MFA show highlights 19th−century collection - Tufts Daily - Tufts University
MFA show highlights 19th−century collection
‘Passion and Precision’s’ small size belies its beautiful content
Published: Monday, October 17, 2011
Updated: Tuesday, October 18, 2011 02:10
Courtesy Museum of Fine Arts Boston
Prud’hon’s ‘Standing Female Nude, Seen from Behind,’ bequest of the Forsyth Wickes Collection, demonstrates the artist’s mastery of the human form.
As I stood looking at a watercolor sketch by one of the most famous Romantic artists, Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres, I was passed by a group of women discussing their plans for the week, a woman pushing a child in a stroller and a man talking surreptitiously on his cell phone. Without directions from the information counter, it's easy to miss "Passion and Precision in the Age of Revolution," now at the Museum of Fine Arts Boston through May 13, 2012.
Though "Passion and Precision" is a fantastic compilation of works, its placement in a hallway initially makes it seem like an intermediary space between galleries, rather than a gallery in its own right. The exhibit is set up so people moving in either direction can see the pieces and enjoy them fully, but it is almost too easy to maneuver.
The plaques at either end of the hall read, "Our aim is to provide a sense of our ongoing effort to give new depth to this remarkable facet of our encyclopedic collections and also to share with you our excitement about these wildly varied and stimulating works." They go on to explain how the exhibit intends to juxtapose the severity of Neoclassicism with the melodrama of the Romantic period, and to show how the change during those years was reflected in art.
The works in the "Passion and Precision" are not grouped by time period, artist or region, which is an interesting choice on behalf of the curators. The exhibit features works of French, Italian and English artists in variety of a media, including graphite, chalk, ink and watercolor. Art history students will recognize some figures as copies of canon Greek and Roman works and others as preliminary drawings for now−famous paintings. All of the pieces are hung at eye−level for an easy viewing experience, and framed simply to keep the viewer's focus on the works themselves — some of which are quite busy.
One particularly beautiful piece is Luigi Sabatelli's "Vision of Daniel" (1809) a captivating etching that depicts four fantastic chimeras roaring at Daniel, who crosses his arms protectively around his body and turns away from their frightening figures. Below the feet of the beasts, the sea churns madly, and above them the heavens are darkened by a storm.
The strength of "Vision of Daniel" lies in Sabatelli's expert use of his material; he employs many levels of shading for the beasts. The mixture of light, dark and in−between hues creates a sort of playground for the eye and keeps viewers entertained.
The exhibition contrasts dramatic works like these with calmer, more passive pieces. On the wall opposite "Vision of Daniel" is Pierre−Paul Prud'hon's "Standing Female Nude, Seen From Behind" (1785−1790). Done in charcoal and white chalk, the figure is delicately rendered in a series of curves. There are almost no straight lines in the piece with the exception of the ledge upon which the model leans. The musculature is accurate and highlighted by the dramatic line of shadow. "Standing Female Nude" flows almost as a landscape would, and pulls the eye down from the model's profile to her feet.
Ultimately, the use of contrasting works made the exhibit an impressive showroom for the museum's collection. While at first the placement of "Passion and Precision" made it seem as though the exhibition would be difficult to view, it actually reflects both the spirit of the art, and the idea behind the exhibit. By using such an in−between, physically transitive space, the curators physically depicted the fleeting and evolving nature of each piece in the collection. With that in mind, it's hard to be bothered by the passers−by.
