Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Wealth, Art, and Passionate Collecting: The McNay Art Museum


The McNay Museum of Modern Art in San Antonio, Texas
It is with great interest that people go to museums for the works of art, but seldom do people take the time to investigate the origins of the artwork, or more specifically the origin of the museum's collection. Unbeknown to most people and in most cases, private collections have become the foundation of many a great museum. Some institutions, like the Uffizi in Florence, Italy, started out in 1560 as an extension to the Medici Palace to house government offices, hence its name Galleria degli Uffizi, generally known as the Uffizi. The private Medici art collection was displayed in the piano nobile, or “noble floor” of the building, and was open to the public; eventually the collection expanded to all the galleries and became one of the largest and grandest private art collections to become a public museum housed in its original setting.

In Italy, all the well known family names have large and small palaces, which have also been turned into private museums, for the purpose of displaying the extensive family art collections. Two impressive collections in Rome are the Doria Pamphilj, and the Colonna, both housed in the families' exquisite palaces bearing their names.

Another gem, though less known, the Musee Jacquemart-André in Paris is another private collection turned museum, and housed in the owner's original home. Édward André devoted much of his banking fortune to purchasing works of art which he and his wife Néllie Jacquemart exhibited in their Paris palais, completed in 1875. The collection is one the finest private collections of Italian art in France, which the couple amassed through their yearly travels to Italy. The museum opened to the public in 1913 and the collection is displayed just as the owners enjoyed it in their life time.

On this side of the Atlantic there are as many private collections as there are wealthy collectors, most of whom are unknown to the general public, and their collections are still in private hands. However, through the years there have also been a number of collectors who like the Medici, the Jacquemart-André in Paris, or the Doria Pamphilij and Colonna in Italay, their collections are world renowned and open to the public in the original setting where their owners once enjoyed them.

In New York City, the Frick Collection is probably the most well known collection turned private museum in the East Coast of the United States. Millionaire industrialist and great art collector Henry Clay Frick built his Fifth Avenue mansion to house his incomparable collection of Old Masters, nineteenth century paintings, sculpture and decorative arts, and with the specific intention to leave it to the public upon his and his wife's death.

Marion Koogler McNay c.1935
Another significant private collection turned museum and now open to the public is the Huntington, in San Marino, California. Heir to a railroad fortune, Henry E. Huntington started collecting art and rare books late in life, in 1910, when he was already 60 years old. In 1913 he relocated with his second wife, his uncle's widow, to a 500 acre estate in San Marino where the couple built a mansion to house their art and rare book collection. The art collection focuses on 18th Century English portraits, including Gainsborough's the Blue Boy, and Lawrence's Sarah Barrett Moulton: “Pinkie.” By the time he died in 1927, Huntington had amassed the largest ever assembled English portrait collection by one individual collector, and estimated to have been worth $50 million. As stipulated in his will Huntington's collection opened to the public in 1928.

In Texas, where everything is bigger and grander, there are plenty of collectors such as John and Dominique de Menil in Houston, who collected close to 16,000 pieces of modern art, and Kay Kimbell, successful Fort Worth businessman, who with his wife Velma collected significant works of art seldom seen in private collections. But notwithstanding the merits these collections possess in size and importance, they lack in intimacy and pale in comparison to Jessie Marion Koogler McNay's collection of early modern art at the McNay Museum in San Antonio.  Both, the de Menil and the Kimbell collections, unlike the McNay are housed in structures which were specifically built for the purpose of being a museum, and where the architecture, works of art on their own, is at times competing for attention. On the other hand the McNay, housed in its founder's Spanish colonial revival home, is one of those gems of a museum that does not boast, but quietly feeds the artistic soul of the greater San Antonio Metropolitan area, and imbues its visitors with an intimacy and a sense of personal relationship with each work art. The museum opened its doors to the public, for the first time, in 1954, and has the distinction of being the first museum of “modern” art in Texas.

On February 7, 1883, Jessie Marion Koogler was born in the small farming community of De Graff, Ohio, some 50 miles north of Dayton; Jessie Marion was the only child of Dr. Marion Koogler and his wife Clara Lippincott. But the Kooglers would not be long in De Graff; the following year, in 1884, the family moved to El Dorado, Kansas, where Dr. Koogler had invested in large tracts of grazing land. Call it luck or intuition, it is from these lands that the Koogler fortune derives after extensive oil deposits were discovered on Dr. Koogler's properties.

Poster for the 1913 Armory Exhibit
In 1900, after a rather strict childhood in which she was not permitted to participate in dances or other school functions so common among children and teenagers, Jessie Marion Koogler enrolled at the University of Kansas, in Lawrence—and much against her father's judgement who thought art was an undesirable subject for a proper young lady. Three years later, in 1903, she enrolled at the Art Institute of Chicago, a move that would forever change her life and her views on art. Liberated of what must have felt like a small town yoke, it was in Chicago that Jessie Marion dropped her first name in favor of Marion, the name with which she would be known for the rest of her life, and beyond. In Chicago, Marion's joie de vivre came into being in the company of other young, more liberated people her age with whom she could discuss a variety of subjects, and she met a number of artists who were making a living doing what they loved: art. In Chicago, Marion found a far more sophisticated cultural environment than her small town of El Dorado could have, heretofore, offered her.

Another watershed moment was in 1913. On a trip to New York City Marion attended what has been acknowledged as the first modern art exhibit in the United States, the groundbreaking and influential The New York Armory Show of 1913.1 It was at this shocking and eye opening art exhibit that Marion experienced in vivo, for the first time, the revolutionary works of the many European and United States artists whose canvases would in the future adorn the walls of her home: Braque, Cezanne, Degas, Gauguin, Henri, Marin, Pendergast, Picasso, Pissarro, Renoir, Sloan, Weber, and Van Gogh.

