The Florida Option: Sunday January 31, 2010

The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art

When I first visited The Ringling Museum

of Art (http://www.ringling.org/) in Sarasota earlier
this month I quickly realized that one, or
even two, visits would be insufficient. So,
I bought a membership. When the card
arrived I bee-lined down there, strolled
the grounds and gardens; and took a
docent-guided tour of the art museum.

Grounds and Gardens

http://www.ringling.org/Grounds.aspx?id=98&ekmensel=c580fa7b_186_0_98_5

The grounds and gardens were unfortunately drab, even in the

sunshine. I think this was because of the unseasonably cold weather
and freezing temperatures the entire area recently experienced.
Nonetheless, I enjoyed the quiet along the paths, admired the
sculptures, and the banyan trees.
The Museum of Art
http://www.ringling.org/ArtMuseum.aspx

“The Museum of Art, built by John Ringling to house his personal

collection of masterpieces, today features paintings and sculptures by
the great Old Masters including Rubens, van Dyck, Velázquez, Titian,
Tintoretto, Veronese, El Greco, Gainsborough and more.”

Peter Paul Rubens and The Baroque

The docent-guided tour covered Peter Paul Reubens and the
Baroque. The introductory gallery featured: a portrait of Isabella (who
was a major patron of Rubens); a huge tapestry (Fides Catholica);
and one huge painting (The Triumph of Divine Love). The immensity
and details of the tapestry and the paintings in the first two galleries
were awesome to behold.

Gaspar de Crayer
Flemish, 1584-1669,
active in Antwerp

Portrait of the Infanta

Isabella Clara Eugenia,
c. 1620

de Crayer was a student

of Rubens.

The following information

is excerpted from The Docent Collections Handbook 2007 Edition:

Fides Catholica (The Triumph of the Catholic Faith), c. 1662

Tapestry

Bequest of John Ringling, 1936, SN 1024

The following information is excerpted from The Docent Collections

Handbook 2007 Edition:

“The allegorical figure of Faith is shown standing on her chariot

holding a chalice aloft as she proceeds in triumph before the defeated
personifications of Science, Philosophy, and Nature. The first captive,
a personification of Science, is a bearded man who holds an
astrolabe in one hand and a book in the other. Beside him is an old
man with the well- known features of Socrates who represents
Philosophy. Just behind this figure is a younger person crowned with
a laurel wreath who represents the antique figure of Poetry.
At the side of Philosophy walks Nature depicted as a woman with
multiple breasts. The rear figure is dark, bearded and wears an exotic
headdress. He most likely typifies Moorish or Islamic Philosophy,
which was finally brought into line with the rest of those who follow
obediently behind the true Faith. Decorating the chariot with Faith is a
globe representing the extent of her rule. In front of this globe is an
angel holding a large wooden cross representing the Crucifixion of
Christ. This image together with the two cherubs holding the
instruments of the passion of Christ: the crown of thorns, loincloth
and the nails of the cross, refer to the sacrifice of Christ’s life. The
triumphal procession of Faith is illuminated by an angel holding a
torch and pointing the way.”

The Triumph of Divine Love, c. 1625, Oil on canvas, Museum

Purchase, 1980, SN 977

The
following information is excerpted from The Docent Collections
Handbook 2007 Edition:

“Rubens depicts the Love of God as the motherly figure of Charity

(who also resembles the Virgin Mary) standing on a small
processional chariot drawn by two lions. Behind Charity a pelican
pierces its breast to feed its young, a sacrificial gesture symbolizing
that of Christ’s. A dense halo of flying putti (child-angels) fills the air.
Three more putti are land-bound. One bends to burn intertwined
snakes, traditional symbols of sin and evil; another raises a flaming
heart and a bow; the third putto, astride one of the lions, brandishes
the arrow of sacred love. The theme of love, sacred and profane, is
thus announced by the putti, with their bow and arrow (like Cupid’s),
the torch (to ignite the feeling of love) and the flaming heart. All three
of these attributes recur throughout Rubens’ composition. For
example, the spokes of the chariot wheel radiate alternating arrows
and shafts of flame. Below the bottom ledge is a flaming heart
pierced by two crossed arrows.”

Triumph of the Eucharist Gallery

Isabella became Governess of the Southern Netherlands when her
husband, Archduke Albrecht, died. She commissioned Rubens to do
several paintings and tapestries. We learned that the huge paintings
in this gallery were actually “blueprints” for The Triumph of the
Eucharist tapestries that celebrate the Catholic faith. The paintings in
this gallery, which are only part of the series, are:

The Gathering of the Manna

The Meeting of Abraham and Melchizedek
The Defenders of the Eucharist
The Four Evangelists
The Gathering of the Manna, c. 1625, Oil on canvas
Bequest of John Ringling, 1936, SN 211

The following information is excerpted from The Docent Collections

Handbook 2007 Edition:

“The manna (or bread) which the Israelites gathered in the desert, like
the bread and wine offered to Abraham by Melchizedek, prefigures
the New Testament Eucharist. The subject, taken from the Book of
Exodus (XVI, 13-36), represents a second miraculous feeding of the
Israelites during their journey through the Sinai desert. The white
flakes (Manna) that mysteriously fell from Heaven are here shown as
round wafers that resemble the Host of the Mass. As the leader of
the Exodus, Moses stands at the right of the composition in a bright
red robe, a rod in one hand and the other raised as if to summon the
precious substance from Heaven. Two women, one leading a child,
carry baskets on their heads and circle a young man who stoops in
the center to gather more manna.”

