From the exhibition: "This is Berruguete’s earliest surviving sculpture, which comes from a
monastic church near Valladolid, the town in central Castile where the
artist moved in 1522. Depicting the bound and tortured Christ as he is
presented to jeering crowds on the way to his crucifixion, the figure is
likely to have stood on an altar, perhaps as the central figure in a
retablo (altarpiece). Berruguete’s treatment of the subject was
unconventional in Castile. Instead of following tradition and covering
Christ’s body with scourge marks and blood, Berruguete elicits sympathy
from the viewer through other means. The cross-legged pose, slender
limbs, and unsupported arms create a sense of unbalance that conveys
Christ’s helplessness. The solution reflects works of art that
Berruguete would have studied in Italy."
Alonso Berruguete,
Ecce Homo,
c. 1524, painted wood with gilding and silvering, Museo Nacional de
Escultura, Valladolid. © Museo Nacional de Escultura, Valladolid
(Spain)
/Photo by Patricia Leslie
Alonso Berruguete,
Ecce Homo,
c. 1524, painted wood with gilding and silvering, Museo Nacional de
Escultura, Valladolid. © Museo Nacional de Escultura, Valladolid
(Spain)
/Photo by Patricia Leslie
Alonso Berruguete,
Ecce Homo,
c. 1524, painted wood with gilding and silvering, Museo Nacional de
Escultura, Valladolid. © Museo Nacional de Escultura, Valladolid
(Spain)
/Photo by Patricia Leslie
Spanish (Castile),
The Miracle of the Palm Tree on the Flight to Egypt, c. 1490-1510, painted walnut with gilding, lent by the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Artists in Castile, such as Berruguete, often turned for inspiration to Northern artists, such as Martin Schongauer whose work is below
/Photo by Patricia Leslie
Martin Schongauer,
The Flight into Egypt, c. 1470-1475, engraving, Natioonal Gallery of Art, Washington, Rosenwald Collection
From the exhibition: "Painted by Alonso Berruguete’s talented father, Pedro, this exquisite
scene of the Virgin and Child shows the enduring influence of Flemish
painting on the arts of Castile. [The son] Berruguete must have started his career
in command of a similar style of painting — now called the
Hispanoex-Flemish style."
Pedro Berruguete, The Virgin and Child Enthroned, c. 1500, oil on panel, Ayuntamiento de Madrid, Museo de San Isidro, Los
Orígenes de Madrid.
Alonso Berruguete, Calvary Group, Crucified Christ Flanked by the Virgin Mary and Saint John the Evangelist, from the retablo mayor (high altarpiece) of San Benito el Real, 1526/1533, painted wood with
gilding, Museo Nacional de Escultura, Valladolid/Photo by Patricia Leslie
Alonso Berruguete, Calvary Group, Crucified Christ Flanked by the Virgin Mary and Saint John the Evangelist, from the retablo mayor (high altarpiece) of San Benito el Real, 1526/1533, painted wood with
gilding, Museo Nacional de Escultura, Valladolid. © Museo Nacional de
Escultura, Valladolid (Spain)/Photo by Patricia Leslie
Alonso Berruguete, Calvary Group, Crucified Christ Flanked by the Virgin Mary and Saint John the Evangelist, from the retablo mayor (high altarpiece) of San Benito el Real, 1526/1533, painted wood with
gilding, Museo Nacional de Escultura, Valladolid/Photo by Patricia Leslie
Alonso Berruguete, detail from the Calvary Group, Crucified Christ Flanked by the Virgin Mary and Saint John the Evangelist, from the retablo mayor (high altarpiece) of San Benito el Real, 1526/1533, painted wood with
gilding, Museo Nacional de Escultura, Valladolid/Photo by Patricia Leslie
Alonso Berruguete, Saint John the Evangelist (Calvary group), from the retablo mayor (high altarpiece) of San Benito el Real, 1526/1533, painted wood with
gilding, Museo Nacional de Escultura, Valladolid/Photo by Patricia Leslie
From the exhibition: "One of Berruguete’s most celebrated sculptures, this group depicts
the moment when Abraham is about to sacrifice his son Isaac on God’s
orders. As the anguished Abraham looks heavenward in disbelief, his
terrified son kneels and awaits his fate. Before Abraham could carry out
the act, however, God appeared and offered him a ram to sacrifice
instead."