But one year earlier, in 1912, Marion had joined her parents who by then had coincidentally retired to Marion, Ohio; there, she busied herself teaching art for the public school district, and where she was highly regarded. The Superintendent of schools in Marion wrote in June, 1915, that McNay was,

...one of the best qualified art teachers I have ever known .... She teaches Art in a manner that arouses and develops the child's observation and enlarges his aesthetic nature.2

Women Crossing the Fields, Vincent van Gogh, 1890, Oil on Paper
Bequest of Marion Koogler McNay
It was there, in her new hometown, that Marion met Donald Denton McNay, a manager at the local railway. To the shock of everyone, the couple married on 9 December, 1917, in spite of the bride being ten years older than the groom, who had recently enlisted in the United States Army as a Sergeant. Shortly after the wedding, the couple left en route to Laredo, Texas where the young Sergeant McNay was stationed at Fort McIntosh, and where the couple lived in an adobe cottage. Ordered to Florida in October 1918, the newlyweds stopped in San Antonio, staying at the socially fashionable Menger Hotel. It was here, across the Alamo Mission that the McNays said their last farewells: Sergeant McNay left for Florida where he died shortly thereafter, a victim of the world-wide influenza epidemic of 1918 which killed an estimated 50 million people.3

Marion filled her void with family, friends, and more importantly with art, and four more husbands. Returning to Marion, Ohio, she married local banker Charles Newton Phillips, in 1921, but the marriage broke apart four years later. Back in San Antonio, with her mother, Marion married local legend and renowned ophthalmologist Donald Taylor Atkinson in 1926, and she devoted herself to creating her “masterpiece,” a Spanish colonial revival-style home with the help of prominent architects Atlee B. Ayres in partnership with his son Robert M. Ayres. In the process of building the house (1927-1929), Marion designed and applied many of the elaborate stencils to the coffered ceilings and tiles, as well as assisting with many other decorative elements in the mansion. Her attention to detail is evident everywhere, including the outdoors where McNay planted the 23 acre Sunset Hills site with southwestern botanical specimens, palms, evergreen pines, yuccas, and magueys (agave). While the building process was a personal success, Marion's marriage to Atkinson was not, and this union also ended in divorce after ten years of marriage.4

Hay Makers Resting, Camille Pissarro, 1891, Oil on Canvas
Bequest of Marion Koogler McNay
In the late 20s and 30s Marion often traveled to Santa Fe, and to Taos where she studied under Emil Bisttram. In Taos, she bought a painting by Victor Higgins who had been a fellow Chicago Art Institute student, and had also trained in Europe. Higgins was greatly influenced by the southwest style of the Taos artistic community, but he added another dimension to his work: that of modernism which he had seen in Europe and shifted the subject matter of his canvases away from Pueblo inspired settings, to landscapes, still life, and nudes. After 1918, and quite possibly one of the reasons Marion married him in 1937, Higgins shifted his style further into Cubism, Impressionism and Modernism. But the artistic nexus that connected them broke, with the end result that, as with her two previous marriages, Marion and Higgins divorced in 1940.5

Delfina Flores, Diego Rivera, 1927, Oil on Canvas
Bequest of Marion Koogler McNay
But Marion may not have been troubled by this last divorce; that same year she married Chicago art dealer Adelbert E. Quest. Marion, who appeared determined to not give up on the institution of marriage, must have realized she was fighting a losing battle: she and Quest divorced after only one year. But married or not, Marion always returned to her first love, Donald McNay, choosing his surname as her own after every divorce until she died.

McNay devoted her time and wealth to the arts, not just in purchasing art, but in supporting the art communities in Taos, Santa Fe, and San Antonio, and other areas lesser known outside of the “art" colonies. In San Antonio, McNay rescued the Art Institute after World War II forced it to close its doors in 1942—collateral damage of the United States entering the war. Arrangements were made to renovate an aviary on her home's grounds to include classrooms, offices, storage rooms, and a library. Under McNay's joint sponsorship with the San Antonio Art league, the school re-opened on October 15, 1943 as the San Antonio Art Institute.6

McNay never forgot her love for the Pueblo culture and she collected Pueblo, southwestern and colonial art, and was an active participant in the preservation of the local culture of New Mexico. In 1943 when Congress proposed preliminary studies for the construction of a dam on the Rio Grande, McNay opposed it on the grounds that it would destroy the shrines and culture of several pueblos. With her help and that of other conservationists, the project was defeated.7

Girl with Blue Eyes, Amadeo Modigliani, 1918, Oil on Canvas
Bequest of Marion Koogler McNay
In her later years, McNay withdrew from the public eye, spending her time helping with the administration of the San Antonio Art Institute, and planning for the future of her fortune, her works of art, her charities, and most importantly the museum that would bear her and her first husband's name:  The McNay Museum. The end came too soon, in 1950, when McNay succumbed to pneumonia; she was 67 years old.

In 1954, Marion Koogler McNay's Spanish revival-style mansion, on 23 acres of lush landscaping, opened as the first modern art museum in Texas. From the 700 works of art collected by McNay, the collection has grown to over 20,000 pieces, and includes works by Paul Gauguin, Vincent Van Gogh, Edward Hopper, Georgia O'Keeffe, Pablo Picasso, Jackson Pollock, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Alberto Giacometti, and Rodin.

As with most museums, the McNay has overgrown its original building and has been forced to expand, adding gallery space, a library, a new entry hall and gift shop, theater and other necessary rooms. While the placement of some of the additions, like the Stieren Center for Exhibitions, works well with the original structure, in spite of its decidedly modern architecture, the library in particular is at odds with the “home” atmosphere throughout the rest of the museum—jarring the visitor passing from an a small and intimate room in the main house to a modern, sun filled glass enclosure holding the Rodin sculptures, and leading to the Tobin Collection of Theater Arts and library. But this is a minor wrinkle in an otherwise fantastic experience: the ability to get lost in the thought of admiring these magnificent works of art as though one were in one's home, and unconsciously being always appreciative and thankful to the woman who made it all possible, Marion Koogler McNay.

McNay Museum, Stieren Center for Exhibitions
D. A. Pardo-Rangel

Photograph Credit: The McNay
Photograph Credit: Marion Koogler McNay
Photograph Credit:  Armory Exhibit Poster
Photograph Credit: Artwork, the McNay Museum
Photograph Credit: The Stieren Center


Saturday, October 20, 2012

The Art of the Snake ... Part II

Oceania


Though not as well known, other ancient societies have also paid homage to the humble snake. Estimates date the Australian Aborigine mythology, the Dreamtime, between 50,000 and 65,000 years old. In the Dreamtime, the sacred area where the world was created, and where patterns for living were set down, the Rainbow Serpent is known as Mother of Life, the creator, life giver, the law maker, the protector of the people and the punisher of those who break the laws.

