Giovanni Bellini (c. 1430–1516), St. Francis in the Desert, c. 1480, tempera and oil on panel, 49 x 55 ⅞ inches,TheFrickCollection,NewYork
Titian (Tiziano Vecellio) (1477/1490–1576), Portrait of a Man in a Red Cap, 1516, oil on canvas, 32 3/8 x 28 inches, The Frick Collection,NewYork
BELLINI, TITIAN, HOLBEIN, & EL GRECO – NEW SETTING AT THE FRICK COLLECTION
SEVERAL PAINTINGS SHOWN IN DIFFERENT LIGHTING AND SETTING FOR THE FIRST TIME IN MORE THAN NINETY YEARS
]]>
August 13th 2008 – One longstanding misperception about The Frick Collection is the notion that works of art cannot be moved around by its present-day staff. Fortunately, this is not true. The flexibility with which the curators may juxtapose in fresh ways Frick-owned works within the mansion is the cornerstone of its thriving program of critically acclaimed special exhibitions, large and small. However, one gallery in particular, the Living Hall, has seen very few changes—even temporarily—since Mr. Frick moved into the mansion ninety-three years ago. Most of the paintings he installed there in 1915, among masterpieces by Bellini, Holbein, Titian, and El Greco, have seldom—if ever—left the room or been presented to the public in any other manner. As such, the Living Hall always offered visitors the closest representation of the mansion and display of art during the family’s period of residence.
For just two weeks in August, while the Living Hall is briefly closed for refurbishing, the Frick’s curatorial team will take the opportunity to install six of the museum’s most beloved paintings in the Oval Room, where they will be seen in a fresh context and in dramatically different lighting. As was the case last summer when the principal panels of Fragonard’s great masterpiece, the Pursuit of Love, were moved to the East Gallery during another refurbishment project, this temporary change is expected to attract fresh interest in paintings greatly enjoyed by visitors. Giovanni Bellini’s magnificent landscape St. Francis in the Desert, painted about 1480, will hang on the center back wall of the Oval Room. The Bellini will be framed by two works by Titian, his Portrait of a Man in a Red Cap, of about 1516, and Pietro Aretino, painted several decades later. On the opposite wall visitors will find two captivating portraits by Hans Holbein the Younger, Sir Thomas More of 1527 and Thomas Cromwell, as well as El Greco’s St. Jerome.
Comments Director Anne Poulet, “One of the wonderful constants about the Frick is the character of display in the Living Hall, which is faithfully evocative of its original appearance. Some of our greatest holdings are in the room, and we are eager to maintain the original high quality of display, so we are very pleased to embark on a brief, much needed refurbishment of that gallery. Conservator Joseph Godla will supervise the project, which involves a treatment of the elaborate early eighteenth-century-inspired wood paneling, as well as maintenance of the floors and installation of a new carpet which replicates one now decades old and threadbare. In the meantime, we are very pleased to have the opportunity to examine, rephotograph, and temporarily alter the display of these great treasures.” The Education Department’s new Head, Rika Burnham, is eager to embrace the event as well; she is planning a pair of Sunday afternoon gallery conversations in the Oval Room on August 17 and 24. For further information about these and other education programs, visit frick.org or email education@frick.org
Follow us on:
