The Lives of Pictures | Das Leben der Bilder
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For half a millennium, the marble panels and the bronze capital sculpted by Donatello and Michelozzo in the first half of the 15th century decorated the façade of the Duomo di Santo Stefano in Prato. Today, replicas are on display on site, after the concerns about the preservation of the originals led to their musealization in the 1970s. How did these objects turn into artistic ‘masterpieces’ that have recently toured the art museums of major European cities in monographic Donatello exhibitions?
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The 13 photographs of Judith and Holofernes are part of a project of ca. 3,000 photographs of Donatello’s oeuvre taken in Florence in the 1930s. Hungarian art historian Jenö Lányi initiated this comprehensive photographic documentation of Donatello’s sculptures in collaboration with photographer Gino Malenotti of the famous Brogi company. In the context of the Donatello exhibition in Berlin, the photographs of Donatello’s Judith group represent the importance of the medium of photography in the absence of the original work of art and as an instrument for art historical research.
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Today’s Bode Museum in Berlin houses several reliefs by Donatello and his followers. One of the most prominent is the Virgin and Child with four Cherubs , which Wilhelm Bode purchased in 1888 from the art dealer Stefano Bardini. During World War II, the high relief was heavily damaged in the flak tower Friedrichshain, losing its unique colouring and frame. The fragments of the relief left Berlin and were transported to the Soviet Union. The work was stored and returned to East Berlin in 1958, together with many other art objects. The relief tells the story of the aftermath of the war, the confiscation by the Red Army and the transportation to the East.
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After landing in the depot of the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts in 1945, the Flagellation of Christ by Donatello and his workshop was considered lost for decades, until its existence was made public in 2015. This marble relief has a tumultuous history, from its unknown original location to its acquisition by the Berlin museums, and its transfer to the Soviet Union after World War II. Tied to names such as Michelozzo, Giambologna, Michelangelo, or the “Master of the Berlin Flagellation,” and accused of being a forgery, the Flagellation continues to spark debates to this day.
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To this day, the origin of the Madonna of the Clouds is still unknown, although scholars agree on Donatello’s authorship. In 1895, Stefano Bardini sold the marble relief to the Boston investor and art collector Quincy Adams Shaw, who donated to the Boston Museum of Fine Arts in 1917. While resulting from Shaw’s peculiar interest for early Renaissance sculpture, the sale of the marble also exemplify the entanglement between museums, connoisseurship and the international art market at the turn of the 20th century, notably through the figure of the art dealer Stefano Bardini.
For several decades, the attribution of the Madonna with the cloak was controversially discussed. While experienced art experts like Wilhelm Bode assumed an attribution to the gothic artist Lorenzo Ghiberti, other art historians like Frida Schottmüller were convinced that the relief was a work by Donatello. Supposedly acquired near Florence in 1892, the work found its place in the Kaiser-Friedrich-Museum in Berlin before it was heavily damaged in a fire towards the end of World War II. After a stay in the USSR, the work is back in Berlin since 1958, but to whom is it attributed from today’s perspective?
Over centuries the sculpture Saint John the Baptist by Donatello has remained in the possession of one family – namely the Martelli of Florence. The artwork had such high value for Roberto Martelli, its first owner, that his son Francesco even determined by will that the sculpture was to never be sold or otherwise given to anyone outside the family. Only in the early beginning of the 20th century did the heirs of the Martelli decide to sell some remaining parts of their art collection, including the Saint John the Baptist. At that point the value of the sculpture had become important to the Italian state, which intervened in the sale by making a deal with the family. This led to secure the sculpture for the Museo Nazionale del Bargello in 1913.
With its portrait-like rendering, the Reliquary Bust of Saint Rossore is paradigmatic of Donatello’s inventiveness and ability to play with different artistic genres. Despite its high quality and well documented history, the modernity of this work led scholars to doubt its attribution to the master. Realized for a church, the bust entered the museum twice in its life: the first time for a short period after the Second World War, and the second time after its adventurous theft and rediscovery in 1976.
Looking at Donatello’s winged bronze child smiling at us mischievously, we are left with a lot of unanswered questions. Like a collage of different mythological attributes, the so-called Amor-Attis is full of references art historians today can barely read. The mystery of the sculpture is linked to its iconographical meaning but also to its origin: the fact that there are no records documenting when it was made, for whom and for what purpose makes it difficult to decrypt its meaning. However, there are some hints that might help unravel the past life of Amor-Attis.
The 2022-2023 edition of the seminar – titled “Leben der Kunst” – has revolved around the exhibition “Donatello. Erfinder der Renaissance” (“Donatello. Inventor of the Renaissance”), curated by Dr. Neville Rowley in cooperation with Francesco Caglioti, Laura Cavazzini and Aldo Galli at the Gemäldegalerie of Berlin from September 2, 2022 to January 9, 2023.
The work The Man with the Golden Helmet was in family ownership for a long time before it came to the National Museums in Berlin through the Kaiser-Friedrich-Museumsverein. Since then, it was exhibited to the public. In the aftermath of the Second World War, it was exhibited in the USA and subsequently became important as a West German cultural asset and part of a political debate. The interpretation of the motif frequently changed and the debate surrounding the painting’s attribution since the 1970s ultimately led to ascribe it to Rembrandt’s circle.
Destroyed or lost? Since 1475, Dialectic and Astronomy are part of the painting cycle of the Liberal Arts that used to decorate the second library of the ducal palace in Urbino. During the centuries, this cycle has been dismantled and its paintings are now scattered in different locations of the world, most of them unknown. How did the paintings leave Urbino? How did they come to Berlin? And are they destroyed or lost? It is time to unfold the complex life and history of these masterpieces.
From a crowded house to a crowded museum, into the next crowded museum, into a cellar, to the USSR and back to Berlin. These three paintings have a unique shared history, being divided and reunited multiple times. Their treatment and the attitudes towards them can tell us a lot about the history of collecting, exhibition practices and museum trends.
The Monforte Altarpiece by Hugo van der Goes is one of the greatest altarpieces of Dutch art. Van der Goes proved his position in the Old Netherlandish painting with his artistic skills and we can still witness it in the Gemäldegalerie in Berlin. This blog entry tries to make the life of the painting besides its artistic features visible. It was not always exhibited in the Gemäldegalerie and the provenance shows that it has an exciting story behind it, which is worth telling. The Monforte altarpiece travelled from the Netherlands to Spain and finally got to Germany. Its reception has changed over time from Spanish national treasure to an important piece of the Gemäldegalerie in Berlin.
When Cornelis Corneliszoon van Haarlem’s Bathsheba at her toilet was acquired from the collection of Edward Solly for the Gemäldegalerie in Berlin in 1821, it was not clear what kind of scene was depicted. Is it Venus, Diana or perhaps Bathsheba? It took some time and a critical look to decipher the real meaning behind the painting.