Alonso Berruguete,
The Sacrifice of Isaac, from the
retablo mayor (high altarpiece) of San Benito el Real, 1526/1533, painted wood with
gilding, Museo Nacional de Escultura, Valladolid. © Museo Nacional de
Escultura, Valladolid (Spain);
/Photo by Patricia Leslie
Alonso Berruguete,
The Entombment of Christ, 1540s or 1550s. Because of the distance, transportation, and cost to carry marble from Italy, alabaster was used for
The Entombment of Christ. The "frenetic energy" displayed suggests the influence of Donatello whom Berruguete would have studied in Florence.
From the exhibition: "This is one of only a handful of paintings that survive from
Berruguete’s time in Italy. It depicts Salome, who ordered Saint John
the Baptist’s beheading. Here she holds his head on a silver platter.
Her long fingers, elegant pose, demure gaze, and idealized features are
consistent with mannerism, a style of art that was becoming fashionable
in Florence during the 1510s. Berruguete was in the vanguard of the
movement. Like other mannerist artists, he favored exaggerated forms and
complicated poses over the restrained beauty of earlier Renaissance
art."
Alonso Berruguete,
Salome, c.
1514–1517, oil on panel, Gallerie degli Uffizi, Florence.
About 45 works by Alonso Berruguete (1488 or 1490 -1561), the Spanish sculpture icon, are on display for one day more at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, the first time his works are the subject of an exclusive exhibition outside Spain.
He was, says Wikipedia, "the most important sculptor of the Spanish Renaissance."
Sculpture, paintings, and works on paper comprise the show which includes one of Berruguete's earliest recorded works, Salome, dating from 1514-1517 which he made while studying for 13 years in Italy.
After the death of his father, Pedro Berruguete, an artist in his own right (who also has a painting in the show, The Virgin and Child Enthroned), Berruguete moved to Italy in his late teens.
In Italy Alonso studied under Michelangelo, and learned to draw, becoming the first Spanish artist to "create a recognizable body of drawings," many which are included in the exhibition. (About 25 of his drawings are known to exist.)
After finishing Salome, Alonso returned to Spain the next year, and was appointed court painter to Charles I (later, Holy Roman Emperor Charles V).
Following Spain's tradition, Alonso crafted wooden sculptures and altarpieces, retablos, which form the basis for the exhibition here.
His long, slender figures and sharp angles compare to those of El Greco (1541-1614) whom Alonso predated by 53 years.
From Washington Berruguete moves to the Meadows Museum at Southern Methodist University in Dallas where the show will open March 29 and close July 26 this year.
The curators, C.D. Dickerson III of the National Gallery of Art and Mark McDonald of the Metropolitan Museum of Art edited the catalogue* which is the first comprehensive Berruguete study in English. The Meadows' curator was Wendy Sepponen.
Organizers of the display are the National Gallery and the Meadows, in collaboration with the Museo Nacional de Escultura in Valladolid,
The people of the United States and visitors are grateful to the Buffy and William Cafritz Family Fund and the Exhibition Circle of the National Gallery of Art for sponsoring and making the presentation possible.
*Available in the shops: $55; 244 pages, 175 illustrations, hard cover
What: Alonso Berruguete: First Sculptor of Renaissance Spain
When: Now through February 17, 2020. The National Gallery is open Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m., and on Sunday, 11 a.m.- 6 p.m.
Where: The West Building at the National Gallery of Art, between Third and Ninth streets at Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. On the Mall.
How much: Admission to the National Gallery of Art is always free.
Metro stations for the National Gallery of Art:
Smithsonian, Federal Triangle, Navy Memorial-Archives, or L'Enfant Plaza
For more information: 202-737-4215
patricialesli@gmail.com
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