In the Dreamtime, the land was lifeless and flat. When the appropriate time came, the Serpent woke from her sleep and came out of her under ground lair to travel the land. Striking the ground with her head, the Mother of Life created the mountains, and with her body, winding her way across the country side, she created the valleys and river beds; passing through rock she created water holes, and filled them with water. The Serpent brings the rainy season each year, and appears in the sky in the form of the rainbow. With the water she brings, the Rainbow Serpent allows all life to multiply; when tempted by those who break the laws, she brings the floods to punish them. As with all mythology, there are variations of the Dreamtime adapted to reflect conditions, and locality of each Australian tribe of Aborigines.

Aboriginal Snake painting

Storytelling is the way Aborigines pass the Dreamtime from one generation to the next, and sand painting is one of the most artistic forms to express what is known as the Journey, or the subject of their stories. Originally, the paintings were done on the ground, in the desert, as the tribes moved from place to place, using seeds, stones feathers, flowers, and other natural materials to tell the story of the Dreamtime. The paintings were done to the accompaniment of the tribe elders chanting through the process, and passing on their knowledge to the younger members of the tribe, as they described each of the symbols in the paintings.

From the desert floor, the sand paintings acquired a new life as dot paintings on canvas. These dots are created with different size rods which are dipped in paint. The dots and colors are arranged on the canvas in a particular pattern to depict a specific message. These messages, at times relating ceremonial details of a region, are often hidden within the design from the casual viewer, who is not familiar with Aborigine Dreamtime, and its symbols.

Aborigines' lack of written language was compensated with the use of songs and art to pass on their culture to future generaions. Because of the value place on their art, the Aborigine culture is validated and saved from extinction, as it is passed on through the purchase of the dot paintings.


Africa

Mami Wata as a snake charmer

The Mami Wata worship celebrated in Africa and areas of the African Diaspora, with its endless female and male personifications, is associated with water spirits, and more often than not portrayed as a mermaid or as having a female head and torso with the body of a snake, or as a snake charmer. Part cult part religion, Mami Wata is set of diverse beliefs and practices which guide and reflect the ever changing social and religious practices with its mixture of African, Hindu, Muslim and Christian faiths; its personification is not devoted only to a single image, nor is its identity constant: Mami Wata refers to the embodiment of the many water deities, and as with many mythological beings, she embodies complete opposites both good and evil, wealth and poverty, a healer and the source of ailment, a symbol of fidelity as well as lust and promiscuity.

The origins of Mami Wata are lost to history, though in the Dogon creation mythology, the world was created over 4,000 years ago by female and male mermaids called Nommos. The modern Mami Wata is believed to have originated as a “capitalist” deity in the fifteenth century as European commerce, in particular slave trade, brought wealth to various African countries. Mami Wata was thus brought to the Americas where it flourished under different names depending on the local culture.

Mami Wata's association with water is intrinsic to the religion and its worship. Water is the everlasting and ever changing link to the present world, life, death and afterlife; it is the vehicle which carries the soul back home to Africa, and its distant relatives.

Western scholars attribute the name to derive from two African words with origins in ancient Egypt and Ethiopia. Mami derives from “Ma” which means truth or wisdom, and Wata is a corruption of “Uati” which means ocean water. In Mesopotamian mythology and in Babylonian prayers “Mami” is the first great Water Goddess and the creator of human life, and in ancient Egypt, the oldest name for the goddess Isis is Uati.

In art, Mami Wata is portrayed in as many forms as the beliefs which make up the religion allows, and is often dressed in the contemporary attire of the time when the art was created. This contemporary  interpretation of Mami Wata as a Samoan Snake Charmer, c. 1926, is attributed to a German artist by the name of Schlesinger.


Mexico

While few ever think of snake mythology or its worship in the New World, it may come as a surprise to learn that, among the Indigenous Americans, and perhaps more than in any other culture, the snake was most widely worshiped in pre-colonial Mexico, and extending into Central, and South America.


Turquoise mosaic Double Headed Snake, 15th-16th Century CE



The snake held a significant place in the Indigenous Mexican mythology as demonstrated by the many gods whose incarnation was the snake: Xiuhcatl (Fire Serpent), Mixcoatl (Cloud Serpent), Coatlicue (Female of the Serpent Skin) Tlaloc (god of Rain and Fertility), Quetzalcoatl, (feathered serpent) also worshiped by the Mayan and other Mesoamerican cultures (Q'uq'umatz), and many others fill the pantheon of Aztec, Maya, Inca, and other minor tribes' gods. As with other civilizations, the snake, whose cult in Mexico started around 400 B.C.E., was a symbol of rebirth and continuity through its ability to shed its skin and appear to be “reborn,” again. The snake also represented the “bridge” between the underworld, water and sky.


One of the greater gods, Quetzalcoatl, attained its name from two words in Náhuatl, the language of the Aztecs. Quetzal means, aside from the bird whose feathers were symbolically used as decoration, tail feather, and precious; cóatl has the multiple meaning of snake and twin. Combined, the two words became the name of the god, the feathered snake.


This double headed serpent made of wood and covered in turquoise mosaics, oyster and conch shell, and colored resin, was brought back to Europe by Hernán Cortéz, as part of the gifts given to him by Montezuma. Cortéz, according to Aztec mythology, was believed to be the new Quetzalcoatl; instead of saving their culture, as the Aztec believed, Cortéz brought about its end. The back of the snake is hollow and unfinished, though the heads are decorated in front and back. The serpent, 17” x 8” is at the Mexican Gallery, British Museum.

Today, Mexico still honors the snake, giving it prominence in the country's coat of arms and flag since 1821. Legend has it that the god Huitzilopochtli, son of the goddess Coatlicue of the Serpent Skin, told the Aztecs to build the central city of the empire of Tenochtitlan at the location where they saw an eagle, perched on a cactus, with a rattle snake in its claws. When they found the eagle, it was in the middle of the lake Anáhuac. In order to build their city, the Aztecs proceeded to fill the lake by diverting the water, and building reed rafts on which to live and grow food. Today, Lake Anáhuac is Mexico City.






