Cabinet of Curiosities

By Mary Jo Gibson

July 27, 2012

After weeks of struggle with computer issues, I am pleased to be back with a new Cabinet of Curiosities.  Realizing that banging my head on my desk wasn’t solving the problem, I decided to make an additional contribution to the economy of Dell and order a new laptop.  Now I can get back to what I enjoy doing the most, research and blogging.  Let us peruse what is in the hidden drawers of this week’s Cabinet.

I don’t care if the monkey is biting the maid, I am having my portrait painted.. shh

Queensland Art Gallery in Brisbane, Australia is hosting ‘Portrait of Spain: Masterpieces from the Prado‘ featuring masterworks by Velaquez, Goya, Melendez, El Greco and Ribera.  This spectacular painting belongs to Princess Isabella Clara Eugenia, eldest daughter of Philip II of Spain.  The full length portrait by Alonso Sanchez Coello was commissioned to immortalize one of the most important women of the Hapsburg dynasty.  And it shows, from the incredible period costume she wears, the jewelry on her hands, the cameo of her father held between her fingertips, all speak to the wealth of Spain during this period of history.

Kneeling beside the Princess is the family servant, Magdalena Ruiz; her appearance is part of a long tradition of portraits in which servants, pages, jesters and dwarfs appear with members of the royal family.  This painting is coded with the symbolism of power and conquest, at a time when the absolute belief in the rule and perpetuation of the monarchy was paramount.  Propaganda in art is evident all through history, but the monkeys?  That is really an over the top statement; nevermind that the Princess appears to be petting her servant’s head.

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Virtual Tourism

This week, Andreas at TravelWriticus, wrote about his adventures touring the Bildean region of Austria.  Tempting pictures of local cuisine, numerous sights, and classes, all made for a virtual tour for the rest of us. He made latte art, distilled schnaps, and slept in a ‘haunted’ castle.   His photo of Salzburg set against the mountains is breathtaking; cue Julie Andrews and the Sound of Music.

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Old Pictures, Treasure Waiting to be Discovered

Boxes of old family photos tend to hold interesting stories.  I received a small collection of old family pictures that I have spent many hours reviewing.  Each grouping tells a story of my family and their descendants, the places they lived and their daily activities.  I would caution anyone that is considering throwing out these historical items.  With a little research, donations can be made to appreciative historical societies.    What’s That Picture is a great blog with vintage photos, mysteries and discoveries all based on the photographs that someone once discarded.  There may be treasure hidden in those dusty boxes; I found a long forgotten Uncle, and a murder mystery worthy of my research efforts.

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The Thirst for Intellectual Stimulation is Ubiquitous

The History Channel has been languishing in their recent programming, Swamp People, Ice Road Truckers, and every possible film clip of aliens created in a conspiracy theorists’ shed, just to mention a few of the disappointments.  I did find a nice addition to their website The History Channel Club featuring History Made Every Day.  The clips are short sound bites, but with some expansion, I think they can make this into a worthy project.  Why don’t they consult the Book of Days website for deeper content, is a question I would pose to their researchers.  History isn’t just about the current collective memory of your audience.

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Vexed Man at The Getty Museum

How many artists over time have suffered with some kind of mental illness?  The number seems to be unbalanced in comparison with other lifestyle choices.  This bust is one of a series of 69 portrait busts produced in the last thirteen years of Franz Messerschmidt’s life while he was suffering from mental illness.  A contemporary wrote that the artist told him while making the character heads, his hope was to ward away the evil spirits that invaded his mind.

In an interesting aside, the Getty also holds in its collections “Irises” by Vincent Van Gogh, painted while residing in an asylum at Saint Remy, France.

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Beautiful Libraries

Gazing around at the unruly collection of books scattered in many areas of my house, I wonder if they will ever end in a library like the ones depicted on Beautiful-Libraries.com, the showcase of some outstanding places where books live.  The English Country House Libraries page shares some spectacular photos; some just appear to be showplaces, while others look like a room that is truly being used for a purpose.

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Google some Antarctic Streetviews to keep cool during the hot days

The huts and surrounding landscape of the great South Pole expedition of 1911-1912 can be viewed on the Atlantic magazine site, with interactive Google Streetview capability in the pictures.  I find it fascinating that these capsules of time are still intact, all the artifacts laid out on the tables to peruse.  Looking at the sunlight rooms, it seems unimaginable that the summer weather is 60 degrees below zero, the time when Google bravely ventured on their expedition.

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The Harvard Museum of Natural History

Harvard University has an item or two that one would not expect to find in a Natural History Museum.  The institution houses a collection of 3,200 hand crafted glass models of flowering plants created between 1866 and 1936 by German glass artists Leopold and Rudolph Blaschka.  Not on display are 430 glass models of marine invertebrates, such as this glass model of a Portuguese man of war, which Harvard acquired in the late 19th century.  A collection such as this should be on display, at least on line, a unique contribution to natural history by disciplined glass artisans.

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iPad App Feature

The Life of Art app has been taken to a new level at the Getty Museum.  Taking selected objects from the museum’s collection, and perceived in different ways.  Encouraging viewers to spend time in examination, understanding how they were made and functioned, why they were collected and how they are displayed.  For each item, the app provides historical notes and the ability to rotate the item on screen and see it from different angles.  The basic app can be used at any time, while visitors can use a special version that adds augmented reality features.  The goal is to learn whether these apps will encourage visitors to spend more time with pieces of art.  Myself, the only discouragement to viewing art for longer periods of time would be the hours of the museum, and maybe time constraints imposed by teenage impatience.

