: The Birmingham Museum of Art recently acquired ten works of art.
Nine of these will be additions to the museum's European art
collection and one is a major gift of Indian sculpture to the
Asian art collection.
Several works were purchased this spring at the European Fine Art
Fair in Mastricht, The Netherlands. Four of these were acquired
with funds provided by Mr and Mrs William T. Ratliff Jr.
The most significant purchase is a painting by French artist
Laurent de La Hyre (1606-1656) titled "Saint Paul Shipwrecked on
Malta." The painting is an extraordinary discovery from the
artist's early, Italianate period and will be on view in the
museum's Kress galleries of Renaissance art. The oil on canvas
measures 104.8 by 161.9 centimeters and was executed circa 1630.
La Hyre often depicted rarely illustrated subjects, such as this
episode in the life of Saint Peter, and faithfully represented
them for easy recognition.
Also acquired at Mastricht is a Dutch work titled "Interior of
the Cathedral in Antwerp" by Pieter Neefs the Younger
(1620-1675), one of the most eminent Flemish painters of
architecture in the first half of the Seventeenth Century. The
interior of the soaring cathedral is meticulously depicted in the
work, as well as elegant ladies and gentlemen, a priest, a
beggar, children playing and dogs.
The third work made possible through the Ratliffs is an
Impressionist pastel by Francois Millet (1849-1917), son of the
renowned artist Jean-François Millet. The work, titled "The Old
Home at Barbizon," is an impeccable example of the pastel
technique so favored by artists of late Nineteenth Century
France. The work depicts a young woman digging up potatoes along
the edge of the village of Barbizon and was executed circa
1885-1890.
The fourth work provided by the Ratliffs is a marble sculpture
titled "Female Saint with Book," dating from the Fourteenth
Century. The saint's characteristics have a Gothic quality,
especially her elongated proportions. It was probably created by
an artist influenced by Tino di Camaino, circa 1285-1337, an
Italian Gothic sculptor whose style spread throughout southern
Italy due to his time spent in Naples. Tino's influence was felt
long after he died. The work is the first piece of marble in the
museum's Italian collection.
An exceptional painting by the northern Italian artist Marco
Zoppo is a significant addition to the museum's collection.
Titled "Christ as Man of Sorrows," this moving work was also
purchased at Maastricht and is the first example in the
collection of a north Italian painting from the Fifteenth
Century. By placing the figure of Christ immediately in front of
the picture plane against a dark background, the artist invites
the viewer to meditate solely on the death of Christ. The work is
a gift of Mildred Tillman Camp in memory of her husband, Ehney
Addison Camp Jr.
The first acquisition by the museum's European Art Society is a
painting by the Dutch Italianate artist Cornelis van Poelenburgh
(1586-1667). The delightful painting on copper, titled "The
Finding of Moses," mid-Seventeenth Century, is an example of
Poelenburgh's polished style. Considered the most important
painter of the first generation of Dutch Italianate artists,
Poelenburgh excelled at painting female nudes within biblical or
mythological scenes set in Italianate landscapes bathed in warm
southern light.
Accordingly, the subject of the work, "The Finding of Moses," is
secondary to the depiction of the nudes in an Arcadian landscape
with a panoramic view to the golden horizon. Poelenburgh lived in
Italy from 1617 to 1626 and was active both in Rome and in the
Medici court in Florence. His paintings were among the most
prized by the classically educated aristocracy of northern
Europe.
Three more stellar acquisitions to the museum's growing Dutch
collection are drawings dating from the Seventeenth Century,
purchased with funds provided by Betty and Victor Hanson. One is
by Herman Saftleven (1609-1685), an etcher who soon became a
dominating figure as a painter and draughtsman of the Dutch
landscape. This work, titled "A Mill along the Banks of the River
Vecht," is a luminous drawing that was hidden in a private
collection for more than 100 years. A second drawing, also from
this collection, is by Isaac de Moucheron (1667-1744), one of the
leading representatives of French and Italian Classicism in the
Netherlands. The work, titled "Landscape with Two Riders; In the
Foreground a Huntsman and His Dog Drinking from a Pond," has its
appeal in the simplicity of the scenery that seems to have been
closely observed from nature.
A third work, with figure studies drawn on both the front and
back, is by Abraham Bloemaert (1564-1651). Together with several
other artists, Bloemaert represents the last phase of Mannerism
in the Northern Netherlands. His exceptional talent as a
draughtsman is manifest in this work, titled "Four Studies of
Standing or Walking Men and a Sheep's Head" and "Studies of Five
Standing and Sitting Women and Draperies." The work will be
exhibited with both sides visible to the viewer.
A magnificent sculpted image of "Vishnu," the Hindu god of
goodness and mercy, is a gift of longtime museum supporters Eivor
and Alston Callahan. Dating from the late Ninth Century, the
sculpture is from Uttar Pradesh in northern India and is a
complex depiction of the deity. "Vishnu" is a major addition to
the museum's Asian art collection.
The Birmingham Museum of Art is at 2000 Eighth Avenue North.
For information, 205-254-2565 or artsbma.org.
