectiveand architecturallogic to create a surreal,visionary effect, in this one the room is depicted with preternaturalclarity. KC

Anonymous Master French Chalice a soleil French(Paris),date marked1532-33 Gilt silver H. 8'4 in. (21 cm)

Purchase, Mr. and Mrs. John H. Gutfreund Gift, 1996 1996.287

Here, on a chalice made in the early French Renaissance,are motifs survivingfrom the late medieval period:wavy sun rayson the bowl and dome of the foot, which evoke the meditation on the SacredMonogram as preachedby Saint Bernardinof Siena (d. I444), and lily petals,a symbol of the Virgin. The projecting twelve semicirclesof the foot and bosses of the knop are referencesto the apostles. These lively featuresarejoined by others taken from the more static repertoire of classicalornament derivedfrom Roman architecture:a stem formed as a fluted column (the flutes alternatelychanneled), beading at the junction of stem and foot, acanthus on the upper and lower poles of the knop, and a wreath encircling the step of the foot. Fleurs-de-lis,emblems of the French crown, the secularpower, are, strangely,found on French liturgicalobjects of the sixteenth century and may referto the control over the Church won by FrancisI. Inserted on the foot is a silver plaque engravedwith the episcopal hat, arms, and two angelic supporters of Bishop Fabio Mirto Frangipani,papal nuncio to the court of CharlesIX from 1568 to 1572 and again in I585.Engravedin the Fontainebleaustyle, these replacean earlier insert, which may have been other arms or an enamel Crucifixion. JMcN

The Reign of Jupiter French(Schoolof Fontainebleau),ca. i155-6o Marble I1 x 19 in. (38.I x 48.3 cm)

Purchase, The Annenberg Foundation

The sculptor of this ravishingobject was close to the Masterof the Diana of Anet, whose name derivesfrom the marble fountain figure in the Louvrethat is one of the glories the School of Fontainebleauproduced during

Gift, 1997

Henri II's reign (I547-59).

1997.23

also have worked from a programprovided by a poet and a drawingfurnishedby a

The sculptor must

painter.

The relief presentsthe astrologicaldata of a royal personageor one who benefited from royal favor.Jupiter, a clear allusion to the king, is seated on a rocky ledge from which three streamsflow, apparentlysupplying water for the fountain that is centered in an

enchanted forest in the medallion below. Mercuryrises at left, and the zodiacal signs Gemini (frolickingbabies) and Sagittarius (romping centaur) fill the lower corners.At upper right is an ideal cityscape.The single study devoted to the relief (known only since I969) suggests the patron may have been Charlesde Guise, cardinalof Lorraineand Maecenasof PierreRonsardand other poets of the Pleiade, whose chateau, La Grotte, was famous for its embellishments.Whatever its origin, the relief no doubt functioned as the key element in the marble revetment of a room of the greatestrefinement. JDD

Hans Hoffinann German,ca. I530-1591/92 A Small Piece of Turf I584

Brushand gouache,watercolor,overtracesof charcoal 832 x I278 in. (21.5 X 32.6 cm) Signedand dated in pen and brownink (lower center):1584 / Hh [in monogram] Purchase, Lila Acheson Wallace Gift, 1997 1997.20

In this watercolorone finds a varietyof grasses and a meadow fly renderedwith incredible detail and delicate color. This study is true to nature;each one of the plants can be identified. Yet the drawing, conceived as if it were a still life, transcendsthe genre of botanicalillustration.This smallplot of ground is monumentalized by virtue of the centralized composition and intricategrouping of the elements. Although the study was used for a painting of I585,it probablywas conceived as an autonomous work of art. Here Hoffmann referredto Diirer'swatercolor The LargePieceof Turf (1503, Albertina,Vienna), which he could have seen in the collection of

his friend Willibald Imhoff, and his contemporariessurely would have recognized the sourceas well. Hoffmann createdhis drawing in the spiritof artisticemulation, imitating Diirer's masterpiecewithout reproducingit. His works based on Diirer'swere greatlyadmired and avidly collected by Nuremberg patriciansas well as by the Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II (1522-6z12), for whom the artist worked afterI585.Sixteenth-century collectionsoften includedobjectsof scientific concernas well as aesthetic appeal, and this drawingwould haveansweredto both areasof interest. CL

Bartholomaus Spranger Flemish, 1546-Ir6i

Diana andActaeon Ca. i58o-85 Pen and brownink, brushand brownand grayish-brownwash, heightenedwith white, overtracesof blackchalk I6l4 X I28 in. (4I.3 x 32 cm) Purchase, Lila Acheson Wallace Gift, 1997 1997.93 Sprangerwas one of the most influentiallatesixteenth-centuryFlemish artists.He was active first in Rome, then in Munich and Prague,where, as court painter to Emperor Rudolf II, he createdboldly sensuous Manneristfigure paintings. This magnificent drawing,which probablywas made as a preliminarystudy, representsthe climactic scene from the storyof Diana and Actaeon in Ovid's (book 3, lines 138-252), a popuMetamorphoses lar literarysource at that time. It represents the horrificmoment when Actaeon begins to sprout horns, the first indication of his transformation into the stag that his dogs will slay, punishment for his having spied upon the goddess Diana while she was bathing. Following the example of Titian's Poesie, painted for Philip II about I556-59 (National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh),Spranger emphasizedthe naturalismof the setting, the dramaof the narrative,and the alluringqualities of the women. His broad pen strokes both summarizeand geometricizethe forms, while his generous use of wash for the foliage createsa shadowy atmospherethat envelops the figures. CL

He invented additions, such as the shoulder at the top of the drawing. Rubens adopted the system of hatching and cross-hatching from figure studies by Michelangelo and his followers, but his style is evident throughout in the fine and curving lines. This is one of eleven recentlydiscoveredstudies that Rubens made as a youth in Italy, which were motivated by his interestin the anatomicaldrawings of Leonardo. Rubens, however, reformulated the Italian precedent in accordancewith his own artisticconcerns, forsakingscientific inquiry in the searchfor energetic gestures, which he later used to relate pictorial narrativesin clear and compelling ways. CL-

Nicolas Poussin French, I594-I665

The Rest on the Flight into Egypt Oil on canvas 30 x 25 in. (76.2 x 63.5cm) Bequest of Lore Heinemann, in memory of her husband, Dr. Rudolf J. Heinemann, I996 I997.II7.6

Peter Paul Rubens Flemish, I577-1640

Anatomical Studies Ca. I6oo-I6o8 Pen and brownink II x 73 in. (27.8 x 18.6 cm) Rogers Fund, I996 1996.75

This drawingillustratesthreeviews of a flayed forearm.Although these studies give the impression of being observedfrom nature, they are neither anatomicallycorrectnor clearly displayedin the tradition of scientific drawings. Rubensused the cast of a left arm,which he drew from two differentangles and then in mirrorimage to suggest a right arm. He createda sense of volume, dynamism, and force by choosing odd viewpoints from which to draw the arm and by interweavingthe forms in a highly complex spatialrelationship.

This idyllic picture joins the finest collection of works by Poussin in the Western Hemisphere.It dates from about I627 and reflects Poussin'sstudy of the great canvasesby Titian then in the Aldobrandini Collection, Rome. The cherubsgatheringfruit as a gift for the Holy Family are taken from Titian's Worship of Venus(Museo Nacional del Prado,Madrid), and the landscapeand light-streakedhorizon are no less Venetian in inspiration.When Poussin arrivedin Rome in I624, he was without a major patron and made a living producing modest pictures for the market. These works, painted thinly and with evident rapidity,are dark in tone and have a special, poetic intimacy. Until now the Museum had nothing to representthis informal, tender side of Poussin's art. It does, however, possess a more ambitious work of the same date, Midas Washingat the Sourceof the Pactolus (acc. no. 71.56). That picture may be said to end this earlyperiod: in Januaryi628 Poussin completed the Death of Germanicus, which

establishedhis reputationas the greatest classicalpainterof the seventeenthcentury. KC

,.4!k, -,

11i(ll

Attributed to the Monogrammist B.G. (Balthasar Griessmann) German-Austrian,ca. I62o0-706 Joseph and Potiphar's Wife Secondhalf of the i7th century Ivory 334 x 678 in. (P.3 x I7.5 cm)

Purchase, Alexis Gregory Gift, 1997 -,

Anthony van Dyck Flemish, I599-164

Landscape with Tree and Farm Building Ca. 1632-4I Pen and brownink 832 x I25 in. (21.6x 32.1 cm) Purchase, Lila Acheson Wallace Gift, 1997 1997.22

Van Dyck is best known for his portrait paintings of the English aristocracy,but he was also a daring and talented draftsman. He produced exquisite landscapedrawings mainly in the last decade of his life, probably as a privateform of art;he used only a few as studies for paintings. Although these landscapesrepresentonly a smallpartof his oeuvre, they were very influential, particularlyin England. The site in this vista has not been identified, but it appearsto have been drawn from nature. Influenced by the pastorallandscapesof Titian and Campagnola,Van Dyck emphasizedthe harmony between the domestic and the naturalenvironment. With a minimum of fine lines he drew a farm building nestled upon vast rolling hills, using the void of the paper to boldly define the sweeping fieldsin the foregroundand clearsky above.The gnarledold tree is startlinglymodern in conception, being so severelycropped by the marginsof the paper. CL

I'997.9I

This diminutive depiction of Joseph fleeing the advancesof his master Potiphar'swife is packed with the dramaticenergy and virtuosity that mark its maker'sstyle. A central figurewithin the school of ivory carversthat flourishedin southern Germany and Austria during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, Griessmannwas until recently known to us only by the initialssignedon a few of the piecesattributedto him. His worksdisplayan unusuallysophisticatedhandlingof human form and pictorial space as well as a broad spectrum of relief effects, here ranging from the nearly freestanding figure of Joseph (attempting to wrest his billowing garment from his would-be seducer'sgrasp) to the delicately texturedlace and damaskbedclothes and the squaresof masonry faintly incised on walls and floor. The ivory carver'scharacteristic love of detailis also evidentin the woman's elaboratehairdo,the ornamentalcarvingof her unmadebed, and the tiny slipperspeepingout beneath. JH

Willem van de Velde the Elder Dutch, 1611-1693

Dutch Ships in a Harbor Ca. 1644-45

Pen and brownink, brushand gray wash, on vellum II5 x 9198 in. (29.5 x 48.5 cm) Signedin pen and brownink (centerleft, on flag): W:W:.V Velde Purchase, Anonymous Gift, in memory of Frits Markus, I996 ,996.229

Willem van de Velde the Elderwas one of the great innovatorsin the realm of marine painting, being the first to directly recordnaval battles during the Anglo-Dutch wars. Many sketchessurvivethat he made on the spot to be worked up later into paintings. Much rarerare his pen drawingson parchment, a genrethat the artistinitiatedin the I64os. This beautifullypreservedharborscene exemplifies this type of autonomousdrawing,which Van de Velde made for privatecollectors.The vitality of the pen lines, best observedclose at hand, counterbalancesthe control of the

studied pattern of variedhatchmarks.The measuredplacement of the ships and their relativescale carrythe eye to the distant horizon, while the subtly applied washes evoke the atmosphereat sea. A tower and pilings, upon which a fishing basket dries, mark the entranceto a harborat left. SeveralDutch transportvessels, including two flutes in the foregroundand another at center, prepareto depart in the company of warships. Such images of shipping glorified maritime trade, the driving force behind Dutch prosperity. CL

EUROPE

1700-1900

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simulatedmarble,or gold. Intended to emulate low-reliefsculpture,they were conceived to be placed over doors. This exceptionally well preservedoval, which has a pendant given to the Metropolitan Museum in I984

Giovanni Battista Tiepolo Italian (Venetian), 1696-I770

The Chariot of Aurora Oil on canvas 35'2 x 28Y5 in. (90.2

x 72.7 cm)

Bequest of Lore Heinemann, in memory of her husband, Dr. Rudolf J. Heinemann, 1996 I997.117.7

In 1762 Tiepolo moved to Spain to fresco the ceiling of the throne room of the Royal Palacein Madrid, the city where he died eight yearslater. During this period he made no fewer than six modelli,or oil sketches, for the ceilings of other rooms in the palace, as well as seven altarpiecesfor CharlesIII's retreatat Aranjuez.This modello,evidently createdfor the queen's bedroom, shows Apollo emerging from his temple at the beginning of a new day. The Hours guide the chariot of Auroraacrossa bank of clouds, while below are three of the four seasons: Ceres,with a sheaf of wheat, symbolizessummer; Bacchus,holding his wine cup, stands for autumn;and Venus's swans are seen above an old man representingwinter. Farther along the rim are sleeping figuresand a bat, emblematic of the passing night. Winged Time holds his scythe. For whateverreason,Tiepolo did not get the commissionfor the queen'sbedroom. Instead,the ceiling was frescoedby the NeoclassicalpainterAnton RaphaelMengs. This ravishingsketch joins two other modellifor the Royal Palacein the Museum's collection.

