The National Gallery - West Building - Part 2

Rotunda at the National Gallery

In my quest to see everything in the National Gallery this month, I spent the day wandering through Galleries 26-51 hitting the Late Italian, Netherlandish, German, Spanish, and some French Art - spanning the 14th to 17th centuries.

My experience today is precisely what I love about this project.  Had you asked me my opinion of 14th and 15th Century German and Netherlandish painting this morning over coffee and pop-tarts, I would have been less than enthusiastic.   

As is happens, I LOVE 14th and 15th century German and Netherlandish Art...I would answer your question now by saying ...."Post-plague German Art?  Love it!" or  "Lucas Cranach the Elder is the man!"

The Crucifixion with the Converted Centurion by Lucas Cranach the Elder - 1536

There is such a change from the soft colors and round babies of most of the Italians.  The Germans use bold colors and clean lines and their figures are grotesque and tend toward the fantastic.  

The Raising of the Cross - Master of the Starck Triptych - 1480

The Small Crucifixion                   Closeup - Baptism of Christ

Matthias Grunewald      I love the man holding the flaming heart

After walking through the German galleries with my mouth hanging open, I headed into the Netherlands and was happily surprised by my long-time crush, Hieronymus Bosch.  I am pretty sure that I was grinning by this point...I just hope I wasn't talking to myself. 

Death and the Miser by Hieronymus Bosch - 1485

The made up creatures and combination of the beautiful and violent in all of these paintings hold the same appeal for me as Edward Gory, Tim Burton, Dios de los Muertos Mexican Art and tattoos (good tattoos, not butterflies or rosebuds).  The French galleries that followed were beautiful, but not inspiring. 

The Muses Urania and Calliope - Simon Vouet - 1634

The Spanish galleries were remarkable as well.   Murillo's Two Women at a Window" has a Manet-esque quality to it that I loved.  The gallery also has a number of El Greco pieces.  I had always assumed that that was his name...turns out, his real name is Dominikos Theotokopoulos.  El Greco ("the Greek") was just his nickname in Italy and Spain.  His paintings are interesting more than beautiful, but I'm a sucker for anything out of the ordinary and his elongated figures and use of white on color are definitely unusual.

Saint Martin and the Beggar             Two Women at a Window

El Greco - 1600                       Bartolome Esteban Murillo - 1655

Although not my favorite of the day, I feel obliged to mention that Rubens and Rembrandt were also featured in these galleries.  They were lovely...it's Rembrandt, I don't need to expound on his greatness.  

At the end of the day, I've tucked the German galleries away along with the Lincoln Gallery at the American Art Museum as favorite places that I can visit whenever I need a little inspiration.