TheAdoration of the Shepherds,sometimes still known as theAllendale Nativity,after a former owner, is a painting by theItalianRenaissancepainterGiorgione,completed in about 1505 to 1510. The attribution is now usual, although not universal; the usual other view is that it is an earlyTitian.It is certainly aVenetianpainting of that period. It is displayed in theNational Gallery of ArtofWashington, D.C.,United States.
| Adoration of the Shepherds | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Artist | Giorgione |
| Year | ca. 1505 to 1510 |
| Medium | oil on panel |
| Subject | Adoration of the Shepherds |
| Dimensions | 90.8 cm × 110.5 cm (35.7 in × 43.5 in) |
| Location | National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. |
| Owner | National Gallery of Art |
| Accession | 1939.1.289 |
| Website | http:// nga.gov/content/ngaweb/Collection/art-object-page.432.html |
A group of paintings is sometimes described as the "Allendale group", after theAllendale Nativity.This group includes another Washington painting, theHoly Family,and anAdoration of the Magipredellapanel in theNational Gallery, London.This group, now often expanded to include anotherAdoration of the Shepherdsin Vienna, and sometimes further, are usually included (increasingly) or excluded together from Giorgione's oeuvre.
Composition
editGiorgione portrayed the main scene on the right, in front of a dark grotto, while on the left is bright landscape crowned by trees. A sincere dramatic tension is obtained by the choice to place the kneeling shepherd pilgrims in the centre of the painting. The entire group of parents, child, and pilgrims form an anchored rectangle that forms a counterpoised focal point to the receding landscape on the left. A "diminutive angel [is] among the branches in the upper left".[1]
Provenance
editThis work was probably completed by Giorgione while he was part of the workshop ofVincenzo Catena,a strict follower ofGiovanni Bellini's style.[2][a]
It was owned by CardinalJoseph Fesch(1763–1839) and sold at the Palazzo Ricci, Rome on 18 March 1845 (lot 874) asAdoration des bergersby "Giorgon (Giorgio Barbarelli dit le)" for 1,760scudi[3](£370.53 at a rate of 4.75 scudi to the pound).[4]The Cardinal was an uncle ofNapoleonand a collector of gargantuan proportions. The sale of 17 and 18 March featured 1,837 pictures; theLouvrehad 1,406 at the time.[5]The collection includedFra Angelico'sLast JudgementandPoussin'sA Dance to the Music of Time.[6]
It was next owned by Claudius Tarral of Paris and sold at his sale atChristie's,London on 11 June 1847 (lot 55) asAdoration of the Shepherdsby Giorgione. The sale featured 55 pictures and fetched £3,383. The Giorgione sold for 1,470guineas(£1,544).[7]This large sum relative to the sale total and the fact that it was the last lot cried indicates that it was the premier item of the sale.
It was at the 1847 sale that the painting came into the ownership ofThomas Wentworth Beaumont(1792–1848) ofBretton Hall, West Yorkshire,England. From him it passed toWentworth Blackett Beaumont, 1st Baron Allendale(1829-1907), to his son,Wentworth Beaumont, 1st Viscount Allendale[1860-1923] and to his son,Wentworth Beaumont, 2nd Viscount Allendale(1890-1956).[8][9]
Joseph Duveenconcluded negotiations to acquire theNativityfrom Lord Allendale on 5 August 1937.[10][b]It was acquired by Duveen Brothers at, according to Duveen's colleague Edward Fowles, "a Giorgione price"[11]($315,000 and $5,000 to dealer Charles Ruck).[12]Duveen's expert, art historianBernard Berensonfervently believed the painting to be early Titian, and a battle of wills ensued. TheAllendale Nativityultimately caused the rupture between Lord Duveen and Berenson, ending one of the most influential relationships in modern art history.[11][c]Duveen sold the painting, as a Giorgione, to Samuel Kress, the department-store magnate, for $400,000 in 1938. He displayed theNativityin the window of his store onFifth Avenueduring the Christmas season of that year.[11]
Attribution
edit
Joseph Archer CroweandGiovanni Battista Cavalcaselleconcluded as early as 1871 that the painting was by Giorgione.[13]Berenson'sVenetian Painters(1894) tentatively attributes the painting to Vincenzo Catena.[14]In 1912Roger Frywrote that "examination of the forms, particularly of the landscape and the foliage in the foreground leaves little doubt in my mind that it is byCariani."[15]In 1937 Berenson wrote "it must be Titian's, perhaps his earliest work, but only half out of the egg, the other half still in the Giorgionesque formula".[10]He reiterated this opinion on the back of a photograph in 1937, "Titian, His earliest extant work."
