The Yale University Art Gallery

Today, I visited the Yale University Art Gallery. Before I even got there, I saw a protest on the New Haven Green. I wished I had not stopped to see what all the ruckus was about because by the time I walked into the museum, I had missed the start of a tour and the start of a lecture being given in the main entrance. However, the people at the Information Desk were very helpful as they instructed me about me about the temporary and permanent exhibits. I was very interested in finding the early European art paintings, especially those from the Tuscan region of Italy as I think that part of Italy is just so beautiful. There were so many different styles and paintings of the Virgin Mary and Christ but what caught my eye was a painting by Antonio Pollaiuolo (1432-1498). The painting is titled Hercules and Deianira (1470) and it depicts a centaur by the name of Nessus, the beautiful Deianira and Hercules. Legend has it that Nessus abducted Deianira who was the lover of Hercules. Hercules shot Nessus with a poison arrow but before he died, he convinced Deianira that his blood would make a very powerful love potion. Believing Nessus, Deianira sent Hercules a cloak that had been soaked in Nessus' blood. Once Hercules put it on the cloak, he died. Deianira was so devastated that she committed suicide. Pretty powerful stuff. It made me think of Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare but that wasn't written until about 120 years later.

During the time Pollaiuolo was painting this oil on canvas, Europe was in the middle of the Renaissance (1300's-1600's). This period essentially brought western Europe out of the Dark Ages and into the beginning of the modern world. Florence, in the Tuscan region of Italy was the center of the Renaissance. During this time, artists discovered how to paint in 3 dimensions bringing new life and a touch of realism to their paintings. The most powerful family was the Medici family known for nurturing artists like Michaelangelo, Botticelli and Pollaiuolo and great thinkers like Leonardo Da Vinci. In the rest of the world, Ivan the Great was ruling Russia, the Turks had conquered Constantinople, ending the Byzantine Empire and starting the Ottoman Empire and the Incas had built Machu Picchu in Peru. This "lost city built in the clouds" was abandoned after the Spaniards defeated the Incan Empire and brought smallpox to the area. It was "rediscovered" in 1911 by Hiram Bingham (http://www.new7wonders.com/)

Florence, Italy is in the Arno Valley and if you look closely in the background of the picture, you can see the Arno Valley depicted. I tried to get close up so that you can see the rolling hills and the architecture of the day. By the year 1400 the city was a vibrant trading center and headquarters of an international banking network.

As I walked around the museum, I realized how important art is and how it can impact us at the time it happens and 100's of years later. Did Pollaiuolo paint for the sheer love of it or did he actually believe his artwork would survive all these years later for so many of us to enjoy? I don't always understand the subject matter but different paintings can evoke so many emotions. Sometimes it is so serious and sometimes it is almost comical. Looking at pictures in the museum of the Crucifixtion of Christ brought tears to my eyes. But then I would think of the African masks I saw on the 2nd floor. Some made me smile and laugh out loud while one wall of miniature masks scared me - I thought they might have been shrunken heads! The Monet and Matisse paintings made me happy with their colors. Everything on every floor that you look at makes you stop and think. There is currently an exhibition on display called Grand Scale: Monumental Prints in the Age of Durer and Titianled. There is a painting by Erhard Schon (1491-15420) called "What Do You See". Looking at the picture face on, the picture looks stretched out and you see things like a fire breathing dragon. But looking at the painting from a different angle shows a "squatting peasant defacating". Quite gross but there were a group of us that got a kick out of squatting and looking in the bottom left angle of the picture for the peasant. Luckily for everyone, that exhibit does not allow any photography.

When I returned home, I looked on the internet for more information on Antonio Pollaiuolo. He had a younger brother named Piero (1441-1496) who was also an artist. Antonio was considered to be the better artist of the two brothers. His main contribution during the time of the Renaissance was his analysis of the human body in movement or under strenuous conditions. The picture of Hercules and Deianira is meant to be a "portrayal of the human body in dramatic action" although I don't think my camera captured that. Antonio was also known for being a sculptor and a metal worker (goldsmith). (http://www.wga.hu/bio/p/pollaiol/biograph.html).

All in all, it was a very enjoyable visit to the Yale University Art Gallery.