(acc. no. 1984.49) and two companion pieces

in the Rijksmuseum,Amsterdam,belongs to this class of decoration.The attributesof the figuresaretoo generalto allow any specific identification,and the provenanceof the series cannot be tracedearlierthan the twentieth century.However,accordingto an inventory

soon to be published by Giandomenico Romanelli,a seriesof four overdoors,described genericallyas "chiaroscurobas-reliefs,"formed partof a cycle of decorationswith scenesof Rinaldo and Armida carriedout by Tiepolo in a room of the Cornaro Palacein the parish of San Polo, Venice. The Metropolitan's paintings are usually dated to about 1750, but they may, in fact, have been painted somewhat earlier.They testify to the elegance Tiepolo brought to this restrictedgenre. KC

Giovanni Battista Tiepolo Italian (Venetian), 1696-I770

Female Allegorical Figure Oil on canvas,gold ground 32 x 2538 in. (81.3 x 64.5 cm) Bequest of Lore Heinemann, in memory of her husband, Dr. Rudolf J. Heinemann, I996 I997. 117.8

As a complement to a narrativecycle in a room, whetherfrescoor oil on canvas,Tiepolo often painted monochromaticallegorical figuresagainsta backgroundof neutralcolor, 4I

Francois Boucher French,i703-177i The Adoration of the Shepherds Ca. 1749-50 Oil overblackchalkunderdrawing,onpaper, mountedon canvas i6'4 x ii in. (41.2 x 28 cm) Purchase, David T. Schiff Gift, and Rogers and Harris Brisbane Dick Funds, I997 '997.95 Boucher was among the great practitioners of the oil sketch, a technique that flourished during the eighteenth century. His formulation of the high Rococo aesthetic-expressed in lithe, elegant figures,a lush handling of the medium, and a preferencefor compositions based on the arabesque-influenced a generation of artists.Here, in the rustic subject of the Adorationof the Shepherds,his work recallsFlemishpainting and the oil sketches of Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione, but in his hands the subject takes on a lightness and delicacy that separate it from such sources. Although rememberedmore often for his mythological scenes, Boucher here harnessed his love of light, air, and movement to devotional ends, dedicating the entire upper half of the composition to the virtuoso description of divine light, which spills forth, along with numerous putti, from an opening in the clouds, falling directly onto the Christ child and emanating outward, illuminating the rustic onlookers. In the nineteenth century this sketch belonged to the writersand respectedconnoisseursEdmond and Jules de Goncourt, who believedit to be among the jewels of their collection.They describedit as the maquette, or model, for the altarpieceBoucherpainted for Madame de Pompadour, which hangs today in Lyons.

Man'sSuit English,ca. 1r760 Purplewool withgold-bullionbraidtrim L. (centerback)43 in. (I09.2 CM) Purchase, NAMSB Foundation Inc. Gift, 1i996 i1996 ii7a-c

This magnificentsuit remarkablysurvives complete with all of its components. Becausc elements of menswearwere often retailored to accommodatechanges in the wearer'ssize or in fashion, this ensemble in essentially unalteredcondition is an exceedinglyrare example. Characteristicof the fashion of this date, skintight breechesthat buckle below the knee and a fitted waistcoat are almost entirely covered by a coat with a collarless,narrowchest and stiffly flaringskirt that concentrates emphasison the lower torso and thighs. The placement of the opulent applied decoration bolstersthis effect. Although the coat retains stiffnessreminiscentOf17505 styles, the buttons do not meet below the upper chest and the angular opening anticipates the pronounced front curve and diminishing skirt of later decades. The color coordination of all three parts and the utilization of wool, both decidedly Englishelementsthat anticipatemodern attire, were generallyreservedfor informalwear. Here, however, the suit is resplendentwith an abundanceof gold buttons and braid more closelyassociatedwith high-styleoccasions. JAL

Francesco Guardi Italian (Venetian), 1712-i793

The Antechamber of the Sala del Maggior Consiglio Oil on canvas 138 x 20 in. (34 x 50.8 cm)

c Signed(left, on baseof column):F. G.di Bequest of Lore Heinemann, in memory of her husband, Dr. Rudolf J. Heinemann, I996 1997.11 7.4

The Ridotto Oil on canvas 13

x 20 in. (34 x 50.8 cm)

Bequest of Lore Heinemann, in memory of her husband, Dr. Rudolf J. Heinemann, I996 1997.117.-5

Guardi,famous for Venetian views and imaginary lagoon subjects, also painted a few interiors,of which these two picturesare exceptionalbecausethey are so scenographic and so informativeabout public and private life. The figuresare expressive,the atmosphereluminous, and the handling sprightly and fluent. The first representsthe Liago, a long L-shapedhallwayoutside the greatcouncil chamberin the PalazzoDucale, which servedas the seatof governmentof the Venetian Republicand can still be visited:the beamed ceiling,doorframes,and Gothic window are unchanged. Guardi telescoped the space and

peopled it with officialsin wigs and gowns, clerks,and petitioners.The secondcanvasshows the centralhall of Venice's principalgaming establishment,the Ridotto at the Palazzo Dandolo, near San Moise. It opened in I638 and was redecoratedin the Rococo style in 1768. Six yearslater it was shut down by the government for reasonsof public morality. The Ridotto was the epitome of the final flowering of a city where the arts flourished and visitors abounded, but virtue was outmatched by vice and dissipation.As the view shows the leatherwall hangings in disrepair, the two paintingsmay date from the mid-I76os. KBB

which has not survived,for LansdowneHouse, in London. The present set, which is being reupholsteredas it was originallywith red moroccoleather,will re-createin the Museum's dining room from LansdowneHouse the unity of design between the furnitureand Robert Adam's decoration, which was one of the most notable aspects of this great Neoclassical interior. WR

Theodore Chasseriau French, I8i9-I856

Scene in the Jewish Quarter of Constantine I85I Oil on canvas 22 Y8x 8'/2 in. (56.8 x 47 cm) Signedand dated (lowerright): Thre Chasseriaui85i Purchase, The Annenberg Foundation Gift, i996 I996.285

Thomas Chippendale English, i7i8-I779

One of a Set of Fourteen Dining Chairs English,ca. I772 Mahogany H. 38V4 in. (97.2 cm) Purchase, Lila Acheson Wallace and The Annenberg Foundation Gifts, Gift of Irwin Untermyer and Fletcher Fund, by exchange, Bruce Dayton Gift, and funds from various donors, I996 1996.426.1

Chippendale executed this set of Neoclassical mahogany dining chairsfor Goldsborough Hall, in Yorkshire,which belonged to Daniel

Lascelles,younger brotherof Chippendale's most extravagantpatron, Edwin Lascelles,of nearbyHarewood House. The set, which originally included fifteen chairs, remained at Goldsborough until I929, when it was removed to Harewood House, from whence it was sold in I976. The chairsrepresentone of Chippendale'smost elegant designs:their taperingbacks have archedtop railsand molded sides headed by beaded pateraeand leaf finials;fan-shapedsplatswith a central pateraare encircled and flanked by pendent bellflowerswags;and the square,tapering paneled legs are decoratedwith pendent husks. He produced severalsets of these chairswith minor variations,including one,

Son of the French consul in Santo Domingo and a Creole woman, Chasseriauexhibited precocious talent as a child. He entered Ingres'sstudio at ten and saw his first works accepted at the ParisSalon at seventeen. As a youth he adopted Ingres'sMannerist classicism but soon createda style that was Baroque in composition and Rubensian in color. His PortraitofAli benHamet(Museede Versailles), exhibited at the Salon of I845,was considered by criticsto rivalDelacroix'sSultanof Morocco (Musee des Augustins, Toulouse) of the same year. A trip to Algeria in I846 confirmed his predilectionfor orientalistsubjects.His career was ended by his prematuredeath ten years later. Mourned as one of France'sgreatest artists,he was rankedsecondonly to his mentors Ingresand Delacroix. Chasseriauwitnessedthis sceneand sketched it during his Algeriantrip. From Constantine he wrote: "I have seen some highly curious things: primitive and overwhelming, touching and singular.At Constantine, which is high up in the mountains, one sees the Arab people and the Jewish people [living] as they were at the very beginning of time." He also used this composition for a work that he contributed to an album of watercolorsby the leading artistsof the day that was presented in I846 to a royal French couple upon their wedding. GT

Jean-Louis-Andre-Theodore Gericault French, I791-1824

Two Draft Horses with a Sleeping Driver Ca. I820-22 Brushwith brownink, brownand gray wash, overgraphite ii3/

x 5I in. (29.9 x 38.2 cm)

Purchase, Joseph Pulitzer Bequest and Harry G. Sperling Fund, I996 I996.365

An avid riderand connoisseurof horses, Gericaultportrayeda wide rangeof breeds, from thoroughbredracersto work animals. During his 820-zi21sojourn in London he studied the English types, among them the muscularhorses that hauled coal wagons or draggedplows. He evidently likened the hard, gritty life of these laborersto that of Britain'spoor working classesand thus was apt to endow such animalswith identifiably human emotions.

Our dramaticnew drawingportraysa horse evidentlyalarmedby signs of a brewingstorm. With its head and earslifted and its forelock blown by the wind, this alertanimalstandsin starkcontrastto the slouched, drowsingdriver, who probablywaits with his team for the arrivalof a cargobarge.Gericault'smasterful touch sculptsthese figuresand describesthe weatherwith great conviction, evoking the menacing lull that pervadesthe atmosphere before a storm breaksat full strength. CI

Francois-Marius Granet French, I775-I849

Ponte San Rocco and Waterfalls, Tivoli Ca. I8Io-20

Oil on canvas I4

x II 8 in. (37.8 x 28.3 cm)

Purchase, Leonora Brenauer Bequest, in memory of her father, Joseph B. Brenauer; Wolfe Fund, and Wolfe Fund, by exchange, 1996 I996.181

This handsome painting perfectlyillustrates Granet'sachievementas the masterof the small Roman view during the first quarterof the nineteenth century.A student of JacquesLouis David, Granet first visited Italy in I802 and returnedthe next year to stay until I824. Throughout his Italian sojourn he visited Tivoli, only a half-day'sride east of Rome. Here he has recordedone of Tivoli's most picturesquesights, which has been depicted by artistssince the seventeenthcentury.The arch of the Ponte San Rocco providesthe framefor a carefullystructuredglimpseof the Aniene River as it passesthrough one of its several spectacularcataractsin the hilltop village. This work is a finished painting designed for a privatecollector.It was createdin Granet's studio from an oil sketch (now at the Musee Granet,Aix-en-Provence)that was executed outdoors at the site. GT

Attributed to Josef Danhauser and His Circle Austrian,I780-I829 One of Two Side Chairs Austrian (Vienna), ca. 181i-20 Beechand pinewood, cherryveneer,and ebonizedmahogany H. 37' in. (94.3 cm) Purchase, Friends of European Sculpture and Decorative Arts Gifts, I996 1996.417.I