Aboriginal Painting:  Robert Hagan
Mami Wata: Wikipidea
Double Headed Snake: British Museum
Mexico's Coat of Arms:  Newspaper Tree

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Sunday, October 14, 2012

The Art of the Snake

Hygeia, by Gustav Klimt

THE SNAKE:  As seen through the eyes of Art and Artists throughout the world.


Love them or hate them, few members of the Animal Kingdom are as honored, and at the same time as reviled, as this reptilian descendant of the lizard; nonetheless, snakes have fascinated people since the beginning of time. The oldest mythological symbol encompassing qualities of the male and female, fire and water, and earth, the snake is also symbolic of patience, healing, fertility and birth, power and desire, and has often been used as a guardian of temples and other sacred places. The snake has also been given the negative attributes of vengeance and vindictiveness, qualities best exemplified by humans, and modern science has perfected the use of their venom in the development of medicines.

Through the years, snakes have been portrayed in the various art forms, from the veritable...

"In the Beginning...."  

Adam and Eve by Mattis Pool (1676-1727)
In the Rabbinical tradition, in the Garden of Eden, the snake seduced Eve into eating from the Tree of Knowledge. As a result, Adam and Eve were expelled from their terrestrial paradise, and the serpent was cursed to to crawl on its belly, groveling in the dust for the rest of its life (Genesis).

This copperplate engraving by Mattys Pool (1676-1727) is from a rare book representing the work of Francis van Bossuit, a Flemish ivory sculptor (1635-1692). Pool's engravings were based on the drawings of Dutch painter, Barent Graat (1628-1709), and published the year of Pool's death.

Egypt

Egyptians worshiped and feared the snake, and for them it took a variety of symbols and forms. First and foremost, the snake (cobra) was a powerful deity, Wadjet, which could be seen adorning the Pharaoh's headdresses from predynastic and protodynastic periods, to the end of the Roman occupation. Wadjet was the goddess of Lower Egypt, protector of kings, and of women in childbirth. Another deity, Geb, appears in some depictions with a human body and a snake for its head; in Egyptian mythology, Geb is the god of the Earth, and the father of snakes.

In all its guises, the snake was a powerful symbol for Egyptians, which they believed could bring wealth and salvation to some, and damnation to others.



In Exodus, Moses and his brother Aaron face the Pharaoh, demanding the release of the Hebrews, in the name of Jehovah; “Let my people go....” To prove their god was more powerful, Aaron cast his staff to the ground upon which it turned into a snake. To the Egyptians this act was more magic than divine power, and to prove his superiority, the Pharaoh ordered his sorcerers to duplicated the feat, whose staffs also turned into snakes, but Aaron's staff, then, swallowed up al of the sorcerer's staffs—the pharaoh ignored the symbolic warning that came with Aaron's snake, that the Pharaoh's power was inferior to Aaron's God.

Throughout the Renaissance it was customary for royalty, nobility, and people of power, to represent themselves allegorically. The line between fantasy and reality was blurred when these personages represented themselves as historical figures whose qualities they believed to share, or at the very least, emulate. François II de Dinteville (1498-1554), Bishop of Auxerre, was no exception, and in this painting he is shown with his three brothers as principal protagonists in the dramatic confrontation between Moses and Aaron, and the Pharaoh of Egypt—suggestive of the breakdown in relations between the Dinteville brothers, and the King of France, Francis I, starting in 1538. François II Dinteville is shown as Aaron, the most prominent figure in the painting, and holding the snake; his brother Jean (1504-1555) appears as Moses, in the red striped garment, and to the right of Dinteville. Standing directly behind Moses and Aaron are the two younger Dinteville brothers, Guillaume (1505-1559), and Gaucher (1509-1550). Guillaume is directly to Aaron's left, in the red robe and plumed cap; Gaucher, whose face is framed by Moses' bent arm, is wearing a deep blue robe, and stands behind, and directly between his two oldest brothers. The painting, at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, is of French or Dutch origin, by an unknown artist of the Mannerist style.

Another famous Egyptian snake, the Asp, gained notoriety when Cleopatra placed the unsuspecting reptile to her breast. In this allegorical portrait of Cleopatra, by Piero di Cosimo (originally di Lorenzo, 1462-1521), the subject is in fact alleged to be Genoese noblewoman Simonetta Vespucci, whom di Cosimo painted posthumously in 1480, fourteen years after her death. Cleopatra's style is that of late Medieval and early Renaissance periods used by di Cosimo's contemporaries, Anbrogio de Predis (1455-1508), Davide Ghirladaio (1452-1525), Sandro Botticelli (1445-1510) and Jacopo Pontormo (1494-1557): the sitter is shown in a rather flat profile, with an expressionless face, and against a backdrop depicting a setting associated with the sitter.

Cleopatra stares into the distance, defiantly and conscious of her actions, as though pretending to be unaware, to not disturb the the asp, which will soon bite. Of particular interest is the regal detail of the hair, richly decorated with pearls and ribbons, befitting of a queen.

It is not known whether the notation at the bottom of this painting, naming the sitter as Simonetta Vespucci, is original. The painting hangs at the Musée Condé, Chantilly, France.

Greece

According to the various stories in Greek mythology, the god Apollo sent an arrow through the air to pierce the heart of his unfaithful lover, Lapithian princess, Coronis. As she lay dying, Coronis told Apollo that he should have waited for the birth of their son, before killing her. As Coronis lay on the funeral pyre, a remorseful Apollo reached into her womb and saved his son. The child was named, Asclepius, and was given to Cheiron, who taught the infant the arts of healing and hunting. Asclepius also learned the use of drugs, love potions and incantations, and how to perform surgery. When Asclepius brought Hippolytus back from the dead, in exchange for gold, Zeus hurled a thunderbolt to strike Asclepius dead—a mere mortal—for intervening in the natural order of life and death. Realizing that Asclepius had done good to man, Zeus made him a god, and placed him among the stars as the snake bearer, Ophiucus Constellation.

Through the years, the snake wrapped around a staff has been part of medical lore. In Greece, this lore was based on healers treating common infections of parasitic worms, or “fiery serpent,” which were cured by cutting the flesh above the path of the worm. As it crawled out from under the skin, the healer carefully wound the worm around a stick, or rod, until it was fully removed from the patient's body.

