Cabinet of Curiosities

1777-81, Roll top desk, Waddesdon, The Rothschild Collection

March 31, 2012

By Mary Jo Gibson

Welcome to my Cabinet of Curiosities, where I share some of the interesting and unique places I have discovered on the internet as I research history and art.

My latest discovery comes from the Victorian era; the resurgence of this influence is reflected in the Steampunk genre of writing and art, most predominately seen in the latest Sherlock Holmes movies.  Victorian Crime and Punishment offers a true compendium of the justice of the day based on real case histories.  Photographs of the criminals are linked to case studies with stories of the crimes taken from the archive.  A narrative section with animated features accompanies the photograph by clicking on the tab ‘View the Case.’  Each story is moving and eye opening, describing the daily struggles of these individuals, and the lot life has cast for them.  Guides for teachers are an added bonus, making this a great resource for educators and novices alike.

Illuminated Manuscripts

Digitized manuscripts are coming from great institutions everywhere; these long hidden works of art that once were only viewed by their privileged owners are available online from several sources.  The British Library’s archive covers over 500 years of these impressive, handmade books.  A first draft of Handel’s Messiah, a notebook of Leonardo da Vinci sketches, Alice’s Adventures Underground, written and illustrated by Lewis Carroll, and the Bedford Hours, a 15^th century treasure owned by Henry V’s brother, the Regent of France.  I chose the Sforza Hours because of their connection to the Borgias, one of my favorite historical subjects.  These images are some of the finest surviving Renaissance manuscripts.  The lavish decoration of the book was painted in two stages; the first around 1490 for Bona Sforza, widow of Galeazzo Sforza, Duke of Milan; the second for her nephew’s widow, Margaret of Austria, Regent of the Netherlands, who inherited the manuscript in 1504.

Bona Sforza, 1449-1503

Sforza Hours illuminated page

Giovan Pietro Birago, Bona Sforza’s miniaturist, had completed and delivered part of the book when a substantial section of the remainder was stolen, never to be returned.   Thirty years later, between 1517 and 1520, Margaret of Austria commissioned Gerard Horenbout to paint 16 additional miniatures to fill the gaps caused by the theft, to complement Birago’s work.

Looted Cultural Masterpieces

Ceilia Gallerani, mistress of Ludovico Sforza, Duke of Milan, Lady with Ermine, Leonardo da Vinci

The past few weeks, new reports about Nazi looted art have been appearing in the press, hopefully to ignite a new wave of support.  The New York Times  shares the story of Monet’s “Torrent de la Creuse,” and the twisted tale of powerful French families fighting over its rumored existence.  One particular fact in this long running affair struck me, “new clues could come when archives from a 1949 war-crimes trial of a German diplomat who organized the looting are unsealed in 2024.”  2024?  What kind of justice is this?  I have written to the Claims Conference on Jewish Material Claims against Germany for further information and look forward to their response.  I plan to share this in a future Museum Monday devoted to looted cultural property.

Torrent de la Creuse, Monet

Church at Elligen, Germany, filled with looted art

Another story making the rounds is the upcoming expedition to the Erzgebirge Mountains.  Artinfo.com  had the most complete story, balancing all the facts against the sensationalism of this possible discovery.  Pieces by Monet, Cezanne and Manet may be secreted in an old silver mine in the Erzgebirge Mountains near the Czech-German border.  These works would be from the collection of Baron Ferenc Hatvany, missing over 60 years.  The twists and turns of the story are worthy of John le Carre, but one thing is certain, art stolen during this era tends to trickle out into the mainstream eventually, given the economic turmoil of the day.  Whatever the true intentions of the parties involved if any art is found, the return of the cultural masterpieces will close a chapter, but the story will never be complete.

Wentworth Woodhouse

Another English country estate has crossed my path of research, Wentworth Woodhouse; truly massive, with 365 rooms, 1,000 windows, five miles of underground passages and a front façade twice the size of Buckingham Palace.  Marble floors, 150 acres of park land, and so many winding corridors guests were once presented with caskets of colored confetti to sprinkle in order to find their way back to their rooms; the very definition of opulence.