The Meeting of Abraham and Melchizedek, c. 1625

Oil on canvas
Bequest of John Ringling, 1936, SN 212
The following information is excerpted from The Docent Collections
Handbook 2007 Edition:

“The largest and artistically most important of the Ringling cartoons is

The Meeting of Abraham and Melchizedek. The inspiration is an
episode from the Old Testament (Genesis XIV, 17-24), where the
Patriarch Abraham returns victorious from the battle of Dan.
Melchizedek, King of Salem (later Jerusalem) and High Priest, offers
Abraham bread and wine and blesses him. In return the Patriarch
offers the High Priest gifts from the spoils of battle. The offering of the
bread and wine is shown by Rubens as a prefiguration of the
Christian Eucharist: Melchizedek, standing in the higher position,
hands down the offering to Abraham, as if handing down of the
Eucharist from the altar in the Catholic Mass. The figures attending
the High Priest also reflect the assistance of acolytes in the
sacramental rite. The other Old Testament prefigurations to be found
in the Triumph of the Eucharist Series are The Gathering of the
Manna (between the doors on the left wall), Elijah and the Angel and
The Sacrifice of the Old Covenant (both now in the Louvre Museum,
Paris).”
The Defenders of the Eucharist, c. 1625, Oil on canvas,
Bequest of John Ringling, 1936, SN 214

The following information is excerpted from The Docent Collections

Handbook 2007 Edition:

“In this companion piece to The Four Evangelists, Rubens has

incorporated figures from early church history into a dramatic
spectacle. On the far right is Saint Jerome, dressed in cardinal’s
robes. Jerome’s taking of the sacrament of the Eucharist at his last
rites had become a favorite subject in painting among artists by
Rubens’ time. The book Jerome reads is his translation of the
Bible into Latin. In front of Jerome is Norbert, the German bishop
Saint, in his white monastic habit and four-cornered hat. He carries
the sacrament of the Eucharist bundled beneath his robes.
In the center stands Saint Thomas Aquinas in his Dominican habit,
holding a book of his writings and pointing heavenward. This gesture
mirrors that of Saint Matthew in the adjacent cartoon of The Four
Evangelists and thus reinforces the early Church fathers’ role as
proclaimers and defenders of the Eucharist doctrines. Next to Saint
Thomas is Saint Clare, dressed in the Franciscan habit of the Poor
Clares and holding a great monstrance. The features of Saint Clare
are those of Rubens’ patron, the Infanta Isabella Clara Eugenia,
Governess of the Netherlands. To the left of Saint Clare is Saint
Gregory the Great, shown wearing papal robes and tiara and
holding the papal staff. Gregory authored some of the most
important texts of the Church, including most of the Canon and
prayers of the Mass. Next to him is the bishop-saint Ambrose.
Also an influential shaper of Church doctrine, he is best known for
asserting the dogma of Divine Presence in the Eucharist. At far left
and recognizable by his black beard, crosier, and miter, is Saint
Augustine. His writings on the Trinity explained various aspects of the
sacrament of the Eucharist. The still life of books, pens, and lamp in
the foreground recollects and reiterates the scholarly implements with
which the fathers of the early Church had defended the dogma of the
Eucharist.”
The Four Evangelists, c. 1625, Oil on canvas, Bequest of John
Ringling, 1936, SN 213

The following information is excerpted from The Docent Collections

Handbook 2007 Edition:

“Like The Defenders of the Eucharist, the cartoon of The Four

Evangelists represents figures in motion. The institution of the
Eucharistic sacrament at the Last Supper was recorded by the
Evangelists in the Gospels. In front is Saint Luke with his symbol, the
ox. This beast, alluding to sacrifice, is traditionally an attribute of
Luke, since his Gospel begins with the sacrifice of Zachariah. Next to
Luke is Saint Mark, holding his Gospel under his arm. The lion that
alludes to the Christ of the Resurrection, walks at his side. Saint
Matthew and the angel are given central place. With one hand, the
angel points to a Gospel passage, and with the other gestures
heavenward, reflecting the divine inspiration with which Matthew
wrote his Gospel. Saint John, the youngest of the group,
looks up at an eagle. The eagle, thought to be able to look directly
into the sun, alludes to John’s vision of the Apocalypse. The cup with
the snake refers to poison that John drank, proving his faith. The
cockleshell at the bottom of the painting is a traditional symbol of
the Resurrection. Surrounding the shell is a cornucopia of fruit,
suggesting the sustaining abundance to which the Gospels give
access, and a dolphin, another Christian symbol of the Resurrection.”

The Rest of the Tour

The tour continued and covered Galleries 3, 4, 6, and 8: Late Gothic
and Renaissance Art in Northern Europe (1350-1550); Northern Italy
(1350-1550); The High Renaissance in Venice and Northern Italy
(1500-1600); and Baroque Art in Italy (1600-1700), respectively.

But it’s that tapestry, and the huge Rubens paintings, to which I’ll
return again and again whenever I tour the museum. There’s no way
this blog can begin to capture their immensity and power. But if it
serves as an introduction and piques your interest to visit when you’re
in the area, you will NOT be disappointed.