The snake, and the staff, not to be confused with Mercury's Caduceus, became the symbol of Asclepius, and consequently of Medicine. Like medicine, the snake (serpent) can be beneficial or harmful, and represents both life and death; its poison, if swallowed, could be a life giving drug; when ingested through the blood stream, it is deadly.


The plate, above, depicting Asclepius is part of a set engraved by Sidney Hall (1788-1831) to go with Jehoshapaha Aspin's A Familiar treatise on astronomy, published in London, 1825. The set of thirty two cards, designed by “a Lady” (Hall), was meant to facilitate the amateur astronomer. Each card, depicting one individual constellation, was pierced with holes of different sizes which, when held against a light, displayed a realistic pattern and magnitude of the stars in each constellation. The set of hand colored cards, published to go along Aspin's text, was called Urania's Mirror.

Hall, a British engraver and cartographer in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, was very popular and respected for his engravings of the United Kingdom and the ancient world, reproduced in many early Nineteenth Century atlases.  

In the portrait below by Peter Paul Rubens, Hygeia (1615), the goddess of Health and Hygiene, and the daughter of Asclepius, is depicted allegorically to reflect northern European features as was the custom, in all painting until the 1800s. Rubens, known for his emphasis on color, movement, and sensuality, created Hyegia in the style he made famous, that of the voluptuous woman. Hygeia gives a restoring tonic to the snake, which like her father's, is her symbol. The mood of the painting is light, to reflect the subject's mythological background of health and healing, though the cloudy background is symbolic of unexpected health issues. 


Hygeia by Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640)

Rubens did two versions of this painting, the other at times referred to as Cleopatra, in which the mood of the painting is much somber, as a result of her affair with Marc Anthony, their defeat by Augustus, and the Roman Emperor's revenge upon the lovers. While Hygeia's face shows care and concern, Cleopatra's face, is pained and anguished, and the colors in the painting are overall darker, moodier, to reflect the subject's frame of mind; the foreboding sky in the background, indicating the final outcome of the scene.  Apart from the overall mood in the two paintings, one major difference is the color of sash:  it is black in Hygeia, and in Cleopatra, it is the same color as the robe.

Both paintings have variously been called by each other's names, and Cleopatra, listed as Hygeia, is  in the Lobkovicz Collection, at the Národní Gallerie, Prague. Hyageia is at the Detroit Institute of Arts.

The painting at the top of this page is also a representation of Hygeia, by Austrian master artist, Gustav Klimt (1862-1918). Originally a triptych to decorate the ceremonial hall at the University of Vienna, the three large paintings, Medicine, Philosophy and Jurisprudence, were commissioned in 1894, but Klimt's work was too controversial for the university professors, whose views the artist attacked in the canvases. After many arguments, Klimt canceled the contract and returned his fees, to the school. When Germany lost World War II, and the Nazis occupying Austria began their retreat, on 7 May, 1945, they set off explosives at Immendrof Castle, where the triptych and ten other of Klimt's paintings were stored. Nothing survived of the castle or the artwork. Luckily for posterity, several pictures of these masterpieces have survived.

It is easy to understand why the paintings were so scandalous. In Medicine, Klimt delivered a haughty Hygeia, disconnected form her surroundings, and the tragedy of nearby humans in different stages of life, and death. Hygeia looks down at the viewer with disdain, barely going through the rituals of her profession, without care or empathy for those in her need.

Another Greek myth is that of the Gorgon Medusa, and her two wicked sisters, Stheno and Euryale. As with all Greek myths the legend of Medusa has different versions. The early accounts tell of Medusa and her sisters as a winged monsters with snakes in their hair and other animal features, and are often depicted as such in early Greek pottery, and sculpture. Later classical writers point to a different Medusa, one who is beautiful, and celebrated for her charms. Poseidon, infatuated with Medusa, raped the maiden in the Temple of Athena. Medusa was punished by an angry Athena for violating her temple, turning the fair maiden into an ugly monster, and giving her snakes instead of hair. In all versions of the legend, Medusa's face and stare will turn any onlooker into stone; and unlike her sisters, Medusa is a mortal, who will be killed by Perseus.

Caravaggio's Medusa c.1598, Uffizi Gallery, Florence

Michaelangelo Merisi (1571-1610) better known as Caravaggio, the name of the town where he grew up, arrived in Rome from northern Italy in 1592. At the time, he was just like hundreds of other young men arrival in the Papal city, aspiring to make a name for himself in the art world. It did not take long, however, for Caravaggio's unconventional, rebellious, and at times dangerous personality, to get him noticed by the nobility and the authorities. His art was just as revolutionary, just as controversial, and just as shocking as Caravaggio was in life, and just as quickly his art received the recognition so desired by the artist.


Caravaggio invented himself, and his art, to follow the same dictum: to break the rules. A contradiction in terms, Caravaggio was a deeply spiritual man, whose complex, haunted, and self destructive personality became his own muse. He painted with, up to then, unknown realism and keen attention to the emotional and physical detail of the human state: his subjects showed real life wrinkles, scars, damaged hands or fingers, dirt on their feet and under their fingernails; his models were chosen (sometimes pulled into the studio from the street) not for their external beauty, but for the qualities they could give the subject to be painted. It can be said that, at once, the viewer can smell the wretchedness and feel transported by the virtues of the subjects being portrayed in the paintings.

At a time when Roman painters were restrained by their techniques and procedures, Caravaggio avoided drawings and painted from life, exclusively. He took the medium of chiaroscuro and made it his own, by redefining the rules. He added an third dimension to the light as it entered the canvas and fell on the subjects. Caravaggio created a brighter and more translucent light, resulting in deeper, darker shadows, which gave the composition, or subject of the painting, an illusory quality of floating on the canvas. Caravaggio's technique elevated realism to its highest level, and demanded its marriage to the drama being portrayed. In the process, he erased the space between life and art, making the viewer, for the first time, become an active participant of the action on the canvas. Caravaggio's work shocked and pleased his patrons, whose regal sensibilities were offended or awakened by the crude realism of the people he portrayed, on canvas. The artists in Rome and elsewhere shared the same reaction: those more stablished, feared and were loath of him, the younger generations saw him as their artistic savior and followed his techniques.