In Berenson's 1957 list of the "Venetian School" the painting is attributed in part to Giorgione with "Virgin and Landscape probably finished by Titian".[10]In the 1979 Shapley catalogue of the National Gallery of Art the painting is given as Giorgione with five dissenters, includingEllis WaterhouseandS. J. Freedberg.[16]
Notes
edit- ^Dates given to the painting have varied; the National Gallery claims between 1505 and 1510 ".
- ^In the Duveen Brothers General Stock Book for the period 1 June 1937 to April 1941, it is annotated "Purchased Aug. 3, 1937".
- ^The naming of the painting is the main plot in the playThe Old Masters (play).
References
edit- ^Wallace, William E.,"'Adoration of the Shepherds': Giorgione’s Pastoral Christmas"The Wall Street Journal,December 22, 2023.
- ^Tietze, Hans; E. Tietze-Conrat (March 1949). "The Allendale Nativity in the National Gallery".The Art Bulletin.31(1). College Art Association: 11–20.doi:10.1080/00043079.1949.11407841.JSTOR3047210.
- ^George, M. (1845).Galerie de feu S.E. le Cardinal Fesch, quatrième et derniere partie.Paris: M. George. p.14.
- ^Laurie, James (1852).Universal exchange tables: showing the value of the coins of every country interchanged with each other at all rates of exchange.London: William H. Allen & Co. p. 12.
- ^The Spectator (1 February 1845)."Sale of Cardinal Fesch's Pictures".The Spectator.Retrieved6 July2013.
- ^Robertson, Iain (2005).Understanding International Art Markets And Management.Routledge. p. 200.ISBN9780415339575.
- ^Roberts, William (1897).Memorials of Christie's: a record of art sales from 1766 to 1896, Volume 1.London: G. Bell and Sons. p. 138.
- ^National Gallery of Art."National Gallery of Art: The Collection: The Adoration of the Shepherds".National Gallery of Art.Retrieved7 July2013.
- ^"British viscount visits National Gallery of Art to see priceless painting sold by grandfather".Washington Post.
- ^abcErnest Samuels; Jayne N. Samuels (1987).Bernard Berenson: The Making of a Legend.Harvard University Press.ISBN9780674067790.Retrieved7 July2013.
- ^abcCohen, Rachel (8 October 2012)."Priceless: How Art became Commerce".The New Yorker.Retrieved6 July2013.
- ^Secrest, Meryle (2005).Duveen: A Life in Art.University of Chicago Press.ISBN9780226744155.
- ^Joseph Archer Crowe; Giovanni Battista Cavalcaselle (1871).A History of Painting in North Italy: Volume II.London: John Murray. p. 127.Retrieved7 July2013.
- ^Berenson, Bernard (1894).The Venetian Painters of the Renaissance: With an Index to Their Works.London: G. P. Putnam's Sons. p.103.
- ^Fry, Roger (1912)."Exhibition of Pictures of the Early Venetian School".The Burlington Magazine.XXI:96.Retrieved7 July2013.
- ^Shapley, Fern Rusk (1979).Catalogue of the Italian Paintings.Washington, D.C.: National Gallery of Art. pp. 151–152.