GRANTS OFFERED BY THE KRESS FOUNDATION
THE
CARE AND PRESENTATION OF EUROPEAN ART
OLD MASTERS IN CONTEXT
Premises
All of the motives of human
existence are reflected in the creation of art. In the
quest to understand those who have gone before us, nothing
speaks with the immediacy of their art and architecture
— the mighty halls that announced the presence of
kings, the stained glass that lit the hopes of the pilgrim,
the library busts that extolled learning, the miniature
portrait that symbolized love, the allegorical painting
that threatened war, the Breviary page that comforted
the dying, the funerary chapel that honored the exploits
of a hero. Precious elements from the vast ecological
system of the past, these fragile treasures survive as
cherished works of beauty and — if we can but interpret
them — as messengers from a distant age.
Traditional works of European art — a patrimony greatly
enriched by the Kress Collection — are today part
of the permanent holdings in most American museums. Yet
these rare and valued objects, by definition cast adrift
from their original moorings, are not always easy of access
for the general public. Paintings, sculpture, and furnishings
originally commissioned for palaces, high altars, public
buildings, and private gardens are now displayed independently
as prized specimens, much as exotic butterflies were once
shown in natural history museums — i.e. respected
and cared for, but bereft of a full identity. Without
reference to its intended setting, the royal portrait
or the Renaissance bronze or the jewelled snuff box has
lost not only its primary purpose but also, to some degree,
its capacity to carry the meaning of its former place
in human life. Its appeal now depends upon its appearance,
how it is displayed, and whether or not it was made by
a recognized artist.
While only a small percentage of the European art in American
collections can boast a full historical pedigree, there
is nonetheless much that is known. Scholars of the history
of art have often been able to identify the chapel for
which a picture was painted or the political environment
that dictated a cycle of allegorical frescoes — in
other words, the background elements that can influence
the understanding and enjoyment of specific objects. Typically,
however, such knowledge is presented to the public only
through art history books, exhibition catalogues, articles
in learned journals, or formal lectures, and not —
except, perhaps, in gallery tours — as an aspect
of viewing works of art.
The situation is not simple. European art survives to
us from a complex and venerable civilization whose history,
geography, literature, and religion are often unfamiliar
to an American public. Art historical interpretations
can be lengthy and complicated. Museum space is at a premium.
Prevailing curatorial attitudes dictate limited amounts
of written information per object. There is a desire to
display as much of the permanent collection as possible.
In addition, financial considerations and the quest for
new audiences tend to direct resources to special exhibitions
that can be sponsored and promoted as once-only events.
Visitors with limited time typically concentrate on the
current show. Paradoxically, the galleries with the museum’s
finest treasures may in fact attract the fewest beholders.
The Kress Foundation Old Masters in Context program is
designed to provide an incentive for experimentation in
making the historical context of European art accessible
to the museum visitor.
OLD
MASTERS IN CONTEXT
The Program
To encourage new ways of presenting
European art to the American public, the Old Masters in
Context Program invites joint proposals from art curators
and art historians (and art conservators, as appropriate)
to interpret works of art in relation to their European
origins. At the heart of the project is the premise that
the knowledge gathered by the historian of art - why works
of art were created, how they were originally seen, and
what they meant to their first viewers - is potentially
fascinating to the general public, and that imaginative
ways of presenting this information will excite new interest
in Old Masters.