The Biedermeier,or Vormirzperiod, the yearsafterthe Napoleonic warsfrom I815 until the March Revolutionin 1848,was dominated by politicalconstraintsand strictgovernment censorshipin all areasof daily life. This repressive public climate forced the Austrianbourgeoisie into a privateand sheltereddomestic life, in which therewas sufficienttime to devote to the cultivationof personalinterests. Seating furniturewith clean lines and light-colored wood veneer played a most important role in the achievement of the simplicity and unpretentious elegance so characteristicof Biedermeierinteriordecoration.The Museum's side chairs,originallypart of a set of six, are the first of this period of highly developed family culture to enter our collection. Their sophisticateddesign and quality of execution can be attributedto the firm of Josef Danhauser,the leading furnituremanufacturerin Vienna until his death in I829. Very likely a special commission and unparalleled by any known example, these Biedermeier chairsand other similar progressivelyconceived objects were among the roots of the development of modernistic styles. The chairs are exceptionallywell preserved,including large areasof original surfacefinish, drop-in seats, webbing, and upholstery under a later show cover. WK

assortmentof decorativemotifs into highly refined evocations of seventeenth-century goldsmiths' work. Trainedunderthe preRevolutionmakerof gold boxesAdrien Vachette (act. 1779-I839), Morel is a direct link to the long historyof Frenchjewelersand goldsmiths. Morel practicedin Parisfor many years beforemoving to London in I848, following the adversesettlementof a businessdispute (an expatriationthat lasteduntil I85z,when he returnedto France).In London he established a workshopstaffedby more than fifty craftsmen and enjoyed the patronageof Queen Victoriaand the exiled Louis-Philippe.The culminationof Morel'sLondon careerwas his display at the Great Exhibition of I851,at which he showed jewelry,silversculpture,and numerousneo-Renaissancecups. Our example, made in London, was among them. From illustrationsof the time, and againin I9IO,when the cup was in J. PierpontMorgan'scollection, we discoverit had a coverand has lost some enameledornament;it nonethelessconveysthe elegancetypicalof Morel'sbest work. CLC

Alois Simpert Eschenlohr (or Eschenlauer) German,ca. 1785-1837 Coffeepot German(Augsburg),1824 Silver,ivory,and macassarebony H. Io Y in. (26.2 cm) Gift of Wolfram Koeppe, in memory of Walter E. Stait, i996 1996.436.Ia, b

Earlyin the nineteenth century it became the custom to produce pots for coffee and hot milk en suite, and this piece was acquired togetherwith its matching, smallermilk pot. Eschenlohr-who became a mastersilversmith in I824 has taken a simple Neoclassical form and enlivened it with a playful contrast of surfaceeffects, decorativedetails, and materials.A cherub'shead emergesfrom a clusterof grapesbeneath the spout, the cover is topped by a trio of ivory acorns, and the

darksmoothness of the handle complements the light-catchingfluting of the body. Few works are known by Eschenlohr,who shows himself here to be a masterful-and wittydesigner. CLC

Jean-Valentin Morel French,1794-186o;act. 1827-ca.i855 Standing Cup English(London),I85o0-i Rockcrystal,gilt silver,enamel,andpearls H. 914 in. (23.5cm) Purchase, Friends of European Sculpture and Decorative Arts Gifts, 1997 1997.14 Romantic historicism was one of many nineteenth-centuryrevivalstyles, and Morel was unsurpassedin his skill in fashioning hard stones, enameling, and an eclectic

Ignace-Henri-Jean-Theodore Fantin-Latour French, 1836-1904

Pansies Ca. 1874

Oil on canvas 9 x II1 in. (22.9 X 28.3 cm) Signed(lowerright):Fantin Gift of Paul 0. Fabri, I996 i996 5I7

Although Fantin-Latourconsideredhimself a seriousfigurepainter,his reputationwas made with informal flower studies such as this work. In his day, as in our own, these studies were prized by collectors for their seemingly effortlesscreation and great charm. This picture joins another in the collection, Still Life with Pansies(acc. no. 66.I94), which was painted in I874. It may well be this study of pansies in a basket that Madame FantinLatournoted was painted in the same year. GT

Louis Robert French, 1810-I882

Romesnil 85o0-55 Saltedpaperprintfrom paper negative o05 x I3 8 in. (27 x 35.2 cm) Purchase, Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, I996 I996.363.2

In addition to the talented designers,artisans, and chemistswho producedelaboratecreations at the RoyalPorcelainFactory,the villageof Sevres,on the outskirtsof Paris,attractedthe naturalistpaintersTroyon, Daubigny,and Corot, who came to sketchpicturesquescenes along the banksof the Seine and in the nearby forest. Nurtured by these currentsof technical and aesthetic innovation, Robert, head of the factory'spainting workshop, took up photographyas an amateurpursuitabout I850. As accomplishedas his professionalcounterparts in Parisbut unfetteredby commercial constraints, Robert trained his camera on the intimate, the vernacular,and the natural with studied informality.

This rareand beautiful photograph-the only known print of this image-comes from a small series of views made at Romesnil, in Normandy; by virtue of their large scale, complexity, and authority, they representa high point of Robert'soeuvre. Here, a dilapidated wooden barn, crumbling stucco outbuildings,pebbly road, and pile of sticks are vehiclesfor an exquisitestudy of tone and texture.Robert,who in the kilns of Sevresdaily createdworksof art from the naturalelements of earth,water,and fire,found a more compellingbeautyat Romesnilin nature'sgradual reclaimingof humanity'sconstructions. MD

Vincent van Gogh Dutch, 1853-I890 Oleanders i888 Oil on canvas 23/4 x 29 in. (60.3 x 73.7 cm)

Inscribed:(on coverof book)EMILEZOLA / LAjoie de VIVRE;(on spineof book)Lajoiede / vivre/ Emile/Zola Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John L. Loeb, I962 62.24

For Van Gogh, oleanderswere joyous, lifeaffirmingflowers that bloomed riotously, continually renewing themselves. In this painting of August I888 the flowers fill a majolicajug that he used for other Arles still lifes; they arejuxtaposedwith 1EmileZola's LaJoie de Vivre,which Van Gogh had earlier placed in contrast to an open Bible in a Nuenen still life of I885.The well-thumbed paperbackby one of the artist'sfavorite authorsadds a bright yellow and distinctly modern note to both compositions. Yet here Van Gogh perhapsintended an analogy between the title of Zola's novel and the vitality of the fragrantflowers.

Van Gogh may have painted Oleandersas a reprievefrom his series of Sunflowers,four of which he had just completed. In contrast to those upright canvasesof grand round flowers, largelyin chrome yellows, he chose a horizontal format that emphasizesthe sweeping thrust of the spiky oleander leaves and the lively play of pink-reds and greens. A year laterVan Gogh explored contrastingformats, shapes,and colorswhen he painted four flower pieces devoted to irisesand roses.Happily, Oleanderscan now be seen in relationto two of them, Irises(acc. no. 58.I87)and Vaseof Roses(acc. no. I993.400.5). SAS

Vincent van Gogh Dutch, 1853-1890

La Berceuse (Woman Rocking a Cradle) (Augustine-AlixPellicot Roulin, 1851-1930) I88p Oil on canvas 36'2 x 29 in. (92.7 x 73.7 cm) Signed,dated,and inscribed:(on arm of chair) vincent/ arles89; (lowerright)La / Berceuse The Walter H. and Leonore Annenberg Collection, Partial Gift of Walter H. and Leonore Annenberg, I996 I996.435

Of the five versions of this portrait of Augustine Roulin, wife of Van Gogh's friend the postmaster of Aries, the present canvas is the one the sitter chose for herself.The artistremarkedthat "shehad a good eye and took the best."Van Gogh began the portraits just prior to his breakdownat Aries, in December i888, and completed them in early I889. As he worked on the successiveversions, the composition took on added meaning. Originally conceived as a portraitin the conventional sense and as an experimentin the bold "arrangementof colors,"the imagewhich he titled La Berceuse, meaning "lullaby, or woman who rocks the cradle,"and alluded

to by "herhand holding the rope of the cradle"-became the locus of literaryand symbolic associations.These extended from the writings of Dutch and French novelists to the consolingmusic of Berliozand Wagner. Van Gogh ultimately felt that he had created "apicture. . . that if eversailors-at once children and martyrs-should see it... they would experiencebeing rocked and remember their own lullaby."Not only did Van Gogh imagine La Berceusehanging on the "wallof a ship's cabin," but he also envisioned it as the center of a triptych, flanked by Sunflowers,like candelabra. SAS

Paul Cezanne French, 1839-I906

Dish of Apples Ca. 1876-78

Oil on canvas in. (46 x 55.2 cm) Signed(lowerright):P Cezanne The Walter H. and Leonore Annenberg Collection, Partial Gift of Walter H. and Leonore Annenberg, 1997 i8'8 x 2I34

1997. 60. I

Convincingly dated by Cezanne scholar Joseph Rishel to the mid-I87os, this sumptuous still life was painted at the house of the artist'sparents,the Jasde Bouffan,nearAix-enProvence,where Cezanne spent much of 1876 and all of I878. In the backgroundappearthe ornamentalmotifs of a screen that Cezanne painted about I859 to decoratehis father's study. The screen (a student effort in a mockeighteenth-centurystyle), the overloaded plate of apples, and the gaily decorated faience sugarbowl createa rich atmosphere

that evokesthe Rococo spiritof some of Chardin'sgrand still lifes. The evocation must have been deliberate,for it was in these same years that Manet, whom Cezanne worshiped, executed severalstill lifes in conscious emulation of Chardin. Cezanne's elaborate signatureat lower right contributes to the effect, which would have been greatlyappreciated by the first owner of this picture, Victor Choquet, who himself loved French eighteenth-centurydecorativearts. GT

Paul Cezanne French, I839-I906

Seated Peasant Ca. I892-96

Oil on canvas 2I2 X I73/ in. (54.6x 45.1 cm) The Walter H. and Leonore Annenberg Collection, Partial Gift of Walter H. and Leonore Annenberg, 1997 I997.60.2

The mood and palette of this pensive figure study relateit to Cezanne'scelebratedseries of paintings showing men playing cards.This particularindividual does not appearin any of those pictures, all painted in the I89os, but there can be no doubt that he, like the models for the cardplayers,was one of the workers at the Cezannefamilyhouse in Aix-en-Provence. To pose for the artist, the model donned his best clothes: a brown wool coat, gray-striped trousers,a yellow vest, and (possibly) a neat string tie. But he cannot hide his class, and, despite his strong, handsome features,his status as a peasantis underscoredby his unshaven face and huge, ungainly hands.

The still life of objects is an unusual addition to a figure study. Here Cezanne seems to have lavished attention on this corner of the composition,givingit a life of its own, although the objectsthemselves-perhaps a green-bound book, some boxes, a ceramic bowl, the stem of a pipe-are barelyrecognizable.They do not reflect the identity of the sitter; they reflectinstead Cezanne's stubborn enjoyment of the act of painting. Such beautiful geometric assembliesfascinatedBraqueand Picasso as they developed the aesthetic of Cubism a little more than ten yearslater. GT

Paul Gauguin French, I848-I903

Tahitians Ca. 1891-93

Charcoalon laid paper i68 x i2X4 in. (4I x 31.1 cm)

Purchase, The Annenberg Foundation Gift, I996 I996.418

Gauguin's almost worshipful appreciationof exotic peoples, whom he believed innocent of modern civilization'swoes, is stirringlyconveyed in this New World icon. At its center is the face of a dark-hairedyoung woman Gauguin painted on his firstvoyageto Tahiti. Two renderingsof profiles (right and left) are conjoined with a full frontalview in a haunting totemic design that evinces fascination and awe. These masklikefaces, devoid of any sign of emotion in their blank eyes and closed lips, appeartimeless and remote, much as do

the stone heads of ancient gods sculpted in Egypt or Asia long ago. Arguablythe finest of all Gauguin's surviving drawings,our charcoalstudy is a work of exceptional feeling and finesse. By smudging the sooty contour lines and shadows with his fingers (or perhapsa wad of soft bread), the artistdefined featuresof the Maori race in a way that conveysboth ethnographicaccuracy and spirituality.For Gauguin, a young and beautifulTahitianwoman was a powerful symbol of life's forces. CI

Paul Gauguin French, I848-i903

Three Tahitian Women I896

Oil on wood 955 x I7 in. (24.4 x 43.2

cm)

Signed and dated (lower right): P. Gauguin 96

The Walter H. and Leonore Annenberg Collection, Partial Gift of Walter H. and Leonore Annenberg, I997.60.3

