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Paintings

A trip to the Met

After months of lockdowns and uncertainty, the European Masterpieces exhibited by the Metropolitan Art Museum in New York came to the Gallery of Modern Art in Brisbane, Queensland. 

After all these months of lockdowns and uncertainty, many of us Queenslanders are feeling somewhat weary.  There is a real longing for novelty and escape. Luckily the cure for our malaise is available at Brisbane’s Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA). For there is no better antidote for monotony than the European Masterpieces exhibition.

 

It is clear by the excitement in the queue that Queenslanders are embracing this opportunity. Many groups are taking selfies and there is a generally jovial energy in the air. Two-thirds of Australia is back in lockdown, and none of the attendees are taking this outing for granted.

Spanning some 500-years of art, the exhibit consists of 65-works. It begins with the 1420’s, emerging Renaissance art and ends at the height of early 20th century, post-Impressionism. The art belongs to the permanent collection of the Metropolitan Art Museum in New York, which is currently undergoing a major refit of their European Galleries. As a result, Queenslanders have access to this art until the 17th of October.  

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When you arrive at the GOMA it is easy to be put off by the long lines stretching down the side of the building, but as director Chris Haines explains: “The work is so well spaced out and the rooms are big so there is no crowding.  People are being very respectful in the space. There is 2000 square meters of gallery space for the show and very high ceilings, and this is an exhibition that has been designed with Covid in mind.” 

 

You enter the exhibition via a dimly lit corridor. If the purpose of this walkway is to convey a sense of entering another world, it really works! The aura of the antechamber washes over you, and you are ready to absorb 500-years of European culture and art.

 

Stepping into the first room, your consciousness is shifted to the

early Renaissance. Your gaze immediately rests on Giovanni di Paolo’s

depiction of Paradise. The description of the painting explains that a

century before, the Black Plague had claimed the lives of almost

60 per cent of Siena’s population and stalled the economic prosperity

of the region. At the time of this painting, there was tremendous

hardship in Siena. Di Paolo’s vision of Paradise is expressed as a place

where loved ones are reunited, happily awaiting their entry into

heaven. This painting gave the Sienese hope for a better life beyond

the trials suffered on Earth. 

 

It can hardly be a coincidence that this is the first painting of the exhibition. 18-months into our current pandemic, there is a poignancy in the images of the recently deceased embracing one another. What could come as a surprise to the viewer, is how intertwined the history of art is with our own human story. Artists tell the story of a place and time and speak to the human condition.

 

Walking around the exhibit, one feels as if you’ve undertaken a crash course in European history. The attendees also seem to be from all over the world. You hear Russian, French, and Italian spoken. This adds to the international flavor of the experience, and if you allow your mind to wander you can imagine yourself walking around the actual Met gallery.

 

As you are about to exit the Baroque paintings, Francois Boucher’s Toilette of Venus catches your eye. In it, we see a magnificent Madame de Pompadour, King Louis XV’s official mistress.

She is naked but for luxurious fabrics draped over her shoulders and

surrounded by expensive objects. This example of Rococo art was

commissioned by Madame de Pompadour during an era in which art was

meant to be pleasing, not thought-provoking. The Met’s 2020 book

Art = describes the Rococo era as ornamental, melodramatic, and

celebrating aristocratic culture. The aristocracy lived their lives behind

high walls. The poor were hidden from view, eking out an existence. Our

modern era is no longer surprised that this era was followed by the

French Revolution. Today though, our news is once again filled with the

despair and suffering of modern societies. The COVID-19 pandemic has

brought to the surface much of the world’s inequality. To look upon an

artwork such as Boucher’s Toilette of Venus, and to read about its context, unexpectedly leaves one with a sense of foreboding. There is a shiver down your spine, as you stand there admiring this pretty piece of ornamentation.

 

More than simply an escape from the daily grind of the pandemic, the European Masterpieces exhibit offers us a chance to leave our present and explore our past – perhaps leaving oneself reconciled with our current life of reduced circumstances.

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References: 
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Blanshard, A. (2021, June 16). European Masterpieces from the Met demonstrates art’s power to speak to the human condition. The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/european-masterpieces-from-the-met-demonstrates-arts-power-to-speak-to-the-human-condition-160462

 

Brown, P. (2021, July 1). Priceless Art that only Security Guards are Seeing at GOMA. Courier Mail. https://www.couriermail.com.au/lifestyle/priceless-art-that-only-security-guards-are-seeing-at-goma/news-story/46e6261bef85e1f8c813f43ab3ec659d

 

TheMet. (n.d.). Paradise. Giovanni di Paolo. Tempera and gold on canvas. C.1445. https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/436512

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Newscorp Australia. (n.d.) About News. NewsCorp Australia. https://www.newscorpaustralia.com/brand/the-courier-mail/#:~:text=No%20publication%20is%20better%20positioned,and%20big%2Dspending%20affluent%20Queenslanders.

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QAGOMA. (n.d.) European Masterpieces from the Metropolitan Museum of Art New York. QAGOMA. https://www.qagoma.qld.gov.au/whats-on/exhibitions/european-masterpieces

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Roginsky.G, H. R., Morrill. R and Diane Fortenberry. (2020). Art = (R. Morrill Ed.). Turkey: Phaidon Press.

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