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And in the last drawer…

Since the Olympics are taking place in London this year, there is no shortage of news concerning all things on the storied isle.  I managed to find an interesting video on YouTube discussing the City of London, as opposed to London itself.  Confused?  The witty piece reminded me why I appreciate their idiosyncrasies.

Extra bonus, in case you missed the opening ceremonies, the Queen and James Bond.

James Bond and the Queen

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On this whirlwind of curiosities I have taken you to the South Pole, Australia, private libraries in England, Harvard University, Austria, California, London and the City of London. I don’t know about you, but I need a frappucino after all this virtual tourism! I hope you enjoyed my Cabinet of Curiosities, join me next Friday to see what I have collected. What unique things have you collected on your virtual tours?
Cheers,

Mary Jo

Morbid Curiosity at the Chicago Cultural Center

Museum Monday

“Morbid Curiosity”, an exhibition at the Chicago Cultural Center, is my latest Museum Monday feature.  I was fortunate to speak with the collector, Richard Harris, for an interview, and his enjoyable commentary speaks to all of us that have a curious nature.

Richard Harris, collector, Morbid Curiosity

Retired from a career of selling decorative art to high-end interior designers, Mr. Harris started collecting antiquarian illustrated and natural books, before moving to prints by Rembrandt, Picasso and Matisse.  These he sold to begin his search for the pieces that would comprise his current collection, Morbid Curiosity.

His first purchase was a painting by the 17^th century Dutch artist Adriaen van Utrecht, over the next decade his collection grew to include thousands of pieces.  Creating a collection of his own definition, the universality of the subject did not limit what was available.  Included are relatively unknown artists whose work caught his eye, as well as prints by a number of well-known artists including Jasper Johns and Rembrandt.  The items are not categorized as trophy art, but the collection itself is the treasure beyond compare.

Ivory Horn, Death, Knight and the Devil, artist unknown

Mr. Harris views these objects as a starting point for the discussions of death; to share insights, wishes and stories, not to fear death but to bring the subject into the accepted normalcy of another life event.  The central theme of the display is “the hollowness of the world’s pleasures in the face of death”, but I was intrigued by the abundance of rare, historical images that could be found at the Cultural Center.

The major components are the “War Room” highlighting the atrocities of war in works ranging from the 17^th century to present day, and the “Kunstkammer of Death” featuring a wide ranging survey of mortality across cultures and spiritual traditions.

“Kunstkammer of Death”

One of the first images I encountered was a diorama by Michel de Spiegelaere reflecting the influence of some of the Cabinet of Curiosity pieces collected by Peter the Great in Russia.  “The whole concept of the Cabinet can be viewed in the Kunstkammer, a European precursor to the museum, part gallery, part study room.  All royalty, especially northern European, possessed a room such as this for display of natural treasures.  Peter the Great would purchase whole collections, but did not collect individually himself.”  I recently covered this ruler’s collections in my own Cabinet of Curiosities.

A set of figurines, ‘Dance of Death Figures’, was purchased en masse in France at an auction center outside of Paris.  These unique items would take a lifetime to collect individually, and were produced in the mid-19^th century making them a rare find.  “The imagery is fragile, the pieces are not fired, and easily discerned to be influenced by the art of Hans Holbein.  The clear latex ‘wedding cake’ display allows viewing at all angles, allowing for a fuller appreciation of the ‘art of the time’.”

Dance of Death figures

Detail

The oldest piece of his collection was not displayed, a delicate carved jade skull, from China, dating to 2000 BC.  A painting by Marius van Reymerswaele, ‘St. Jerome in his Study’, dates to 1560, “but some of the Pre Columbian Day of the Dead grouping includes several pieces that predate the painting”.

Coat of Arms with Skull, Albrecht Durer, 1471-1528

Albrecht Durer’s “Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse” is one of many historically significant prints on display.  Harris remarked that “Durer’s fame surpassed the great Italian artists of his time, because print making gave the world portable art.  The ability to transport prints enabled the spread of works such as Durer’s across Europe.  He was not only a great artist, but an astute business man.”

Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, Albrecht Durer, 1471-1528

Historical medical illustrations by Jacques-Fabien Gautier-d’Agoty from 1759 are part of the exhibition and several books and individual drawings are in Mr. Harris’s private collection.  “While d’Agoty was not a great anatomist, he was proliferate, and his son continued the art of anatomical illustration.”

Whites Physiological Manikin

A great chandelier of bones graces the center of the room, by the London artist Jodie Carey. ”The design is made of over 3,000 pieces; each molded and hand finished.  It is a set of three, and the other two are in storage.”

In the Eyes of Others, Jodie Carey

Mr. Harris “does not have a master checklist, the items comprise what he likes, and communicate death in every type of form.  It is the art that drives his collection, not the artists.”

While the exhibition covered a majority of art genres, the only pieces that were not acceptable to display were due to their fragile condition and age.  The Chicago Cultural Center was open to all aspects in the expression of death for this event.  In recognition of Mr. Harris’ contributions to culture in the City of Chicago, the Mayor’s office declared January 28, 2012 “Richard Harris Day.”

My thanks to Richard Harris for his time, and for sharing his beautiful art with the public; more collectors need to take their treasures out of storage and invite the public to share their vision.  If the subject of death can be brought forth into art, what else is available that we can savor and discuss?

Click on the photo to link to more information about this exhibition.

My thanks to Gemma Garcia, who informed me of this show at the Chicago Cultural Center.  Please feel free to post any comments or questions in the space below.  There will be a new Cabinet of Curiosities this week, featuring some of the latest interactive news from museums around the world.

Cheers,

Mary Jo