Tomb of William Wentworth, Earl of Strafford

Built between 1725 and 1750 for Thomas Watson-Wentworth, the Marquess of Rockingham, prime ministers, earls and millionaires have made it their home.  The death of the last Earl of Fitzwilliam in 1948 left no direct heir, leading to a sale of the contents and a split in the ownership.  The true tragedy being that the house was never opened to the public after WWII as were most of the stately homes.  A series of private owners and institutions over the remaining years left it languishing in South Yorkshire.

The property was rescued through a purchase in 1999 by the Newbold family for a paltry sum; plans to restore the magnificent structure and bring the palatial pile to prominence in the local community once again has catalyzed interest on an international scale.  Plans include a museum, 70 bed luxury hotel, spa, conference facilities and office space, the goal is to secure the future of the house and place it in a charitable trust for new generations to enjoy.

The Wiki page describing the architectural history of the house is somewhat cumbersome, but worth the look to discover more about the history of this estate.

Titania Palace

A veteran of the Boer War sits outside sketching, while his young, imaginative daughter plays in the garden.  The child’s excited insistence of seeing fairies amongst the trees roots, darting away to their underground dwelling, sparks a thought that soon evolves into a thirty year labor of love.

The construction of Titania’s Palace began in 1907 by Sir Nevile Wilkinson, designed as a dwelling place for the Fairy Queen Titania, and her family.  Consisting of 18 rooms, with hand carved mahogany furniture and more than 3000 miniature treasures from all over the world, the structure never became his daughter’s playhouse, Gwendolyn Wilkinson grew up before its completion.  Sir Nevile had more profound plans for his masterpiece; Queen Mary inaugurated the palace in 1922, and exhibitions around the world raised substantial funds for deprived and handicapped children.

A great history of this handmade masterpiece can be found here, with several accompanying photos describing the contents.  The palace has been exhibited in Denmark since 1980.

A Pope’s Ring

The Metropolitan Museum of Art never fails to find at least one unique item that rouses my curiosity each week.  Having never visited this great repository of art, I wonder if I would ever see enough to satisfy my endless thirst for art and history.  A week doesn’t seem long enough.

This ring made of gilt brass with blue glass dates to 1464-71, the reign of Pope Paul II.  At the corners of the bezel are emblems of the four Evangelists, and on the sides are the shield of Paul II and that of the French crown.  Papal rings have been used as investitures to establish diplomatic credentials, much like the Medici used carved jewels to establish their influence.  An accompanying essay on the Church during the Renaissance is available at the Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History.

Closing this week’s Cabinet of Curiosities, I leave you with the first flowers of spring, by Jean Baptiste Monnoyer (1636-1699), from the High Museum of Art.

Join me for Museum Monday where I explore the City of New York, compliments of the iPad app, Museum Planet.  Buildings, parks, antique stained glass, and their history tell the story of this ever changing landscape.  Museum Planet will also be featured in an upcoming Reader’s Digest article in April.

Until then,

Cheers,

Mary Jo

Museum Monday from the iPad

March 12, 2012

By Mary Jo Gibson

If you are wishing for a trip to Europe to explore great art, but the expense of travel has placed this dream of out of reach, virtual tourism at its finest can be found on the App Store.  At first glance there wasn’t much offered, mostly wiki stuff and tourism information.  Not enough of what I was looking for, until I found Museum Planet.  They changed my mind about what is possible with an app devoted to individual destinations, history and art.

Their Venice, Italy tour app encompasses the usual tourist destinations, but includes several off the beaten path areas as well.  Each chapter of Museum Planet‘s Venice library covers the founding of the site, history of construction, architectural design and religious influences.  Panoramic views of the exterior and interior fill each tour.  The greatest attribute of this app is the ability to zoom into each photograph, allowing the user to inspect the details of statues, paintings and architectural nuances.  The narrative covers a myriad of subjects emphasizing the history and description of the picture.  But the text includes so many other items in regards to the individuals and their lives.  All things I search for endlessly while compiling posts on subjects that interest myself, and my readers.

