The title references heaven and earth, but beauty plays a strong supporting role in the new exhibition spanning five centuries of Italian art, recently opened at the Milwaukee Art Museum. From iconic religious figures to works representing a broad range of 19th-century styles, there is scarcely a painting deficient in aesthetic appeal.
“Of Heaven and Earth: 500 Years of Italian Paintings from Glasgow Museums” unfolds like an art history textbook. A Virgin and Child (ca. 1480-1485) by Giovanni Bellini and The Annunciation (ca. 1490-1495) by Sandro Botticelli open the show, apropos as these represent two of the most oft-pictured subjects during the Italian Renaissance. Bellini is moody and somber, and his Madonna is distinctly three-dimensional, emerging from the painting’s dark background in palpable form. Botticelli is dynamic but refined, particularly in the billowing robes of the angel Gabriel who rushes toward the figure of Mary with divine force. In keeping with the modern approach of his day, Botticelli represents the angel’s presence before Mary in a contemporary Florentine setting, and skillfully employs the new theories of linear perspective.
The chronological flow of the exhibition provides a strong primer on the general development of European painting. Aside from this pedagogical usefulness, the viewer may delight in the captivating minutia in the more than three dozen pieces. Francesco Guardi’s View of San Giorgio Maggiore (ca. 1760) takes us to Venice’s Grand Canal. Guardi paints a day that is luminous and breezy, with extraordinary passages of brushwork and a discreet sense of narrative. It’s a lovely, momentary vacation for the imagination.
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The exhibition moves into its closing phase with the 19th century, where Vincenzo Camuccini’s neoclassically styled Death of Julius Caesar (ca. 1825-1829) is rich with theatrics. Note the expressions, gestures and general attunement to body language that helps express a story. It is admittedly melodramatic, but exciting nonetheless. The vivacity, innovation and beauty conveyed through the human figure, architecture and landscape in this exhibition is well worth extended viewing. After all, there are 500 years to absorb.
“Of Heaven and Earth: 500 Years of Italian Paintings from Glasgow Museums” is on view through Jan. 4 at the Milwaukee Art Museum, 700 N. Art Museum Drive.
