Sunday is Verrocchio's last day in Washington

The star attraction at the Andrea del Verrocchio exhibition at the National Gallery of Art in Washington produces wonder and admiration.  He is David with the Head of Goliath, c. 1465, bronze with partial gilding, Museo Nazionale del Bargello, Florence/Photo by Patricia Leslie

He slew the enemy. A front view of Andrea del Verrocchio's David with the Head of Goliath, c. 1465, bronze with partial gilding, Museo Nazionale del Bargello, Florence. Missing is the stone which David used to kill Goliath. It was made separately and was attached to the giant’s head. One of Verrocchio's pupils, Leonardo da Vinci, may have been the model for David/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Andrea del Verrocchio, Head of a Gorgon, c. 1480, terracotta, private collection. This scary fellow was used to ward off evil, part of a frieze in a Roman courtyard of a palace which was destroyed in 1936, according to the label copy. (I guess his power didn't work in 1936.) Gorgons appear on body armor of the young warrior and Alexander the Great below.  Note the similarity between the words "gorgon" and "gargoyle," the latter which is found on cathedrals around the world, including Washington's National Cathedral, both forms designed to repel evil (in the Cathedral's case, water).    

"What sayeth you, sinner? Your secrets are no more!" this gorgon seems to say to me. Not such a bad thing! I need one of these to wear around my neck.  What say you a merchandiser has them ready for me? Methinks I am carried away by this gorgon!  You see what art can do!  I wonder if his locks give him extra power? Get thee away, Delilah!  This is my gorgon, not yours! This gorgon has sent my mind a'flyin'.  Time to buzz off, but the young maiden below, despite her loveliness, does not so inspire me/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Andrea del Verrocchio, Bust of a Young Woman, c. 1470, marble, The Frick Collection.  White lines in the background are reflections in the protective glass/Photo by Patricia Leslie


"After Andrea del Verrocchio," The Entombment of Christ, pre-1945 plaster cast after the original terra cotta of c. 1475/1480, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Skulpturensammlung und Museum für Byzantinische Kunst and damaged in World War II/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Andrea del Verrocchio, Sketch Model for the Monument of Cardinal Niccolò Forteguerri, 1476, terracotta, Victoria and Albert Museum, London.  According to the label copy:
"This small clay sculpture is one of the few sketch models to survive from the early Renaissance. Verrocchio in 1476 won the commission for a multifigure marble project for the Cathedral of Pistoia (near Florence) by submitting a design, possibly this relief. It shows Christ enthroned amid angels, blessing the Cardinal who kneels among the virtues Faith, Hope, and Charity."/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Andrea del Verrocchio, Madonna and Child, c. 1465/1470, plaster with traces of polychromy, Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin College, R.T. Miller Jr. Fund. Called one of Verrocchio's "most influential designs," the mother and child stand at a window or balcony. The label draws attention to Mary's left hand, an "elegant gesture" found in several works by Verrocchio and his followers/Photo by Patricia Leslie

The woman examines the drawing, Project for a Funerary Monument (Tartagni Tomb) c. 1477/1480, attributed to Verrocchio and an assistant. Its partner in this gallery is a bronze candlestick (1.57 metres high) which Verrocchio made in 1468 for the palace of the Florentine city government and the commemoration of a 1468 peace treaty which ended war between Florence and Venice.  On loan from the Rijksmuseum/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Andrea del Verrocchio, Head of a Woman with Braided Hair, 1475/1478, black chalk on charcoal and more, on loan from the Trustees of the British Museum, London. Verrocchio was one of the first to use black chalk. He made shadows by smudging with his finger or a piece of leather.  

Oh, to ever be this peaceful! But, on closer examination, the pretty lass does not appear to be peaceful, for her downcast eyes show sadness, and her hair braids suggest a head full of snakes, like mythological gorgons (see above) from Greek literature and the three sisters whose hair was the home of living, poisonous snakes. Perhaps she is Eve, downfallen over the future, or Mary, the mother of Jesus, also saddened by what lies ahead/

Photo by Patricia Leslie

Andrea del Verrocchio, Giuliano de' Medici, c. 1475/1478, terracotta, Andrew W. Mellon Collection.  I love this man, this bust.  He is supremely confident, an enormous allure. And look at the protective gorgon (please see above) on his breastplate contrasting here and below (Alexander the Great) with the subjects' "calm demeanor."

 

Andrea del Verrocchio and assistant, Alexander the Great, c. 1480/1485, marble, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of Therese K. Straus. Another of my favorites. He exudes confidence, fortified by a gorgon.  But after all, he is Alexander the Great (looking to be about 14 years old in this likeness), and perhaps a gift from the Medicis to the King of Hungary.

Kaywin Feldman, the director of the National Gallery of Art, welcomes visitors and dignitaries to the Verrocchio exhibition. David with the Head of Goliath watches proceedings from his center perch behind, from left, Larry Di Rica, Bank of America; Ms. Feldman, His Excellency Armando Varricchio, ambassador of Italy; and Andrew Butterfield, guest curator/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Leonardo da Vinci, Lorenzo di Credi, and Pietro Perugino were his pupils.

Sandro Botticelli and Domenico Ghirlandaio were collaborators.

He was the teacher of teachers of Raphael and Michelangelo. 

He was Renaissance master, Andrea del Verrocchio, (c. 1435-1488) whose works are set to leave the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. Sunday after a four-month stay. 

Washington has been the site of the first U.S. comprehensive 
Verrocchio exhibition represented by 50 of his wide-ranging works which include altars, sculpture, portraiture, sketches, and more in a presentation subtitled: Sculptor and Painter of Renaissance Florence.


Verrocchio was supported by commissions by the powerful and wealthy Medici family of three generations (1389-1492) which ruled Florence and commissioned many of his works, possibly, David.  He sculpted tomb monuments for their church in San Lorenzo, including the heralded brothers' double tomb in 1473, called "a wonder of the world."

The problem of correctly separating Verrocchio's works from that of his workshop assistants is constantly referenced, whenever any kind of study about him is performed.  In the show here, the National Gallery has exercised extreme care to correctly identify the artist and where there is doubt, to show by the words  "and assistant" or "assistants." 

If you can't get to all the venues around the globe which have loaned the pieces, seize what is likely this last opportunity to see them together. 

A hardbound catalogue with 279 color illustrations and almost 400 pages is available in the shops ($60). Links to two films (one, three minutes, and another, 19 minutes) may be found at the website.

Bank of America is the lead sponsor of the exhibition with support from the Buffy and William Cafritz Family Fund.
  
What: Verrocchio:  Sculptor and Painter of Renaissance Florence

When: Now through January 12, 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