In this portrait of Medusa, Caravaggio's intense realism becomes almost disturbing, and self-fulfilling: as in his other paintings with severed heads, it is the artist who is being represented. In Medusa, it is not mythology, nor the snakes, but Caravaggio's features, which call attention to the canvas; it is his shock, anger, pity, frustration, helplessness, and surprise, coupled with a silent scream which haunt the viewer, like the echo of a nightmare. Medusa is on canvas what Caravaggio was in life: enigmatic.

Caravaggio's genius laid the foundations for the Baroque movement in art, but his accomplishments were overshadowed by his temper and volatile character. His life was difficult to sort out, much less understood, and as rapidly as he gained popularity while living, Caravaggio was almost as rapidly forgotten in death.

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Part II




Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Snow White: A Guide to Child-Centered Musical Theater








Snow White
A Guide to Child-Centered Musical theater
by
Patricia Rickard-Lauri, Book
Harriet Groeschel, Illustrations
Carol M. Robbins, Michele S. Rotholz, and Allan Turry, Music
Clive Robbins, Lyrics


"Once upoon a time in the middle of winter, a queen sat at her window working. The snowflakes were falling like beautiful feathers from the sky. She was working on her ebony embroidery frame. As she worked she pricked her finger. Three drops of blood fell upon her white work. When she saw how bright and red it looked she said, 'Oh, I wish to have a child as white as snow, as red as blood, and as black as the wood of my embroidery frame,'

After a short time, the Queen had a daughter. The lovely child had skin as white as snow, lips as red as blood and hair as black as ebony. The Queen named her baby girl 'Snow White.' ”1 And so, the story begins.

Even in today’s jaded and technologically centered culture, there is not one child who, at one time or another, has not seen himself, or herself, as an actor in this story. It is the child’s ability to participate in this story, and to carry those memories into adulthood, which have turned this Grimm Brothers’ fairy tale, into the classic that it is. Those childhood memories are brought back to life when one passes that experience onto other children, and one sees in the child’s face the same joy, the same emotions, one has stored in the subconscious. Snow White is loved by all, for we have all lived part of the story.

This unique version of the classic fairy tale, takes Snow White one step further: aside from the simplified story, there is a play version adapted for children of all ages; there is a musical score and musical directives, as well as easily understood lyrics; there are productions notes and stage and lighting directions, easy to follow costumes and set design suggestions, along with a compact disk which includes voice and instrumental renditions for each song.

"There's so much to be done on a morning bright and clear,
So much to be done to fill a house with cheer.
I've tidied up the bedroom, I've tidied up the hall,
Now to tidy up the cupboards, and that, I think, is all.

So sing, sing, sing a happy, song,
As you shine, as you straighten, as you scrub.
Oh! sing, sing, sing, a happy, happy song,
Then the work won't take so very, very long!

Those seven little men, I really must declare,
To make their house a loving home, they need a woman's care.
To make their house a loving home, they need a woman's care."2



Unlike most productions, this version of Snow White is conceived and presented from the point of view of the child, with easily understood dialogue, task directions, etc. This all in one production is ideal for a school/class room project, an overnight children's birthday or pajama party, a summer camp event, neighborhood play or community project. The opportunities are varied, as both the play and the score were written with children of all levels of ability, and comprehension, in mind.






There is one section devoted to drama exercises to help the children express different emotions and situations. Aside from the appropriate drawing, there are simple directions for the child to follow. To express being tired, yawn, “bringing hand up and covering up the yawn, stretch, then slowly sink to the floor into a reclining and sleeping position ....” 3 For anger, the child should walk “...stamping feet; scowl at other people; shake fists....”4 Simple enough, one might think, but for a child it is not as easy to know the subtleties of mimicking these actions, as it is for an adult. Another section, using the same approach,is devoted to dance and movement exercises.




"White as snow, pretty maid, pretty maid,
Red as blood, pretty maid, pretty maid,
And black as ebony , black as ebony,
Pretty maid, pretty maid...."5



The book itself is a work of art with many exquisite color drawings of actual children in a performance of the play; and the text has been simplified for easier understanding and access for those who are too young, or have disabilities. There is a glossary covering descriptions of some of the words, and possible scenarios to help the adult in the explanation, and presentation, of the words to the children. The script for the play provides all the narrative, and dialogue.

Clive and Carol Robbins
The accompanying CD provides two versions of the score: one version has the lyrics sung by children, the other version is instrumental to facilitate rehearsals and performance, should a pianist not be available. The music for this mini “Broadway Musical” is simple enough for children to relate and remember, yet clearly thought out to realistically project all the emotions in the story and the lyrics.  One adde bonus in the CD is the performance of the music and singing by the different composers.  Of particular interest and significance are those selections by Carol and Clive Robbins, both of them now deceased.  Carol passed before this book reached publication; Clive passed in 2011.


Rickard-Lauri explains the philosophy behind this project, “We all endorse the philosophy that to be a good actor or actress, one must know everything about the play and its characters, not just one's own part. The results of this approach are natural and comfortable participants who can perform on stage with confidence and a command of what they are doing. Combining this with the fact that language skills are being taught and learned in an enjoyable and creative manner, the outcome meets a multitude of goals, both educationally and artistically.”6  One can only add that it would, enormously, help the child build self esteem, and for those children with disabilities, help them become part of the whole.

Snow White: A Guide to Child Centered Musical Theater is a very clever concept, and one that will bring joy to adults, and children alike. 




And they lived happily ever after.




Disclaimer: The reviewer knows some of the authors, and the Publisher.
Portions of this review previously appeared on Amazon, 8 February, 2009
Art Work:  Barcelona Publishers.
Photo of Clive and Carol Robbins:  Unknown.
1Rickard-Lauri, Patricia; Groeschel, Harriet; Robbins, Carol M.; Robbins, Clive; Ritholz, Michele S.; Turry, Alan, Snow White: A Guide to Child-Centered Musical Theater, Barcelona Publishers, Gilsum, N.H., 1997, p.3
2Ibid., p.491Rickard-Lauri, Patricia; Groeschel, Harriet; Robbins, Carol M.; Robbins, Clive; Ritholz, Michele S.; Turry, Alan, Snow White: A Guide to Child-Centered Musical Theater, Barcelona Publishers, Gilsum, N.H., 1997, p.3
3Ibid., p. 82
4Ibid., p. 80
5Ibid., p.54
6Ibid., p.157









Monday, September 17, 2012

Verismo Opera

LE VILLI

(1884)

Opera-Ballet in Two Acts by


Giacomo Puccini

Italian Libretto by
Ferdinando Fontana


English Translation
Daniel Pardo-Rangel © 2001



Ferdinando Fontana (background) and Giacomo Puccini (Foreground), 1884.