1997

This small, exquisite, and highly finished Tahitian scene of I896 is painted on a piece of wood that was once a door of a teak cabinet or chest, as can be seen from the remnantsof hinges in the upper and lower right-hand corners.Although the artistoften sculpted wood, particularlyin Tahiti, he rarelyused it as a support for his paintings. In this exceptional instance it is not known whether Gauguin had been prompted by aesthetic or economic reasons.What is certain, however, is that once Gauguin had completed this magicallittle idyll, with its delicate modeling and rich, sumptuous hues, he had an

attachmentto it that led him to worryabout its futurecare.The panelwas once accompanied by a letter addressedto its future owner ("to the unknown collector")in which Gauguin recommended "a modest frame and if possible one with glass, so that while it ages it can retain its freshnessand be preservedfrom the alterationsthat are alwaysproduced by the fetid air of an apartment."In I897, in a largercanvas ( TheBathers,National Gallery of Art, Washington,D.C.), Gauguinrepeated the motif of the two women, drapedin red sarongs,standing by a tree. SAS

NORTH

John Singleton Copley American, I738-1815

Hugh Hall I758

Pastelonpaper, mountedon canvas 15/2x i3 in. (09.4 x 33 cm) Inscribed(right):J. S. Copley./ Pinx I758. Purchase, Estate of George Strichman, and Sandra Strichman Gifts; Bequest of Vera Ruth Miller, in memory of her father, Henry Miller, Bequest of Josephine N. Hopper, John Stewart Kennedy Fund, and Gifts of Yvonne Moen Cumerford, Berry B. Tracy, and Mr. and Mrs. Jeremiah Milbank, by exchange; Mr. and Mrs. Leonard L. Milberg Gift, and funds from various donors, I996

E R I C A

1700-1900

In SeptemberI762 Copley wrote to the Swiss pastelistJean-EtienneLiotardfor advice and asked him to send "one sett [sic]of Crayons of the very best kind such as You can recommend [for]livelinessof colour and Justnessof tints."Copley's work in pastel far surpassed that of his American contemporaries,and, in general,his portraitsin the medium are among his most strikingproductions. He recognized this accomplishmenthimself and, in a letter of November 12, I766, urged his colleague BenjaminWest (who had admonished him about his enthusiasmfor pastels) to explain "whyyou dis[ap]prove of the use of [crayons],for I think my best portraitsare done in that way."

Copley's image of the affluent Boston merchant and distiller Hugh Hall (i693-I773) is the artist'searliestknown pastel and perhaps his firstattempt at masteringthe powdery pigment. Copley vigorously renderedhis subject in a draftsmanlikemanner, using strong strokesand coarse modeling. At this early stage he displayeda masterfultechnique in certain passages:Hall's wig, cravat,and eyes are expertlydrawn. The rugged aspect of the work seems appropriateto the craggycountenance of the subject.What the work may lack in elegance-especially comparedto Copley's highly polished mature productions-it makes up for in sheer strength of execution. CR

1996.279

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Pier Table American(Salem,Massachusetts),800oo-8o Mahogany,with mahogany,maple,casuarina, holly,and ebonyveneers H.

294

in. (75.6 cm)

Purchase, Anthony W. and Lulu C. Wang, Louis and Virginia Clemente Foundation Inc., and Computer Associates Gifts, and Friends of the American Wing Fund, I996 1996.245

In scale,aspect,and overalldesignthis demilune pier table is unique among New England examplesand arguablythe most impressiveof a small group of Boston and Salem areafurniture that displaysthe flash and fire of radiating strips of light and darkwood veneers. Boldly conceived in a grandiosestyle reminiscent of that of the British architectand furniture designerRobertAdam, it originallywas probablyone of a pairthat stood in a FederalperiodNew Englandparlor.(Eachwould have been surmountedby the latestNeoclassical looking glass.)Furniturein this style,with radiating veneers,drumliketurningsat the tops of the legs, and appliedribbedmoldings,is often

attributedto the Salem cabinetmakerWilliam Hook, based on a group of documented furniture with these featuresat the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. To assign the Metropolitan's table to Hook is complicated by the fact that, in Salem, mastercabinetmakers produced many pieces for the venture-cargo furnituretrade and often purchasedparts from subcontractors.One of these subcontractorswas the carverand turnerJoseph True, whose account books document the sale of turned legs-probably much like the ones on this table-to all the importantSalem makers,including Hook. PK

Charles-Honore Lannuier French, I779-1819

One of a Pair of Card Tables American(New YorkCity), 1817 Mahogany,whitepine, yellowpoplar, basswood,and ash; mahoganyveneer,gilt gesso, faux-bronzepatination, and gilt brass H. 3II8 in. (79.1 cm)

Inscribedtwice:(onfront-to-backbraceunder top) Fait a New- York/ Le I May 1817 / HL [conjoined];(on top offigures head) 1817 / May / HL [conjoined] Gift of Justine VR. Milliken, 1995 I995.377. The superlativecard table is one of two from a signatureseriesof gilded sculpturalpieces by New York'sresident French ebenisteof the Federalperiod, Charles-HonoreLannuier. The tables are remarkablenot only for their exquisite beauty but also because they are signed and dated masterpiecesdescended in the family of their original owner, Stephen Van RensselaerIV of Albany. The pairjoin 62

five superbdocumentedexamplesby Lannuier in the collection and furthersolidify the Museum's preeminence in early-nineteenthcentury New York Classicalfurniture. The tables are believed to be part of a largercommission by the New York City merchantWilliam Bayardthat included a nearlyidentical pair of figuralcard tables and two pier tables with gilded swan supports, wedding gifts for his daughtersHarriet and Maria,who in I817marriedStephen Van RensselaerIV and Duncan PearsallCampbell. The Campbells'tables survivein the Albany Institute of History and Art, as does the Van Rensselaerpier table, which later in the nineteenth centurywas reworkedinto a pairof encoignures (cornertables).The invoice for the Campbellpieces also survives,revealinghow expensivefurniturefrom Lannuier'sBroad Streetshop was. The pairof cardtableswas pricedat $250, and the pier table at $300, astonishingsums when a journeymancabinetmaker'swage was only about a dollara day.

George J. Hunzinger American, I835-1898

Side Chair American(New YorkCity), ca. I878 Ebonizedcherryand brass;originalcasters; replacementupholstery H. 37 in. (94 cm)

Impressedmark (onproperleft rearleg): HUNZINGER / / PAT. APP FOR Purchase, Cranshaw Corporation Gift, in honor of Lee Paula Miller, and Charlotte Pickman Gertz Gift, 1997 I997.5

An impressedmark identifies this chair as by Hunzinger, although in form and decoration it is atypicalof his work. About I878, perhaps striving for greaterelegance in his production, Hunzingermanufactureda few ebonized pieces ornamentedwith brass.This chair is often comparedwith an unembellished and unupholsteredexample by the progressive BritishdesignerChristopherDresser,although the latterpiece was not publisheduntil I88I.

Ancient Egyptianfurniture,a source of fascination during the Aesthetic movement of the I87os, and chairsin the Modern Gothic idiom of the day may have inspired the strong squareshape and prominent slanted side supports utilized by both designers.The glossy black surfacesof these chairsand of much British and American furnitureof the period derived from oriental lacquerware. Precedentsfor decorativebrasscan be found on early-nineteenth-centuryEnglish Regency furniture.However, Hunzinger's related patent applicationof July I878 indicates that his metal moldings were intended to be structural as well as ornamental.Only seven other pieces of this genre are recorded.In view of Hunzinger'sotherwise prolific output, this number suggests they were not produced in

quantity.The mate to this chair,the only other exampleof this proto-modernform, and the relatedpatent model arein the Brooklyn Museum of Art.

t41

CHV

Samuel Graves and Company American(Winchester,New Hampshire),

1833-50

Clarinet in C Ca. I845

Granadilla,ivory,and silver 4 in. (59.3 cm) Stamped:Graves&dCo / Winchester/N.H. / C Purchase, Gift of Barnard College, by L. 23

exchange, I1997 997.55.I

Clarinetsrivaledflutes as the woodwinds most favoredby amateurmusicians during the nineteenthcentury,when a growing repertoire of popular instrumentalmusic requiredclarinets in large numbers and various pitches, C being normal for bands about I850. Earlier in the century, both in America and abroad, clarinetswere typically made of boxwood with five simple brasskeys; as keys became more numerous and complicated, brittle boxwood was replacedby tougherblackwoods, which are better able to resist crackingand warping. No other American clarinet of the period looks more elegantthan this granadillainstrument with thirteen silver "saltspoon" keys and five ivory rings set off by beaded silver bands. Gravesand Company was the most prolific American manufacturerof wind instrumentsbefore the Civil War, and the quality of its products was outstanding. Even for this leading firm, however, our clarinet is exceptional, perhapsa unique commission. The initials NCL engravedon one silver band and the names J.B. Yale/ Lee Mas on two touchplatesdoubtlessidentify proud and prosperousowners;the lattermight have been John Yale,whose family had lived in Lee, Massachusetts,since the eighteenthcentury. LL

Unknown American Artist [Portrait of a Man] Ca. I86o Albumensilverprint with appliedcolor 26'2 x 23/ in. (67.3x 60.3 cm) Gift of Stanley B. Burns M.D. and the Burns family, i996 I996.532.1

The portraitdaguerreotypedominated the earlyyearsof photographyin America and inexpensivelysatisfiedthe people's desire for likenesses.A product of the industrialrevolution, the daguerreotypeperfectlysuited the characterof the new democracy'smost recent immigrants,who had come to favorthe machinemade overthe handwrought,youth overage, factsoverflattery.Mounted in plushlined miniaturecases,often smallenough to fit made up in into one's pocket,daguerreotypes verisimilitudewhat they lackedin size.

By I86o, however, the country'smercaLntile successengendereda wide-rangingdemIOCratizationof gentility.As the new middle cllass maturedit desired to confirm its status with large, flattering,wall-size photographsnot feasiblewith the daguerreotypeprocess. These photo-based painted portraitswere relatively expensive and designed to have all the presenceof the ancestralpaintings decoratring the parlorsof the wealthy.This photograp.h, one of a pair of portraitsof a couple, each. in its original mount and rustic frame, is a lightly printedalbumensilverprint, extensivelyworked over with oils, watercolors,aind inks. The lavishoverpainting,elegantpose, and fine presentationarepersuasiveevidenIce of the anonymous photographer'sdebt to the painting tradition and of his clear ambitio>n to rivalit. JLR

William Trost Richards American,

I833-I905

Palms I855

Graphiteonpaper 834 x II 2 in. (22.2 X 29.2 cm)

Inscribed:(bottomcenter)Dec I855 /Florence; (upperright) Thestem in Sunlightverylight yellow / The leavesan opaquefull yellowish green/ 2 bluishgreenin shadow/green [light?]; (center)2 Maria DeWitt Jesup Fund, I996 1996.564

Richardsexecuted this astonishing pencil portraitof palms, banana trees, and other tropicalplants in Florence in late I855,in the midst of his first trip to Europe. It is the finest of only a few drawingsof such subject matter, probablydone in the botanical gardens of the Museum of Natural History near the Pitti Palace.The drawingsare exceptional at this time for being close studies of naturaland exotic-forms ratherthan of architecture, sculpture,or landscape,which dominated Richards'sEuropeansketches.They are also among the earliestsignals in Richards'swork of the directionhis artwould take about I86o, when he beganto producehighlywrought paintingsand drawingsof greenhouseinteriors and intimate woodland bowers. These works reflectedthe exacting standardsof representationset by the English critic John Ruskin in his ModernPaintersand practicedby the Pre-Raphaelites.Besides having read Ruskin, Richards, by I855, had met the Hudson River School landscape painter FredericChurch, who had alreadyexhibited wondrous, minutely delineated panoramasof the jungles and mountains of equatorial South America. In Palmsthe patient rendering of overlappingfronds testifies to the artist'sunstinting effort to master the complexity of naturalforms with the intricacyof his draftsmanship. KJA

Frederick Hurten Rhead (designer) American(bornin England),i880-1942 Vase American(SantaBarbara,California),i9i3-17 Glazedearthenware H. II 2 in. (29.2 cm) Friends of the American Wing Fund, i996 I996.371

Rhead was one of the most influential figures in the development of American art pottery and the studio movement that followed. He descended from a long line of skilled craftsmen in this medium and was trained in Staffordshire,England, before immigratingin 1902 to America,where he worked at numerous firms.Through his ceramicsand writings, publishedin KeramicStudio,the tradejournal for American art potters, he brought his knowledge of English techniques and styles to the Americanceramicsworld. In I9II Rhead moved to California,where he establishedthe ArequipaPottery, and in I914 set up his own importantthough short-livedstudio in Santa Barbara,where this vase was made.