The depth and intricacy of coverage is incomparable to any other app discussing history and art.  My personal favorite of the chronicle is the pronunciation of complicated names.  Having a limited vocabulary of the Italian language, Ciao and other such greetings amount to very little; but Museum Planet keeps it simple, and now I manage to pronounce even the most obscure sculptor’s name.

Ease of use is another plus to this app.  A YouTube clip shows just how simple it is to use their library, remove the text from the narrative and concentrate on the images.  There is even a searchable Ad Hoc that allows you to look for specific items when you may not remember where you heard the information in an earlier chapter.  I have repeated their tours more than once in order to glean all the information from the image and the text.  Purchasing several tourist books and possibly a textbook or two would not come close to what is offered in this versatile app.

I have two personal favorites from the Venice tour; The Basilica di Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari obviously one of the ‘must see’ places in the city.  A Google Earth image shows the location of the Basilica in relation to other churches, and the distance to the Grand Canal.  An exterior view of a typical, quaint Italian church belies the beauty that lies within.  Titian’s “Assumption of the Virgin” graces the altar, flanked by marble columns with semicircular Gothic windows as the back drop.  This stunning painting is only the beginning of the many artworks, sculptures, and monuments found in this building.  The tomb of the sculptor Antonio Canova is located in this Basilica.  The doorway of the tomb is open, with many sculpted figures in mourning, each a symbol of their own.  A mourning woman to the right of the doorway actually holds an urn containing Canova’s heart.  The informative narrative details each of the sculptures and their significance to the tomb.

The Basilica di Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari is one of those great churches with an incredible amount of religious art that Venice is known for, including another Titian, “Ca’Pesaro Madonna”.  The walls are filled with sculpture, reliefs, extravagant monuments; I am sure precious hours could be expended here on a visit while filling the senses with wonder; but there is one sarcophagus that must be mentioned, if only for the unique features of the sculpted figures.

Doge Giovanni Pesaro has an impressive monument to his seventy years of life, designed by Baldassare Longhena and sculpted by Melchior Barthel.   Dramatic use of black marble against the white makes a unique statement, and two bronze figures representing death are particularly realistic.  But the images of the four slaves holding up the monument strike the most memorable image.  Their individual facial features convey strong personalities and the statement, or protest, on slavery itself is evident in these pictures.

Following the Basilica di Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari on my list of favorite destinations from Museum Planet’s tour of Venice is the Palazzo Labia.  The opening photo shows the approach by boat from the canal, at one of the busiest intersections of Venice, the Grand Canal and Canareggio Canal, which has been depicted through history by painters such as Michele Marieschi to John Singer Sargent.  Views of the exterior show the carved heads along the façade and eagles from the Labia family crest.  Disembarking from the boat at the entrance hall, the stairs leading to the great hall of the Palazzo seem nondescript in comparison to the artistic beauty upstairs in the Palazzo.  How many dignitaries, heads of state, warriors and courtesans have trod these steps over the centuries?

The great hall is over two stories high with an entire wall covered with windows.  Frescoes cover the walls giving the illusion of balconies and intricate architectural details.  The frescoes on the walls follow the subject of the marriage of Cleopatra and Anthony.  Great use of perspective by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo and his assistant Gerolomo Mengozzi Colonna is evident in every image.

The ceiling fresco tells the story of Bellerophon and Pegasus riding to Mount Olympus.  The use of false perspective sets the scene, and the fresco immediately recalls the story of Pegasus throwing off Bellerophon because of his arrogance.

The Labia’s banquets were so lavish they tossed sterling and gilt serving ware into the Canareggio Canal to amuse their guests.  Only in the morning, the servants were directed to retrieve the expensive plate from the canal.  The rise and fall of the Venetian wealth is encapsulated in the history and art of this grandiose Palazzo.

Museum Planet’s Venice, Italy is truly a gem amongst a great many other choices in the app store.  It seems that anybody with a bit of programming experience can create an app, but how many are truly worth the few dollars?  Touring Venice on a quiet Sunday afternoon, birds singing, the spring sun shining, a cappuccino within reach; this is the next best thing to visiting the ancient city.  I just might have enough time to tour the cemetery near the Jewish grotto before the kids get home.

Until next week, Ciao!

MJ