Original Production program 1884


Synopsis


Act One: It is Spring. Roberto and Anna's engagement is being celebrated in a clearing in the forrest. All are happy that Roberto has inherited a small fortune, and he must go to Mainz to claim it. This worries Anna; she tells Roberto of the unhappy premonition she has had for some time, that he will forget her and not return from Mainz. He reassures her of his love and asks her to not doubt him.



As the merriment winds down, Roberto asks Anna's father, Guglielmo, for his blessing before taking his leave. All are happy for Roberto and wish him a successful trip.



Intermezzo:   Roberto, seduced by a mermaid, wasted his inheritance, and forgot Anna, who died of a broken heart at the beginning of winter. Her soul joined Le Villi, the spirits of other girls whose hearts have been broken



The Narrator tells the Black Forrest legend of those who break their promises of love, and how the Villis gather in the forrest at night waiting for their return. When the faithless lover enters the forrest, the Villis in their frenzied dance, take the lover down.



Act Two: Guglielmo, stricken with grief over the death of his daughter, curses Roberto for all the grief he has caused, and invokes the wrath of the Villis against his daughter's suitor. Guglielmo repents immediately, upon wishing death on Roberto, and begs for forgiveness for his vengefulness.



A remorseful Roberto returns to the village. At the end of the forrest he meets the ghost of Anna, who tells him of her sorrow waiting for his return and how she died of a broken heart. Roberto begs for her forgiveness, but Anna and the Villis drag him into their dance. Exhausted, Roberto falls dead at Anna's feet as the spirits and the Villis sing with joy.   



Complete recording of Le Villi


Overture

Act I

A clearing in the forest. To the right, in front, Guglielmo’s modest house. In the rear, to the right, a path that disappears into the thick underbrush climbing to a cliff, from which, a bridge connects it to another cliff. It is Spring.  The scene is decorated for a party, with garlands of flowers hanging everywhere.  Guglielmo, Anna, and Robert are seated at the head table.


Mountaineers
(As Anna and Roberto move away, holding hands)

Cheers! Cheers! Cheers! Cheers to the couple!
Roberto is the heir of the old woman from Magonza! 
The accumulated treasures are, in fact,  many!
Though poor this afternoon, Roberto will leave 
to return rich and marry his sweetheart!
Cheers! Cheers! Cheers! Cheers to the couple!
(The musicians play a country dance)
Turn! Turn! Turn! Jump! Turn! Jump!
The music is thrilling and delirious,
The dance is intoxicating and urges us forward!
Oh ! the hours rush by when the feet are nimble
And the dance is frivolous!
The party is the rival of the heart: it makes the heart beat faster!
Turn! Turn! Turn! Jump! Turn! Jump!
(To Guglielmo)
Hey! Guglielmo! Come to dance!

Guglielmo
Yes, and why not? My God!
I am old, but I have strong legs!
(Gallantly, he asks a young girl to dance)

Mountaineers
Turn! Spin!  Turn! Jump! Turn! Jump!

(Amidst the laughter and the applause, Guilielmo leaves with the dancer. Little by little everyone follows him out. The scene remains empty for a moment, then, Anna returns, in the back, alone with a bunch of Forget-me-not)

Anna
If I were small like you, Oh! pretty flower,
I could always, always, be near my love.
Then, I would tell him: “I think of you always!”
And repeat to him: “Forget me not”
You, happier than I am, follow him.  Oh! flower, 
follow my loved one through the dales and valleys.
Oh! If your name is not false, then, to my loved one, 
repeat: “Forget me not”
(Anna goes to put the flowers in Roberto’s case)

Roberto
(Watching Anna, smiling as he approaches her)
Ah, I have caught you!

Anna
You!

Roberto
(Taking the flowers from his case, 
he kisses them, and puts them back)

Thank you, my Anna, but I would like 
A sweeter souvenir.

Anna
Which one?

Roberto
A smile.
(Anna shakes her head)
Do not be sad, dearest Anna. 
It will be but a few days before I return.

Anna
I try in vain to refrain from crying, 
I have a sadness that I cannot conquer.
Foreboding clouds disturb my mind,
I fear that I should never see you again.

Roberto
Anna!

Anna
Last night I dreamed that I was
Dying, waiting for you.

Roberto
Come on! Such thoughts!
Instead, think instead of the happiness
Destiny has for us, and our love.

Anna
But you love me, truly?

Roberto
My angel, why do still doubt my love?
You have shared the happiness and caresses
Of my childhood; from your virtues and sweetness
I learned the joy of life.
I was poor, and you chose my affection
Over that of a rich man.
Oh! Doubt God,
But do not doubt my love.
I love you!

Anna
Sweet and gentle words, Oh!
You are engraved in my sad heart,
And in the misty moments of waiting,
You will alleviate my pain!
Sweet and gentle words, Oh!
How many times my lips
Will murmur you:
"Ah! Doubt of God,
But do not doubt my love!
I love you!"

(The mountaineers return with Guglielmo)

Mountaineers
Hurry! Hurry, get going!
It is time to go!
You must be on your way,
Before the happy rays of the sun
Disappear at dusk!

Roberto
Anna, have courage!

Anna
I feel like I am dying!

Mountaineers
(To Roberto)
We will come to the end of the forest, with you.

Roberto
(To Guglielmo)
Father, a blessing!

Guglielmo
Everyone gather around me.
(Anna, Roberto and everyone kneel at Guglielmo’s feet)

Angel of God in heaven, this night,
Take this prayer to the Lord’s throne!

Anna, Roberto and Guglielmo
May it be a favorable journey
To all the pilgrims!
Do not deceive
All dreams of love!
Take this prayer to the Lord’s throne!
(Guglielmo embraces Roberto, then Roberto embraces 
Anna, and waives to the men and women)

Roberto
Father, Anna, goodbye!

