One of the few surviving paintings by Grünewald, this crucifixion amply displays the emotional power of this German Renaissance artist. Set against a sky darkened by an eclipse of the sun, the scarred and haggard body of Christ makes the scene painfully and physically immediate. With the agonized gesture of the hands, the ragged loincloth, the dislocated shoulders, and twisted feet, little remains to soften the tension of the painting; rather, the artist emphasizes the human suffering necessary for Christ to redeem mankind. Painted on the eve of the Protestant Reformation, this panel reflects the growing insistence in northern Europe upon the reality and importance of private religious experiences.
GALLERY 41A: Peter Paul Rubens, Daniel in the Lions’ Den, painted c. 1615
Scholar, collector, diplomat, and one of the finest artists of his century, Rubens was famed for the boundless enthusiasm and technical wizardry of his paintings. This monumental piece was executed early in Rubens’ career. Its impact depends not only upon its large scale but also upon the baroque combination of the theatrical—the dramatic lighting and Daniel’s expressive pose—with a convincing realism—the lifelike postures and superbly rendered lions’ fur.
GALLERY 42: Sir Anthony van Dyck, Queen Henrietta Maria with Her Dwarf, painted probably in 1633
Painted in London, this depiction of Henrietta Maria, wife of Britain’s Charles I and sister of France’s Louis XIII, is a prime example of the baroque “Grand Manner” portrait. Analysis of character is sacrificed in favor of a stately and essentially flattering mode of presentation; the glittering crown, for example, recalls Henrietta Maria’s station as a queen and the sumptuous fabrics declare her wealth. The large size of the canvas and the lack of expression on the queen’s face are both devices that engender a mood of aloof formality and grandeur; animation and warmth are limited to the minor figures of the dwarf Geoffrey Hudson, who was to become a trusted ambassador, and his pet monkey Pug. With seventeen paintings by van Dyck, the National Gallery has one of the finest and most representative collections of portraits by this master.
Dutch Art
(Galleries 44-49)
The United Netherlands was founded in 1609 as a Protestant nation following bitter wars of liberation from Catholic Spain. The combination of excellent seaports, a powerful navy, and strong mercantile interests made Holland a flourishing economic center. Dutch patrons, predominantly Calvinist and middle class, demanded not religious or mythological pictures, but landscapes, portraits, still lifes, and genres, or scenes of daily life. Their demands were met by an ever-increasing number of Dutch artists who, perhaps in response to a burgeoning and competitive market, specialized in a single type of subject. Thus Frans Hals was famed for his portraits, Kalf for his still lifes, and Ruisdael and Hobbema for their landscapes. The one exception was Rembrandt, whose penetrating insight into the human condition and whose superb technical facility enabled him to explore successfully a variety of subjects. Holland’s artistic boom was soon ended, however, for as quickly as it arose, the economic and artistic Golden Age declined during the last years of the seventeenth century.
