Yes, I am writing about a Frick Collection Exhibition again. It’s not my fault if they keep doing interesting shows! This one intrigued me because I wanted to find out how they found a lost fresco.
An
important fact when studying Tiepolo … there were two of them: Giovanni Battista
(called Giambattista) (1696-1770) and his son, almost as famous, Giovanni
Domenico (known as Giandomenico) Tiepolo (1727-1804). The subject is of particular interest to me
as I have always loved the work of the both of the Tiepolos. Here, however we a
dealing only with the work of Giambattista.
I was
particularly curious about this exhibition’s subject because my gallery bought
a ceiling fresco by Tiepolo about 60 years ago. Unfortunately, in the process
of removal half of it came off on the canvas and the other half was left on the
ceiling. Even though this happened
before I joined the firm, I was there for the tax examination when the Internal
Revenue Service accused my family of collusion with Sotheby’s, because when we
put the canvas at auction it brought so much less than we had paid, and we had claimed
the loss on our tax return. Yes, a
totally ridiculous claim but I learned a lesson. Our lawyers settled with the IRS. As a young person I was furious. This was crazy. The lawyer, however, asked me would I prefer
to pay the IRS X or their firm 3 times X to fight it!
The frescoes
of the Palazzo Archinto were “lost” for a different reason. The allies bombed the hell out of the Palace
during World War II and there was nothing left to remove! The Frick has attempted to put Humpty Dumpty
together again or at least give us an idea of what we are missing today, The current
show brings together 50 works of art and
artifacts relating to the ceiling frescos.
They include paintings, a number of preparatory drawings, photographs
and books. Together they give us an
inkling of how sumptuous the palace must have been.
There
is also a 160 page catalog. Usually, a
catalog is done in aid of an exhibition.
In this case I get the distinct impression that the exhibition was done
to justify the publication. There is an
abundance of material in the catalog about the Archinto family with portraits
of its principal members as well as works of art that had once belonged
to the family.
I remember my first exposure to
Tiepolo’s mastery of ceiling painting
was on a visit to Wurzburg when I was young, my mother called me just to tell me to be sure to go
and see the ceiling in the Residenz. It was well worth the visit!
The five ceiling
frescoes Tiepolo painted for the Palazzo Archinto, in Milan in 1730-31 was his first
major commission outside of Venice. How did
this happen? Milan had lots of artists
of their own. The Archinto family had long been one of the city’s most
prominent, renowned for their library and art collection. They had commissioned book illustrations from
Tiepolo and must have been aware of the impressive mural projects he was beginning
to get from patrons in the Veneto.
Quite
possibly members of the family had travelled to Venice and seen the frescos in
a palace there such as The Triumph
of Marius, from the Palazzo
Ca' Dolfin of
1729, now in The Metropolitan Museum. Hiring
a rising young star from Venice for the redecoration of their residence would
have furthered their prestige.
In 1916
Henry Clay Frick bought his only work by Tiepolo and it was the painted sketch,
modello, for the Archinto Perseus and Andromeda ceiling. Thirty years later the fresco was gone. So this show
is a bit like seeing an old photo of a lost loved one. It isn’t going to bring them back but it is a
“souvenir”. Here is the Frick “Perseus
and Andromeda” sketch.
 |
| Photo by Michael Bodycomb |
The
ceilings were recorded in photographs before World War II and the Frick show
includes a few rare images taken in 1897 lent by an archive in Milan.
 |
| Photo by Centelli & Molfese issued by
Azienda di Servizi alla Persona Golgi-Redaelli
|
Another of
the 1897 photographs is shown with one of the most elaborate oil sketches “The
Triumph of the Arts and Sciences, from the Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga Lisbon.
 |
Photo: Luisa Oliveira |
 |
| Photo: Centelli & Molfese issued by Azienda di Servizi alla Persona Golgi-Redaelli |
The show
will be up until July 14, Bastille day, but that is for another day and another
place!
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