The vase is characteristicof Rhead'swork in its emphatic linear design, friezelikecomposition, and use of organic motifs. The exacting technique involved the application and incising of colored slips. Subsequentlayers of colored slips were applied within the design, and the outlineswere furtherenhanced once the vessel had dried. The landscapevase epitomizes the Arts and Craftsmovement in ceramicsin its depiction of simplified, stylized naturalforms and in its tactile translucent and matte glazes in subtle harmonies of warm earth tones. The bold tree forms overlapping the rigid horizon unmistakablyevoke California'sdistinctive landscape. ACF

Childe Hassam American, I859-I935

Surf, Isles of Shoals I913

Oil on canvas 28'4 x 354 in. (71.8 x 89.5 cm)

Signed(lowerleft): ChildeHassamI913 Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Sheldon C. Sommers, I996 1996.382

Hassam'ssummer sojournson the Isles of Shoals, Maine, ten miles east of Portsmouth, New Hampshire,were among the most fruitful of his long career,inspiring almost ten percent of his works. This excellent example presentsa broadview of a tidalpool embraced by rocks and punctuated by spray;distant islandsappearon the horizon. The painting's great chromaticvarietyand inventiveness, 66

lively brushstrokes,and high horizon line that flattensthe picturespacereflectHassam's susceptibilityto Postimpressionismafterthe turn of the century.The canvasthus superbly completes the stylistic sequence of the Metropolitan'stwo earlier,more impressionistic Shoalspaintings,canvasesof I890 and I90I. Only Hassamamong the American Impressionistsdevoted himself to depicting the rockycoast and challengingsurfof New England.Yet his sun-drenchedimagesof the coastat the Islesof Shoalspoint up, by comparisonto Winslow Homer'sforeboding contemporaneouspaintingsof Maine, the AmericanImpressionists'tendencyto pursue an artof sweetnessand light. What is ominous and ruggedin Homer'spaintingsis transmuted by Hassaminto brilliantpattern,althoughthe siteshe paintedareonly a few miles awayfrom those describedby Homer. HBW

Maurice Prendergast American, I859-I924

Picnic by the Inlet Ca. 1918-23

Oil on canvas 28 4 X 24Y8 in. (71.8 x 62.5 cm)

Signed(lowerleft):Prendergast Partial and Promised Gift of Raymond J. and Margaret Horowitz, I996 i996.46o

Raisedin Boston and trained first as a commercialartistand then in Parisianacademies, Prendergastcrafted a distinctive style from a variety of contemporary influences. He was particularlysusceptibleto the French Impressionists'concern with outdoor light, brilliantcolor, and ordinaryincident; the Nabis' flattenedspaces and decorativepatterning;and the Symbolists'intriguinginscrutability.Throughoutthe I89os Prendergast workedmostly in watercolorand monotype,

but he turnedseriouslyto oil paintingabout 1903.He reinterpretedin oil some of his earlier watercolorsand reliedupon small-scale,somewhat fragmentedformsand livelybrushstrokes. After about I9I0 Prendergast'soils became more varied and more imaginativein subject and more monumental in arrangement; Picnic by the Inlet is an outstanding example of this late style. The subject originatesin seasideactivitiesin New England, where Prendergastspent many summers, but the

crowded and elegant assemblageof female forms carriesovertones of an ideal, even arcadian existence. The enchanted mood is emphasizedby the tapestryeffect that emerges from the rich, deep color, broken into textured patternsand consolidated within strong outlines. Like many of Prendergast'sfinest works, the painting exudes both impressive sophisticationand delightful naivete. HBW

A n H

H I3

A I

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Pablo Picasso

Josef Hoffmann

Spanish, i88i-1973

Austrian, 1870-1956

Harlequin

Table Lamp

I901

1904

Hammeredand silveredcopperalloy (alpaka), glass,and copper

Oil on canvas 32

X 24 8 in. (82.7x

61.2 cm)

Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John L. Loeb, I960

H. I6'2 in. (41.9 cm)

60.87

Purchase, Lita Annenberg Hazen Charitable Trust Gift and The Cynthia

This earlymasterpieceby Picasso is one of two I901 picturesby the artistpurchasedfor the Metropolitan in the I96os by the Loebs (the other, a pastel, depicts an elegant Madrid woman; acc. no. 6I.85). Although both were accessionedat that time, they remainedin the donors' possession until recently,when they joined the Museum's permanentcollection. Harlequinof I901 representsthe first appearanceof this theatricalcharacterin Picasso'swork. By I905 harlequinsfrequently inhabited his Rose-periodpicturesof itinerant circusfamilies,and later,in the late I9IOS and I92os, this personageis transformedin his works by Cubist devices (see p. 76). While the harlequinin this earlycomposition is dressedin whiteface and conventional parti-coloredunitard, his avertedgaze and contemplative,melancholy demeanorare in markedcontrastto his traditionalrole as clown. The cafe setting, enlivened with bold floralwallpaperand accoutrementsfor smoking, furtherheightens his isolation from his surroundingsand from everydaypleasures. Here, as elsewhere,Picasso has revealedthe privatesadnessbehind the public face of this character.Painted in Parisin the autumn of I901, this picture might mirrorthe artist's own profound feelings afterthe recent suicide of his friend Carlos Casagemas.

Hazen Polsky Fund, I997 I997.64

The architectJosef Hoffmann was a leading figurein the WienerWerkstatte,an influential group of designersand artistsworking in Vienna early in the twentieth century. He designed this lamp at the time when the shift from gas to electric light challengeddesigners to effectivelyutilize the new technology. In this instance he chose not to shade the source of illumination, as is common with

table lamps. Instead, he not only exposed the naked bulbs but called furtherattention to them by echoing their shape with suspended glass spheres.These catch the light, as do the shimmering silver surfacesof the slender, gracefullytaperedcentralcolumn and the repeatedverticalsof the rods and hangingchains. The lamp is a tour de force, a celebrationof light. JSJ

LMM

Georges Braque French, 1882-I963

Still Life with Candlestick and Playing Cards 1910

Oil on canvas 2558 x 2I 3

in. (65.I x 54.3 cm)

Signed(on verso):Braque The Mr. and Mrs. Klaus G. Peris Collection, 1997 1997.149.12

During the most abstractphase of Cubismalso referredto as "High"Analytic Cubism (I9IO-12)-Picasso and Braquecontinually brokedown forms in theirworks. Consequently,their compositions consisted mainly of large abstractplanes and small faceted ones, along with arcs, angles, and lines. The sober palette of grays,browns, and blackssome opaque, some not-enabled the planes to overlapand merge with one another in a shallow relieflikespace, as they do in this masterful,small "High"Analytic still life. Some tenuous links with realitysurvive when images of naturalisticobjects, or parts

of them, are incorporatedinto the composition. Here, the thick slab of wood of the table's cornerjuts out in a wide angle in the lower center of the image. Fartherback appearsthe saucerlikebase of the brass candlestick.To the right of the candlestick float the two playing cardsof the title: the ace of heartsand the six of diamonds. In Cubist compositions forms usually concentratein the center. This leaves the corners of such works ratherempty. To avoid this, Picassoand Braqueoften favoredoval canvases,as here in one of Braque'sfirst uses of the format. SR

Paul Strand American, 1890-I976

Harold Greengard, Twin Lakes, Connecticut 1916

Silverandplatinumprint 9

2x I23

in. (24.2

x 31.5 cm)

Ford Motor Company Collection, Purchase, Joseph Pulitzer Bequest and The Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation Gift, and Gift of Ford Motor Company and John C. Waddell, by exchange, i997 1997.25

Within a decade of having been introduced to photographyby the social reformerLewis Hine in I907, Strand had explored the soft-

focus pictorialiststyle, absorbedthe ideas of the Europeanavant-garde,and developed his own boldly modern and distinctlyAmerican photographicvision. During the summer of I916, at the house his family rented everyyear in Twin Lakes,

Connecticut, Strand used the porch as his studio and photographed ordinary objects borrowed from the kitchen or simply the shadows of the porch railings.Experimenting with radicalcameraangles and photographing at close range, he createdabstractionsthat were elegantlypoised and extraordinarily original. The same innovative spirit inspired this unique and previouslyunknown portrait of Strand'sbest friend, Harold Greengard, whose smart figure cuts a dynamic diagonal acrossa flattened field of muted, indistinct planes. The spontaneousqualityof this photograph-made a decadebeforethe proliferation of the handheldcameraand the snapshottestifiesto Strand'sskill in achievingthe "living expression"he sought, while revealingthe naturaleasebetweenhimself and his subject. The photograph also heraldsthe remarkable immediacy and naturalismof the candid portraitsof New York street people he would make only a few months later. LM 7I

Alfred Stieglitz American, 1864-1946

Georgia O'Keeffe p9I8

In I922 Stieglitz laid the cornerstoneof this Museum's photographycollection by donating twenty-two of his finest prints. Seven of these photographswere of Georgia O'Keeffe,

Platinumprint

his model and muse since 1917, and from I924

4/8 x 38 in. (II.7 x 9 cm)

on, his wife. After Stieglitz'sdeath O'Keeffe orchestratedmagnificentbequestsfrom his art collection to severalinstitutions, among them the Metropolitan. Not included in the bequestswere the more than three hundred photographsof O'Keeffe in the famous composite PortraitStieglitz had made between

Gift of Georgia O'Keeffe through the generosity of The Georgia O'Keeffe Foundation and Jennifer and Joseph Duke, 1997 1997.61. 25

I9I7 and I937. Although implicitly O'Keeffe's-

becauseshe inspired it and was intimately depicted in it-this body of work, intensely collaborativein nature, belonged to both 72

artists.In recognition of the complexity of the issue and the sensitivity of the material,as well as of the key importance of the Portrait in Stieglitz'scareer,O'Keeffe placed a representative selection of sixty-nine photographs from the Portraiton long-term loan at the Metropolitan Museum in 1949 and lent four additional prints in 1976-77. Through the generous understandingof JenniferJohnson Duke, daughterof a close friend of O'Keeffe, and the Georgia O'Keeffe Foundation, the seventy-threeprints have become a permanent gift, a splendid crown of images for a collectionof photographsinitiatedby Stieglitz seventy-fiveyearsago. MMH

Amedeo Modigliani Italian,

1884-1920

Reclining Nude 1918

Oil on canvas x 362 in. (60.6x 92.7 cm) Signed(upperright):modigliani The Mr. and Mrs. Klaus G. Peris 237/

Collection, 1997.149.9

1997

Modigliani's celebratedseriesof nudes continuesthe traditionof Venusesin paintings from the Renaissanceto the nineteenth century, yet with one significant difference. The eroticism of the earlierfigures is always couched within a mythological or anecdotal context, whereasModigliani does away with this pretext. Consequently, his women appear unabashedlyfrankand provocative. The artistis best known for the works that he created from I915 to 19I9 in Paris: por-

traits,in which a few telling detailsachievea strikinglikeness,and nudes.Modiglianibegan his greatseriesof recliningwomen in I916,

painting about two dozen of them, and they shareseveralcharacteristics.He never depicted his mistressesor friends in these poses but used professionalmodels. As here, they lie on a dark bedcover that accentuates the glow of their skin, and they are always seen close-up and usually from above. Their stylized bodies span the entire width of the canvas, and their feet and hands usually remainoutsidethe picture'sframe.Sometimes asleep, they most often face the viewer, as does this gracefullybuilt model in one of the artist'smost famous works of the series. SR

Joel Martel Jan Martel French, I896-1966

Arbre Cubiste 1925

Painted wood Stamped(underbase):JM H. 3Y12 in. (80 cm) Purchase, Gifts of Himan Brown and Adele Simpson, by exchange, i997 I997.II0

The twin brothersJoel and Jan Martel were sculptors best known for their four concrete "Cubist"trees, designed for a garden setting at the I925 Exposition Internationaledes Arts Decoratifs et IndustrielsModernes in Paris. Although the exposition was intended to feature the best examplesof contemporarydecorativearts and design, most of the exhibition was stylisticallyrooted in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.There were, however, four uncompromisinglyModernistexceptions: the Pavillon de L'EspritNouveau by Le Corbusierand PierreJeanneret,the U.S.S.R. pavilionby KonstantinMelnikoff,the Pavillon du Tourisme by Robert Mallet-Stevens,and the Martel brothers'trees, which were placed in a garden also planned by Mallet-Stevens.

