Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1387622
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 27 JUNE 2021 4 ART 13 masterpieces at MUŻA for ON 2 March 2021, twelve re- markable Old Master paintings boarded a chartered cargo plane from Geneva airport to embark on a new chapter in their cheq- uered history. A month later, they were joined by the 13th Master- piece, a painting entitled 'Ma- donna of Divine Love,' which had travelled overland and by catamaran, all the way from St Petersburg in Russia, where it had participated in the exhibi- tion 'After Raffaello' marking the 500th anniversary of the artist's death, held at the re- nowned State Hermitage Mu- seum. Following decades out of public sight in a private col- lection, this impressive array of paintings ranging from the late 15th- to the mid-18th centu- ries will be reintroduced to the world in an exhibition, 'Mas- terpieces at MUŻA' which will run until the end of October 2021. The paintings, by masters who have etched their names in the history of art- including autograph works from the likes of Giovanni Baglione, François Boucher, and Claude-Joseph Vernet- have been entrusted to MUŻA on a long-term loan. The prestigious exhibition represents a first for Malta. It reflects an expression of the trust that Heritage Malta en- joys within international cir- cles and is an extension of the agency's commitment to make art accessible to the man in the street. 'Masterpieces at MUŻA' has been divided into five themed sections to provide a curated context for the wide variety of subjects depicted in the thirteen significant art- works. In keeping with the leit- motif of portraiture, which in- troduces each narrative within the permanent collection, two Renaissance portraits greet vis- itors to the exhibition. The 'Portrait of a young wom- an' attributed to Giovanni Bell- ini and Circle, which was ex- hibited at the Palazzo Ducale in Venice in 1949, is typical of the sensuous colouristic man- ner that was to characterise Venetian painting in the late 15th and 16th centuries. Mean- while, the blank backdrop in the 'Portrait of Pietro Soderini,' a prominent Florentine states- man, enhances the immedia- cy with which the ponderous sitter presents himself to the viewer. Four paintings feature in the section entitled 'Moth- er and Child.' As the name implies, the tondo, bordered by an exquisite reproduction frame of the period, is a circu- lar painting, plausibly ascribed to Maestro Tommaso, who spent a considerable part of his career training and working in the studio of the Florentine painter and sculptor, Loren- zo di Credi (1459-1537). The calming blue and green tones that imbue 'The Madonna and Child with the young St John the Baptist and an Angel in a Landscape' reflect the serene and peaceful composition of ordered nature and the sym- metrical arrangement of the painting's subjects in the fore- ground. The small-scale devotional painting of 'Ecce Uomo,' one of the many painted by An- drea Solario and his circle, introduces a section dedicat- ed to 'Passion and Devotion.' Employing the subtle sfumato technique inspired by Leonar- do da Vinci, the painting em- phasises Christ's humiliation and physical suffering before being taken to be crucified and die on the Cross. An entirely earthier guise of passion characterizes the two paintings that dominate the following section in the exhi- bition: 'Greek Myth in Art.' François Boucher, the most celebrated painter and deco- rative artist of the 18th cen- tury, is famous for his idyllic, Rococo pastoral scenes and his boldly voluptuous goddess- es and mistresses. The gently curved lines and pastel palette establish sensitivity and soft- ness in his interpretation of 'Pan and Syrinx.' Narrative ten- sion is delineated by the naked sensuality of Syrinx's languid pose and her pearly skin, which Above: Pan and Syrinx - Francois Boucher