Anna, Guglilmo and the mountaineers
Goodbye, Roberto, Goodbye!
(Roberto leaves with some friends)

Intermezzo
First Part: L’Abbandono

The Narrator
In those days, in Magonza, a siren 
Captivated the young, and the old men.
She lured Roberto to an obscene orgy,
And he forgot his affections for Anna.
Meanwhile, grieving with pain, the
Betrayed girl waited for him.  But she
Waited in vain, and when winter came,
She asked her eyes for eternal sleep.

(Anna's funeral procession is seen in the rear, leaving Guglielmo's house)

Village Women
Like a dying Lily, she lies in her coffin.
A ray of moonlight is the candor on her face.
Oh! Virginal maiden, rest in peace!

Intermezzo
Second Part: La Tregenda

(The landscape is the same as in the first, but it is a winter night.  Twiggy and without leaves, the poplar trees are covered with snow.  The star filled sky is cal:  the moon illuminates the gloomy landscape.  Preceeded by flashes of lightning, Le Villi come out to dance)

The Narrator
There is a legend in the Black Forrest, 
The legend of Le Villi, it is called,
And it fills all faithless lovers with terror.
Waiting for the traitor, 
The Villis dance every night in the forrest, 
When a young girl dies of a broken heart.
When they find him, the Villis laugh and 
Dance with him until, in the frenzy 
Of the dance, they kill him.  
Oh! For Roberto, there is a sad day ahead.
Penniless, and abandoned by the siren, 
He thought of returning, and tonight
He has indeed come to the forrest.
Round and round the Villis dance and laugh,
In the evening's frosty air.
He, trembling with cold and fear, 
Is already in the midst of the dark forrest.

Act II

Guglielmo
(Sitting in front of his house, pained and grieving)

No, it is not possible that his guilt goes unavenged.
She lived saintly and quietly by my side, 
My sweet daughter!  Then he awoke with his words, 
Yearnings of love in her heart. 
(He stands up rapidly)
Oh! Scoundrel!  Who, then, asked for your love?
What horrible crime have we committed
For you to kill that angel, and give my final days such misery? 
No, it is not possible for such a deed to go unpunished!
Saintly soul of my daughter, if the legend of Le Villi is true,
Oh! Don't be with him as kind as you were before,
But wait for him when night falls.
If I could but know that you have been avenged, 
I would happily greet my last day.
Oh!  Forgive me, Lord, the merciless thoughts
That escape from my aching heart   
(He goes inside the house)  

Le Villi
(Off stage)

Here he comes!
Anna!  Anna!  Anna!
Here comes the traitor to meet his death sentence!
Here is is, getting closer!  Behold him!  Come!  
Cursed man, hurry!
(Roberto appears on the small bridge, and advances)

Roberto
(To himself)
Here is the house.  
God, what a horrible night!
Strange voices pursuing me.  Le Villi ....  Nonsense!
They are tales to frighten people;
It is madness!
(He walkss towards the house)
No, the fatal curse of Le Villi is not after me!
Viper from Hell!
Poisonous viper from Hell!
Anguished, my thoughts return to happier days,
When May flowers smiled.
Love bloomed, love bloomed for me!
Now, everything is covered in mysterious gloom,
And in my heart there is nothing,
But sadness and fear!
Perhaps she is still alive!
(He looks at the house, and, urgently, walks towards it)
I will knock on the door.
(He starts to reach for the door, but stops as though an unknown force impedes him)
Shivers run through me!
In vain I try to lift my hand
Over the limits of the threshold.

Le Villi
Come!  Cursed man, hurry!

Roberto
It seems like I am hearing a gloomy song!
(Worn out, he kneels to pray)
Oh! Supreme Lord!  
This is the end of my road and of my destiny.
Let your pardon return her happiness to me, 
For one moment, then I can die!
(He jumps to his feet)
I cannot pray!
Ah! Damned day, the day that I went far from here!
Damn your beauty, vile courtesan!
Be damned!  For ever  Damned!

Le Villi
Walk!  Walk!  Walk!

Anna
(Off stage)
Roberto!

Roberto
Heavens!  Her voice!
Then she is not dead!

Anna
(Standing on the bridge)
I am no longer "Love,"
I am now, "Vengeance."

Roberto
(Falls to his knees)
Oh! God!

Anna
Do you remember what you said in the month of the flowers?
"You have shared the happiness and caresses 
of my childhood; from your virtues and sweetness
I learned the joy of life....
Oh! Doubt God,
But do not doubt my love."
I love you;  you betrayed me.
I waited for you; you never came.
But it is a terrible ache to suffer in silence!
Without hope in my heart, you left me to die!

Roberto
I forgot her, I betrayed her, 
And because of me she lost her life.
Ah!  It is a great sorrow I have to bear!
With remorse in my heart,
I feel I am about to die!

(Roberto goes towards Anna, as though driven by an unknown force.  He tries to control the impulse that drives him, but he cannot, and  throws himself towards her.  Anna advances and extends him her arms and embraces him.  Meanwhile, Le Villi come out and circle around Roberto and Anna, and drag them away, dancing furiously, off the stage

Spirits
(Off stage)
Here we wait for you, traitor!
Do not expect any pity from us!

Le Villi and the Spirits
He, who in life was deaf to love,
Does not have forgiveness in death!
Traitor!  We are waiting for you!
Turn! Jump! Turn! Jump!

(Roberto, terrified, knocks on Guglielmo's door.  Discovering that Le Villi are coming after him, he tries to escape, but Anna appears, and blocks his path.  Anna reassures Roberto, and with the help of Le Villi, she overtakes him, as they dance furiously.)

Roberto
(Exhausted, he falls at her feet)
Anna, have pity on me!

Anna
(Ignoring his plea)
You are mine!
(She vanishes)

Le Villi and the Spirits
(Dancing around Roberto, until he dies)
Hosanna!  Hosanna!  Hosanna!



THE END



Cast

Guglielmo....................................................Stefano Antonucci, Bass
Anna............................................................Nanà Gordaze, Soprano
Roberto...................................................................José Cura, Tenor
Narrator..........................................Massimo Foschi,  Speaking Role

Chorus of Villagers, unseen Ghosts, and Villi

Bruno Aprea Conducts the Orchestre Internazionale d'Italia
Coro da Camera Gluck di Bratislava

Co-Production with XX Festival della Valle d'Itria-Martina Franca


Video and Soundtrack: LuluJC62, YouTube