C. R. W. Nevinson British, I889-1946

The Roadfrom Arras to Bapaume 1918

Lithograph 228 x X173 in. (57.5 x 44.1 cm) Inscribed(belowplate, lowerright):C.R.W Nevinson1918 Purchase, Reba and Dave Williams Gift, I996 1996.577

During World War I Nevinson servedin the Red Cross, the Royal Army Medical Corps, and finallyas an officialwar artist.The numerous sketcheshe made at the front in France and Belgium were later turned into paintings and prints. These works frequentlyglorified the advancesmade in aviation technology or

naval engineering,but sometimes they reflectedthe massivedevastationof the war. Although Nevinson had alreadymade a name forhimselfas the cosigner(withF. T. Marinetti) of a 19I4 Futurist-style"Manifestoof Vital English Art," it was his militarypicturesthat firmly establishedhis reputation in England. This lithographof I918is based on an oil painting of the previousyear (ImperialWar Museum, London). In both versions a long roadcuts straightthrougha gently rollinglandscapeand recedesinto the distance.As trucks and foot soldiersmove along the fifteen-mile stretchbetweenArrasand Bapaumein northern France,they passacresof bombed and burned-outcornfields,now populatedonly by a few tents. The treesthat once lined the road aremerestumps,cut down by the German armyas it retreatedfrom the areain early1917. LMM

More than fifteen feet high, the treeswere destroyedwhen the exposition closed. ArbreCubiste,a maquette constructedin wood and painted white, is the only known nonphotographicrecordof the largertrees. The cruciformtrunk rises from a squarebase to support quadrangularplanes attachedvertically and at angles to suggest foliage. The abstractModernist sensibility of this remarkable sculptureclearlyderivesfrom the polemics of Cubism. JG

Constantin Brancusi French, 1876-1957

Bird in Space 1923

Marble H. (with base) 5634 in. (I44.z cm)

Bequest of Florene M. Schoenborn, 1995 1996.403.3a,b From the I92os into the I940s Brancusi was

preoccupiedby the theme of a bird in flight. He concentratednot on the physical attributes of the bird but on its movement. Here, wings and feathersare eliminated, the swell of the body is elongated,and the head and beak arereducedto a slantedoval plane. Balancedon a slender conical footing, the upwardthrustis unfettered.Brancusi's inspiredabstractionrealizeshis stated intent to capture"theessenceof flight." This particularconception of the Bird in Space representsthe theme's final evolution, and it is the first in a specific seriesof seven carvedfrom marbleand nine cast in bronze, all of which were painstakinglysmoothed and polished. Bird in Spaceof 1923 was initially collected by Brancusi'sgreatAmerican patronJohn Quinn, who first saw the work in progressin the sculptor'sParisstudio. Upon its completion in December I923, Quinn had it shipped to New York, where nineteen yearslater, in 1942, it was acquiredby FloreneM. Schoenborn and herhusband,SamuelA. Marx. WSL

Pablo Picasso Spanish, i88I-i973

Harlequin 1927

Oil on canvas 32 X 2558 in. (81.3 x 65.1 cm) Signedand dated (upperright):Picasso/ 27 The Mr. and Mrs. Klaus G. Peris Collection, 1997 1997. 49.5

Throughout Picasso'slong careerthe figure of the harlequinwas one of his favoritemotifs, often representingan alter ego. Adopting the

Surrealists'fluid methods of metamorphosis, Picasso transformedthe harlequinhere into an amorphousmonster. The creatureis composed of parroteyes set into an invertedblack L shape, tiny nostrils, a single ear, and a gaping mouth with a ring of perfectwhite teeth, all topped by a tricorn hat that evokes a misshapen boomerang. The finest of a seriesdevoted to this theme, Harlequinof I927 is also the first in which Picasso refersto Marie-ThereseWalter (1909-I977; see also Girl Reading,at right). She is representedby the classicwhite profile at the extreme left of this austereimage,

which is composed in hues of brown and gray with black and white. At the time this canvaswas made Picasso was locked into an unhappy and deteriorating marriagewith his Russian wife, Olga (189I-1955), so the artist's references to his

mistresswere veiled. Within a year he would transformthe harlequin'shead into that of a ferocious female dominated by a large, menacing mouth, in a not-so-veiled referenceto his wife. SR

Pablo Picasso Spanish, i88i-i973

Girl Reading I934

Oil and enamelon canvas 63 8 x 5i 3 in. (162.2 x I30.5 cm)

Signedand dated (upperright):Picasso/ XXXIV Bequest of Florene M. Schoenborn, in honor of William S. Lieberman, 1995 1996.403.1 In I927, when he was forty-five years

old, Picassomet Marie-ThereseWalter,a seventeen-year-oldFrench schoolgirl who became his mistress.In retrospecttheir relationship seems the happiest and the least public of Picasso'smany amatoryalliances, and no otherwoman is more intricatelywoven into the fabricof his art. In this painting of Walter the time is night and the scene is intimate: she sits reading at a table in a room illuminated only by a small lamp. One hand gently holds open the pages of her book while the other touches her garland-crownedhead with fingersthat resemblefeathers.The space of the room is compressed,but the resulting distortions are never severe. Sinuous rhythms absorbthe straightlinear accents of the table, and the exaggeratedheight of both table and plant emphasizes the young woman's childlike appearance.Her pale blond hair and bluewhite skin make her look especially ethereal within this dark and deeply colored interior. The canvas, one of severalsimilar compositions Picassopainted of his mistress,is a poem by a man in love. It is the latestin date of the six paintings and one bronze by Picasso receivedby the Museum in the FloreneM. Schoenbornbequest. WSL

zLL

Georges Braque French, 1882-1963

Woman Seated at an Easel I936

Oil with sand on canvas 5I /2x 63 78 in. (30o.8 x 162.2 cm)

Signedand dated (lowerright):G Braque/ 36 Bequest of Florene M. Schoenborn, 1995 996.4 03.10

In WomanSeatedat an Easel Braque'svirtuosic manipulation of decorativemotifs almost obscuresthe female protagonist,seated to the left of center. She is presentedboth in profile, as an elongated, somewhat disjointed black silhouette,and in a more colorfulfrontalview. The room depicted is Braque'sstudio in Varengeville,a villagenear Dieppe on the Normandy coast. The subjectrelatesto some ten interiorsby Braqueshowing women

engaged in musical or artisticpursuits. Here, the female artistholds a brush in her right hand and a palette in her left. On the easel is a painting curiously reminiscent of Picasso's contemporaneous sculpted heads of MarieTherese Walter. Above this hangs another work, perhapsa still life, but quite unlike any of Braque'sown. The studio space is arbitrarilyflattened, and the verticalfold of a yellow screenbehind

Walker Evans [New Orleans]

In 1994 the Museum acquiredthe archiveof the AmericanphotographerWalker Evans. The contents include the artist'spapers,library,

I936

and 40,000 of his black-and-white negatives

Gelatinsilverprint 6V x 634 in. (I5. x I7 cm) Purchase, The Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation and Randi and Bob Fisher

and color transparencies producedduringa half

American, io903-975

Gifts, i996 1996.167.i

the figure divides the composition in half. The ornamentalpatternon the screencontinues in green acrossthe backgroundwall. To enhancethe picture'soveralldecorationBraque added texture by mixing sand into some of his pigments. This painting is one of three by Braquein the Florene M. Schoenborn bequest. WSL

century of work from the

I920s

to the I970s.

Buildingon strength,the Museum has in the lastyearacquiredthis street scene, thirty-eight other vintage prints by Evans, ten original negatives,and a wealth of personalpapers and photographsof the artistformerlyin his collection. An enlargementfrom a portion of a thirtyfive-millimeternegative,this photograph shows Evans at the height of his creative powers during his prolonged Depression-era sojourn in the American South. In 1935-36 Evans documented city and small-town streets,antebellum architecture,and AfricanAmerican culture in pictures of great authority and seeming transparency.Searchingfor what was most American about America, Evans distilled from the vernacularthe social truths of his time. A trenchantstatement on the dream, as well as the lie, of American society, this photograph shows the artist's ability to respond quickly and incisively to the shifting patternsof hidden meanings in the ongoing flow of life on the street. JLR

Richard Pousette-Dart American,I9i6-I992 Symphony Number i, The Transcendental

Lyonel Feininger American, 187I-I956

Quai at Douarnenez, Brittany I943

1941-42

Pen and ink, watercolor,and charcoalon paper

Oil on canvas

I87 8X 1358 in. (47.9 x 34.6 cm)

86x i4o0 in. (218.4 x 356.9 cm)

Inscribed(alongbottomedge):FeiningerQuai

Purchase, Lila Acheson Wallace Gift, I996

at Douarnenez, Brittany / III 13. viii.43

I996.367

Gift in memory of Helen Serger, I996 996.545

In the 19405 the AbstractExpressionistslooked to African,Pacific,Precolumbian,and Native Americanart for qualitiesthey wished to emulate. Describedby Pousette-Dartas "transcendent"-or beyond empiricalexperience-such Numberi, qualitiesareexemplifiedin Symphony The Transcendental, paintedwhen the artist was twenty-fiveyearsold. The scale, energeticpaint surface,and Numberi intenselyresonantcolor of Symphony embody the ambition and philosophy of AbstractExpressionism.Both improvisational and deliberatein technique, it shows an Americanartistbreakingaway from Cubism to develop a new abstractvocabulary.The composition featuresa varietyof circles,

teardrops,ovals, arcs,diamonds, and crosses repeatedwithin it like fugal variations.Organized around a grid that emergessporadically, these shapesevoke cosmic and organicforms. A few retainclearidentities:the bird at the lower left, the arcs resemblingprimitive weaponryat the upperleft, and the largecircle at the right of center that resemblesa cell. While Pousette-Darthas outlined the principalelements, the image as a whole seems to pulsate in and out of focus, from foregroundto background.This effect is complemented by the contrastbetween the overallblack, white, and earthentones and the bright color accents.

In 1943, the year that Feininger drew this

charming French seaportscene, he was once againliving in New YorkCity afterresiding for fifty years in Germany (1887-1937).

Although he remainedin Americafor the rest of his life and produced a number of pictures with Manhattan subjects,more often than not the remembered sights of Europe interjected themselvesinto his late work. This drawing presentsa dramaticallytilted aerialview of sailboatsand figuresby a dock in Douarnenez(Brittany),a town that Feininger visited with his wife and sons in the summer of I931. Twelve yearslater he may have been reminded of this happy time while launching

model boats in New York'sCentral Parkwith his grandson.A letterhe wrote on April4, I1943, recounts the "heapof old memories"that flooded back to him about his boyhood experiences on a sailboatand subsequenttimes with his sons. Four months later Feininger createdthis masterfuldrawingwith the greatest economy of line, shape, and color. The artist'shigh vantagepoint may deliberately recallthe experienceof looking down on toy boats in a pond. Thus gracefully,seamlessly, Feiningerwas able to mingle the presentwith the past. LMM

Francesca Woodman American, I958-I98I

Untitled Ca. I980

Sepiaprint 73/8 x 3634 in. (187 x 93.4 cm)

Purchase, The Herbert and Nannette Rothschild Memorial Fund Gift, in memory of Judith Rothschild, I996 I996.322

Photography'srole in the avant-garde expanded dramatically in the I970os, with

artistsusing the camerato document a wide arrayof performance-basedwork, in which the body was both subject and medium. This radicalnew art had an added force in the

hands of women artistswho, in reclaiming their bodies and, by extension, their identities as subject matter, revealedthe essentiallink between the personaland the political. As a young student at the Rhode Island School of Design, Woodman also used herselfas subject, merged with architecturalelements in claustrophobicinteriorsor transfiguredinto naturalforms such as trees. In these less explicitly political, more lyricalimages, the artistchartsalmost diaristicallythe states of her soul and her own quest for identity. This late work is a unique, virtuallylifesize print on architect'spaperand was

intended as a study for Woodman's Temple Project,an unfinished installationplanned for the AlternativeMuseum, New York City. Here, the artistposes as a monumental, headless caryatid;other studies show this motif repeatedas a frieze. Resurrectedfrom stone like Sylvia Plath's "LadyLazarus,"the colossal figure oscillatesbetween the flesh and its sculpted surrogate.Woodman's fierce repossessionof the femaleform from the arenaof male ingenuityand desireis one of the most potent statementsof her abbreviatedcareer. DE

Anselm Kiefer German, b. 1945 Bohemia

Lies by the Sea

1996 Oil, emulsion, shellac, charcoal, and powdered paint on burlap 76'8 X 2s16 2 in. (I93.4 x 549.9 cm) Inscribed (top left and diagonally along left side of road): Bohman liegt am Meer [Bohemia Lies by the Sea]

Purchase, Lila Acheson Wallace Gift and Joseph H. Hazen Foundation Purchase Fund, I997 I997-.4

While this recent landscapeis characteristic of Kiefer'scommand of scale and his coupling of deep perspectiveswith exceptionally rich impastoed surfaces,it conveys a lyrical, even elegiac mood that has emerged in the artist'swork since he left Germany to settle in southern Francein 1993.Along the center ridge and on either side of a rutted country road bloom an abundanceof pink-orange poppies, a flower associatedsince antiquity with dreams,sleep, and death. The poppy is also the emblem of militaryveterans,whose presence is evoked here by occasional drips

of paint the color of dried blood. Kieferhas furtherenriched the surfacewith streaksof shellac that reflectlight. He wrote the title of the work both along the extremelyhigh horizon line and along the left side of the road, where the partlyobscured letters diminish in size as they recede.Kiefertook the words from the title of a well-knownpoem by the Austrian writerIngeborgBachmann(I926-I973), which concernslongingfor utopia while recognizing that it can never be found, just as the former kingdom of Bohemia, landlocked in central Europe, can never lie by the sea. NR

AFRICA,

O C EANIA,

T HE

Commemorative Male Figure Zaire (Kongo),I9th century Wood,glass, metal,and kaolin H. 112 in. (29.2 cm) Purchase, Louis V. Bell Fund, Mildred Vander Poel Becker Bequest, Amalia Lacroze de Fortabat Gift, and Harris Dick Fund, i996

l~!~ .....'~?/Sit~ ~Brisbane

;996.28I

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~~ ~| ~~~ ~~ i~

...... f;,

Zeate

~' ~~~tations

~Not !, I_~"~0~

_6~~~~~

In Kongo culture figurativesculpturesdelinand concretize the threshold between the worlds of the living and the dead. Displayed in shrines, a seriesof wood sculpturesdepicting a male figureflankedby a courtlyentourage of wives, attendants,and retainershonored and commemorated important individuals. Part of a complex of art forms that afforded access to influential ancestors,such represenwere createdto be appreciatedfor their aesthetic excellence. This idealized image of a leader constituted the central protagonist of such an allegorical grouping. His meditative stance at once reflectsupon his destiny in the other world and his ongoing responsibilitiesto the living. The figure'sposition of leadershipis revealed through both its distinctive posture and signs of rank that include a patterned cap, filed teeth, and decorativescarification patterns. only has the Kongo master responsible for this work captureda great deal of expressionin the figure'sfacial features,but he has also boldly rendered the torso and positioned the arms to convey a sense of dynamism in repose. AL

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A M E R I C A S

Olowe of Ise Nigerian, d. 1938

Equestrian Veranda Post Nigerian (Yoruba),before1938 Wood H. 57 in. (144.8 cm)

Purchase, Lila Acheson Wallace Gift, i996 I996. 558

This monumental work was one of a series of carved architecturalsupports designed for the exterior courtyardof a Yoruba palace. It was commissioned by a king from the most renowned master sculptor in the history of Yoruba art, Olowe of Ise. The two-tiered composition embodies a formal dynamism that established Olowe's exceptional artistic reputation. Its principal personage, an equestrianwarrior,is depicted frontally above a female caryatidwith arms raisedin three-quarterview. Through this contrastin their alignment, the figuresat once reflect distinct attitudes while relating to each other fluidly. The compressed style of the upper half also contrastswith the greaterdegree of openness below. At the base two smaller figures radiateoutward at oblique angles. In addition to the inventiveness of their overall design, works by Olowe are noted for the attention given to surface detail. The mounted warriorholds a spear and pistol in either hand, and his vest, saddle, and horse's headgearare articulatedthrough deeply carved linear motifs. While innovative in its interpretation, the subject of this work is a classic emblem of regional leadership. In Yoruba art such equestrianfigures identify their patrons with martialconquest achievedthrough physicalmight. AL

Two Diadems Colombia(MiddleMagdalenaRiver), 5th-ioth century(?) Hammeredgold L. (each)2I 2 in. (54.5cm) Jan Mitchell and Sons Collection, Gift of Jan Mitchell, I996 1996.354.3,.4

Crowns and diadems are rareamong surviving Precolumbiangold objects, despite the importanceof head ornamentsin ancient Americancultures. It is not surprisingthat these diadems came from Colombia, where the greatestvarietyof personaladornmentsin gold was produced in ancient times. The exact findspot of the ornaments is unknown, but technologicallyand stylisticallythey are part of the southwesterngoldworking tradition in Colombia, where the hammering technique and realisticdepictions of human and animal figureswere emphasized. Hammering, the most basic technique, requiresskill and knowledge of the physical propertiesof the metal. For these diadems the gold was beaten with stone hammerson stone anvilsinto long, narrowsheets of even thinness. The centraldesigns, a human face and a broad-snoutedcaiman, were probably first drawn on the sheets with a tracingtool and subsequentlyembossed with chisels and punches while the metal restedon a soft surface, such as leatheror fine sand. The face, which appearsto have closed eyes, wears two sets of earspoolsand a headbandwith a diamond pattern.The dorsalscutes of the caiman areworked as rows of bosses. The diadems have three punched holes at each end for tying. HK

Feline Bottle Peru (CoastalWari), 6th-gth century Polychromeceramic H. 8 in. (20.3cm) Purchase, Rogers Fund and Arthur M. Bullowa Bequest, I996 i996.290

After A.D.500 large cities and expansivestates existed in the Andean region (now Peru and Bolivia). One of these powerful city-states was Wari, with its capital in the Ayacucho Valley in the Peruviancentral highlands. Wari influence extended from the mountains to the Pacific coast, where many fine, well-

preservedtextiles and ceramicsfrom this period were discovered in the desert sands of the valleys, as was the case here. The impressivepolychrome bottle has a modeledfelinehead at the neck and a flattened canteenlikechamber.The front legs of the feline areworked in low relief on both sides of the flask, the powerful paws with pointed claws touching fanged animals in profile painted on the sides of the chamberin raised roundels. On the narrowrim of the bottle are two stylized figureswith round, staringeyes, their tongues sticking out of toothy mouths. A chevronband encirclesthe spout. Imageson Wari ceramicsfrom the south coast,paintedin brown, ocher,gray,and white (outlinedin black)on red, depict recognizable animals and humans as well as enigmatic composite beings. They are all part of complex narratives,the meanings of which are at present not understood. HK

Three-CorneredStone Dominican Republic(Taino), I2th-i5th century Fossiliferouslimestone H. 634 in. (17. cm)

Purchase, Oscar de la Renta Gift, 1997 1997.35.2

Three-corneredstones, or trigonolitos,are among the more enigmatic objects made by the Taino peoples of the Caribbeanduring the centuriesbefore the arrivalof Columbus. Such works are of an unusual but consistent form: lozenge-shapedin "footprint"with threepronouncedbut rounded"points."They are known in plain and decoratedexamples, and, as they are concave on the bottom, they do not sit comfortablyon a flat surface.A prevalentimage among them is that of this compelling face, with large, sunken eye sockets and a wide, toothless mouth. The face has a particularlyfierceaspect,an imposingquality often found in Taino art, where the human

figure in skeletonized form is frequently portrayed.The meaningof much Taino imageryis conjectural, and opinions differ on the trigonolitos.Some believe that they are depictions of deities, while others think that they are images needed to intercedewith deities. This example is said to have been found at the well-knownsite of SanJuan de la Maguana in the Dominican Republic. Part of one of the majorTaino chiefdoms at the end of the fifteenth century, San Juan de la Maguana is noted for its large sacredplaza, now called the Corralde los Indios. JJ

ASIA

Li Gonglin

Silver Service Chinese,Songdynasty(96o-I279) Parcel-giltsilver Diam. 48s in. (11.I cm) to 7 in. (i9 cm)

self-expression. His work established the three desiderata of scholar-painting: moral purpose, stylistic references to the past, and expressive

Chinese, ca. 1041-II06

The Classic of Filial Piety

calligraphic brushwork.

Purchase, The Vincent Astor Foundation

Chinese, Northern Song dynasty (960-1127), ca. 1085

Gift, 1997

Handscroll,ink on silk

I997.33.'-7

8s8 x 18734

B.C.) teaches a simple lesson: begun humbly at home, filial piety not only ensures success in life but also brings peace

This group of silver tableware, consisting of three conical bowls, a bowl stand, and a pair of dishes, is decorated with chased and gilded

in.

The text of The Classicof Filial Piety (ca. 350-200

(21.9 x 475.5

cm) From the P. Y. and Kinmay W. Tang Family Collection, Partial and Promised Gift of Oscar L. Tang and Jack C. Tang,

and harmony to the world. During the Song dynasty it became one of the thirteen

I996

classics of neo-Confucianism

1996.479

a cornerstone of traditional Chinese moral

Song scholar-artists believed that painting

teaching until modern times. Li's images do more than illustrate the text. Using his art to

and the subsequent Yuan dynasty (1279-I1368), when strong foreign influences were evident in Chinese metalwork.

was not just a recordof sensory experience

criticize, exhort, and subvert, Li presents

but a reflection of the artist's mind. In giving form to this ideal, Li Gonglin transformed

subtle commentarieson the Classic'smoral

The same forms of bowls, stands, and dishes can be found in tableware of the Song period in other media, such as lacquer and porcelain.

Chinese art. Prior to Li's time, painting served a public function: it was primarily dec-

bird-and-flower patterns. Their forms and decoration are in a purely Chinese style-in contrast to silverware of the earlier Tang dynasty (6i8-907)

This was a time when bamboo became a popular subject in painting, which in turn influenced the decorative arts, as can be seen in the patterns on this silver service.

orative or didactic. With Li, painting joined music, poetry, and calligraphy as a medium of

and remained

relevance to the Song world. Like the paintings, the calligraphy (not shown) is executed in an archaic style recognizable to the connoisseur as a plea for a return to simple virtues. MKH

JCYW

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Detail

~ ~ XS~~~~~~~~.~~~-The

i ^g g ~!~~~~~~~~

?embellishes

:~i,~>~3i~?~g<~!s~ Elokapala,

gilding of the helmet's fittings consists of two layers:silver foil burnished onto a crosshatchedground, over which a layer of gold was applied by mercurygilding. This unusual two-stage technique gives the gilding its deep golden-yellow luster and servesto highlight the crisplyengravedornament that the helmet's finial, brim, and brow plate. In the centerof the brow is the figureof ShakyamuniBuddhaseatedon a lotus throne. The Buddhais flankedby two of the four the heavenlykings who protect the Buddhist world. Lively dragons, one on each side of a flamingpearl,appearon the finial and brim, a standardmotif on virtuallyall later Chinese ceremonialhelmets. Here, however, the design is renderedwith a freshnessand originalitythat are unknown on later,more stereotypicalexamples. DJL

Helmet Chinese,Ming dynasty(I368-1644), ca. 1400-I450

Steel,gold, silver,and textile H. 8X4in. (21 cm) Purchase, Bashford Dean Memorial Collection, Funds from various donors, by exchange, 1997 i997.i8

This helmet is distinctive both for its rarity very little armorsurvivesfrom the Ming period and for the beauty of its engraved and gilt decoration. In some aspects of its form and ornament it can be considereda precursorto the more familiarceremonial helmets thatweremade laterin the Ming and throughoutthe Qing dynasty(I644-I9II).

Painting Table Chinese,Ming dynasty(I368-I644), late i6th-early i7th century Wood(huang-hua-li [Dalbergiaodorifera]) H. 3I 2 in. (80 cm) Purchase, The Dillon Fund Gift, i996 I996.338

Detail

This imposing painting table is notable for the quality of its wood (a kind of rosewood), its generous proportions, and its elegant simplicity. The top is made up of two panels supportedfrom below by five transverse braces,tenoned ends of which are visible in the concave edge of the thick top frame.The slightly splayed recessedlegs, with their distinctive squared-cylindricalcross section, are joined to the top with elongated bridlejoints featuringa beaded-edgeapron and rectangular beaded spandrels.Double stretchersat each end give the legs added stability.The undersideof the top has retainedmuch of the originallacquerand ramie(fabric)underlayer. The table is a standardMing-dynasty type, as attested by the numerous examples illustratedin late-Ming wood-block prints as well as by miniaturemodels excavatedfrom tombs. Although such tables continued to be made during the Qing dynasty (I644-1911), the massiveproportionsand classicsimplicity of this example bespeak a late-Ming date of manufacture.

Ding Yunpeng Chinese, i547-ca.

I62I

Eighteen Lohans Chinese,Ming dynasty(1368-1644), datedI609 Handscroll,ink onpaper 814 x 92 in. (2 x 233.5 cm)

Purchase, Friends of Asian Art Gifts, I996 I996.240

Lohans (luohanin Chinese, arhatin Sanskrit), disciples of the Buddha who reachedenlightenment throughmeditationand self-discipline, were widely regardedin China as guardian saintswho remainedin the world as protectors of the faithfuluntil the coming of the future Buddha.In the late sixteenthcentury,as the Ming dynastyenduredpoliticalcorruptionand growing social unrest, the lohan cult became popularas disillusionedintellectualsturnedto Chan (Zen in Japanese)Buddhism and the common peoplewereincreasinglyattractedto messianicreligiousmovements.In this contexta new, expressionisticstyle of Buddhistpainting

arosethatled to a revivalof figurepainting, one of the initiators of which was Ding Yunpeng. EighteenLohansis a fusion of Ding's early, meticulous fine-line drawing style with the psychologicalintensity of the archaisticmanner of his earlymaturity.There is a quality of introspection in these images, painted when he was sixty-two. Ding no longer depends upon virtuoso drawing or exaggerationto energizehis figures. Instead, his sensitive brushworkdrawsthe viewer into the composition. Like the path of gradualenlightenment that these ascetics epitomize, these images are not instantly comprehendible, but must be contemplated slowly. It is only then that one discoverstheir striking individuality and spiritualforce. MKH

MKH

YouthfulManjusri as the Child God of the Wakamiyaat the Kasuga Shrine Japanese, late Kamakura period (I85-I333)

Ink, color,and gold leaf on silk, mountedas hangingscroll Image 3o x 19 in. (76.1 x 48.4 cm)

Promised Gift of The Mary and Jackson Burke Foundation Inc., and Purchase, Lila Acheson Wallace Gift, i997 1997.113

This noble youth is a Shinto deity, the titular god of the Wakamiya (literally,"Young Prince Shrine"),founded about II135in Nara, within the compound of KasugaShrine, one of the oldest (est. 768) Shinto institutions. Although the god is shown in courtly attire, his lotus pedestal and circularmandorlagive him the appearanceof a Buddhistdeity. Poised in midair, the figure radiates an aura of deepest mystery. Depicted as a young man, symbolizing the spirit of renewal,he is also a youthful incarnation of the Buddhist god of wisdom, Manjusri (Monju in Japanese),whose sword "severs"ignorance. He is thus a product of the effort to reconcileJapan'snative Shinto beliefswith the importedreligionof Buddhism, a conflatedimageblendingBuddhisticonography with the Shinto ideation of its deities. Paintings of KasugaShrine were popular duringthe thirteenthand fourteenthcenturies. Most focused on the compound itself, at the foothillsof Mounts Kasugaand Mikasa.Images of the god Wakamiyaalone areextremelyrare. The exquisiteexecutionof this work-the delicatebrushlines for hairand brows, gentle facial features,and elegant textile designs of cherryblossoms(long associatedwith Kasuga), butterflies,swallows,and pink lotus-makes it an unusually refinedlate-Kamakurareligious painting. MM

Melon-Shaped Ewer Korean, Koryodynasty(918-1392), i2th century Porcelaneousstonewarewith celadonglaze H. 82 in. (2s.6 cm)

Gift of Mrs. Roger G. Gerry, I996 I996.47I

This elegantewer,used for wine, firstenhanced aristocraticgatheringsin twelfth-century Korea,and it will be a featuredtreasureof the new galleriesfor Koreanart.The gracefulform, refineddecoration,and etherealblue-green glazemarkit as one of the finestproductsof the royalkilns of the Koryodynastyat the peak of theirlong-fabledproduction. Although Chinese wares provided the initial inspiration, by the twelfth century even Chinese connoisseursacknowledgedthe superior quality of Koryo celadon, as this ware is known in the West after the distinctive color of the glaze. Such green to blue-greenhues result from firing a glaze that contains a small amount of iron oxide in a reduced atmosphere at high temperature,a technique first assayedin China, perhapsas earlyas the third century. This vessel'ssoftly roundedshape with molded and incised decorationadapts naturalforms of melon and bambooin a mannerakinto Chinesemetalworkof the Tang dynasty (618-907). Its inventiveuse of bamboo, a Confucian symbol of rectitude,would have struck an appreciativechord for Korean princes and Chinese literati alike.

Panchama Ragini Page from a Dispersed Ragamala (Garland of Musical Modes) Series Indian (Rajasthan[Bikaner]),ca. I640 Ink, opaquewatercolor,and gold onpaper 73/4X478 in. (19.7 x I2.4 cm)

Purchase, Patricia Phelps de Cisneros Gift, in honor of Mahrukh Tarapor, i996 I996.378

In this illustrationof a musical mode a maidservantholding a peacock-featherfly whisk attends a rajaand his consort in a pavilion. On the terraceoutside, two musicians receive payment from the nobleman for their services. Judging from the painting's quality of drawing,color, and execution, RajaKaran Singh of Bikaner (r. i632-69) must have

enriched his atelierwith artistswho had worked or trained at that of the Mughal emperor.The richlygilded, finely detailed, and elaboratelypatternedtextilesare described with greatbeauty,as is the light fallingon the treesbeyond the enclosure.The observationof natureas well as an intent to capturepsychology and gesture are evident in the rendering of the figures.The raja'sfeaturesareso similar to those in two laterdrawingsof KaranSingh that it may be a portrait.In contrastto this naturalism,other elements relatemore closely to the indigenous Rajputpictorialtradition. The architecturalsetting of red sandstoneand marbleexistsin a limited space, in which distance is only weaklyimplied. No attempthas been made to renderthe two foregroundsteps in a coherentperspective. SK 93

Standing Male Ruler(?) Thailand(orIndonesia?),Khmer-Shrivijaya style,i2th-i3th century Bronze H.

in. (38. cm)

Purchase, The J. H. W. Thompson Foundation Gift, I996 g996.368 In I974 or 1975 the Museum was offered for sale an extraordinary and enigmatic Southeast Asian bronze sculpture. While its quality was obvious and its historic importance recognized, for a variety of reasons it could not be purchased. Now, more than twenty years later, after reappearing at public auction, it has been acquired for our collections. Advances in scholarship over the last two decades have not provided explanations for the sculpture's unusual combination of disparate stylistic elements. An assessment of these elements strongly suggests Thailand as the probable country of origin. The arrangement of the hair and head adornments on this unidentified figure, however, derives from styles of the Indonesian maritime empire of Shrivijaya. That empire maintained a strong presence in Peninsular Thailand. Two major components in the unusual stylistic admixture, on the other hand, reflect the sculptural traditions of the Khmer empire of Cambodia, perhaps during the late twelfth-early thirteenth century reign of Jayavarman VII. The figure's elaborate deco-

ratedgarment (sampot),while reminiscent of styles from Jayavarman VII's time, is quite unusual. While the physiognomy here bears some relation to generic Jayavarman VII faces, it is so particularized that it must depict some specific unknown person, perhaps a local ruler in Peninsular Thailand. ML

Vishnu Resting on the Serpent Shesha (Vishnu Anantashayin) Cambodian,Angkorperiod, KohKerstyle, ca. 2nd quarterof the ioth century Stone L. 858 in. (2i.8 cm) Samuel Eilenberg Collection, Gift of Samuel Eilenberg, 1996 1996.466

In Hindu belief, at the end of each world age, after the universe has been destroyed, it returnsto its primal state as a cosmic ocean, without form or bounds. Vishnu sleeps there, restingon the floating serpent, Shesha-also called Ananta (endless)-waiting for the appropriatemoment for the re-creationof the universe.When Vishnu wakes from his slumber, there emergesfrom his navel a lotus, upon which sits the four-headedgod Brahma, the deity who createsthe new universe. Here Vishnu gracefullyreclineson the coiled Shesha, his head framed by the great serpent's five cobralike hoods. Also present is Lakshmi,Vishnu's consort, who gently

massagesthe god's legs as if to assistin reawakening him. Covering the backgroundare lotuses and wavy lines that suggest the cosmic ocean. The psychological impassivityof this scene, at great odds with the dramaticsignificance of the moment, is extraordinary. Judging from the squarishproportions of Vishnu's face and the costume he wears, this sculpture belongs to the Koh Ker period (921-ca. 945) or at the latest the PreRup period (947-ca. 965). The even wear on certain areasof the image, coupled with the polished surfaceof the back, strongly suggests that at some time it was used as a whetstone. ML

STATEMENT OF OWNERSHIP, MANAGEMENT, AND CIRCULATION

Publicationtitle:THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART BULLETIN Publicationno: 885-660 Date offiling:OctoberI, I997 Issuefrequency: Quarterly No. of issuespublishedannually:Four Annualsubscription price:$25.00, or freeto MuseumMembers FifthAvenue,New York,N.Y. I0028-oi0198 Completemailingaddressof knownofficeofpublication:IOOO orgeneralbusinessofficeofpublisher: Completemailingaddressof headquarters FifthAvenue,New York,N.Y. 0028-oi0198 IOOO Full namesand addresses ofpublisher,editor,and managingeditor: Publisher: The MetropolitanMuseumof Art, IOOO FifthAvenue,New York,N.Y. 10028-oi0198 Editor:JoanHolt, IOOO FifthAvenue,New York,N.Y. 10028-o0198 ManagingEditor:None Owner:The MetropolitanMuseumof Art, oo1000 FifthAvenue,New York,N.Y. 10028-0198 Knownbondholders, and othersecurityholdersowningor holdingonepercent mortgages, or moreof the localamountof bonds,mortgages, and othersecurities: None

A. Totalcopiesprinted(net pressrun) B. Paidand/orrequestedcirculation 1. Salesthroughdealers,carriers, streetvendors,and countersales 2. Mail subscription(paidand/orrequested) C. Totalpaid and/orrequestedcirculation D. Freedistributionby mail E. Freedistributionoutsidethe mail F. Totalfreedistribution(sum of E and D) G. Totaldistribution(sum of C and F) H. Copies not distributed 1. Office use, left over,unaccounted,spoilage 2. Returnsfrom news agents I. Total (sum of G, H1 and H2) J. Percentagepaid and/orrequestedcirculation

Averagenumberof copies duringpreceding12 months (Oct. 96-Sept. 97)

Singleissuesnearest to filingdate (July97)

II9,I20

II8,325

None

112,825 112,825

111,8oo00 III,800

2,361 3,768 6,129 II8,954

2,700 3,725 6,425 118,225

i66 None

100 None

II19,I20

II8,325

95%

94%

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The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin (ISSN 0026-152I)

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