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Tag Archives: collection objects

M&G Collections Online

As we continue to make more works available online, survey some of the paintings and objects in M&G’s collection.

 

Object of the Month: September 2023
Picture Books of the Past: Unknown Dutch
Jacopo de Carolis
Object of the Month: August 2023
Picture Books of the Past: Jusepe de Ribera, called Lo Spagnoletto
Rafael Govertsz. Camphuysen
Object of the Month: July 2023
Domenico Fiasella
Picture Books of the Past: Lorenzo di Bicci
Object of the Month: June 2023
Picture Books of the Past: Mattia Preti
St. Michael the Archangel Overcoming Satan
Object of the Month: May 2023
Picture Books of the Past: Bartolommeo Neroni
Holy Kinship
Picture Books of the Past: Gustave Doré
The Entry into Jerusalem
Object of the Month: April 2023
Object of the Month: March 2023
Christ before Pilate: Master of St. Severin
Giuseppe Bessi
Object of the Month: February 2023
Psuedo Pier Francesco Fiorentino
Picture Books of the Past: Master of Staffolo
Object of the Month: January 2023
Picture Books of the Past: Edwin Long
Object of the Month: December 2022
Picture Books of the Past: Pieter Fransz. de Grebber
Juan Sanchez, the Younger
Object of the Month: November 2022
Picture Books of the Past: Lorenzo di Niccolo di Martino
Denys Calvaert, called Dionisio Fiammingo
Object of the Month: October 2022
Picture Books of the Past: Unknown Follower of Paolo Caliari, called Paolo Veronese
Mario Balassi
Object of the Month: September 2022
Hebrew Demi Omer
Picture Books of the Past: Antonio del Castillo y Saavedra
Object of the Month: August 2022
Picture Books of the Past: Carlo Dolci
Cornelis Cornelisz. van Haarlem
Allegory on the Fall and Redemption of Man: Lucas Cranach, the Younger
Object of the Month: July 2022
Object of the Month: June 2022
Sébastien Bourdon
Madonna and Child with Saints: Niccolò di Pietro Gerini
Object of the Month: May 2022
Giovanni Coli and Filippo Gherardi
Object of the Month: April 2022
Whatsoever Things Are… Worthy of Praise: God the Father
Whatsoever Things Are… Worthy of Praise: King David Playing the Harp
Whatsoever Things Are… Excellent: Isaiah’s Lips Anointed with Fire
Whatsoever Things Are… Excellent: Mary Magdalene Turning from the World to Christ
Whatsoever Things Are… Commendable: The Tribulation of Job
Whatsoever Things Are… Commendable: Christ and the Roman Centurion
Whatsoever Things Are… Lovely: Christ Healing the Blind Man
Whatsoever Things Are… Lovely: The Heavenly Shepherd
Whatsoever Things Are… Pure: Christ Blessing
Whatsoever Things Are… Pure: The Risen Christ
Whatsoever Things Are… Just: Painted Crucifix
Whatsoever Things Are… Just: The Man of Sorrows
Whatsoever Things Are… Just: The Last Supper
Whatsoever Things Are… Just: Triumphal Entry
Whatsoever Things Are… Just: St. Michael the Archangel and St. Agnes
Whatsoever Things Are… Honorable: The Good Samaritan
Whatsoever Things Are… Honorable: Ananias Restores Sight to Saul
Whatsoever Things Are… True: Christ and the Samaritan Woman
Whatsoever Things Are… True: St. Paul
Antonio Checchi (called Guidaccio da Imola): The Coronation of the Virgin
Procession to Calvary
Object of the Month: March 2022
Jacopo Robusti (called Il Tintoretto): The Visit of the Queen of Sheba to Solomon
Torah Scroll
Object of the Month: February 2022
Rembrandt van Rijn (school of): Head of Christ
Gerrit van Honthorst
David de Haen: The Mocking of Christ
Object of the Month: January 2022
Scenes from the Life of Christ
Object of the Month: December 2021
Jan Boeckhorst: Adoration of the Magi
St. Nicholas, the Wonderworker
Object of the Month: November 2021
Jan Victors: Esther Accusing Haman
Eyre Crowe: Wittenberg, October 31, 1517
Object of the Month: October 2021
Reliquary Head of a Monk
Francesco Fracanzano: The Tribulation of Job
Object of the Month: September 2021
Object of the Month: August 2021
Giovanni Antonio Bazzi: Procession to Calvary
Object of the Month: July 2021
Ginevra Cantofoli
Michail Nicholaievich Molodeshin
Pompeo Batoni
Domenico Fiasella: The Flight into Egypt
Object of the Month: June 2021
William Hamilton, R.A.
French Stained Glass: The Fountain of Life
Object of the Month: May 2021
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Explore the Collection

Old Master paintings can be overwhelming sometimes with their detailed beauty, serious palette, and historical roots. But they don’t have to be, which is why M&G created the EXPLORE pages—a diversion on our website to unfold some of the mystery and meaning in the art of the past. Watch, listen, read, and color your way through the world of Old Masters!

Use these M&G resources to investigate for yourself:

 

The Collection
Scavenger Hunts
Collection on View
ArtBreak: Past Series
M&G Objects on Loan
Watch This!
A Closer Look
History in Pictures
Object of the Month: September 2023
M&G Coloring Pages
Think on These Things
From the Director
M&G Kids

Object of the Month: September 2023

Mother of Sorrows (Mater Dolorosa)

Oil on panel

Anthony van Dyck

Flemish, 1599–1641

Baroque art is characterized by its emotional pull. Sotheby’s defines the typical qualities of Baroque art as works with rich colors, strong contrast, luscious brushwork, and subject matter that provokes passion, awe, and reverence. This expressive art movement stemmed from a religious response in the seventeenth century called the Counter-Reformation. Art mimicked life in the emotional appeal for mankind’s souls; Biblical stories were taken beyond quiet, respectful meditation and became captured “moments” of heightened drama. Still, there are a handful of Baroque works in existence that balance this emotion with restrained contemplation. One of which is the Museum & Gallery’s Mother of Sorrows by Antony van Dyck.

Anthony van Dyck (1599-1641) is considered one of the great Flemish painters of the seventeenth century. A child prodigy, van Dyck became connected with another great Flemish artist, Peter Paul Rubens, and worked alongside the master on many important commissions. Van Dyck became known for his portraits, and his talent opened doors for him in many courts of Europe. With an extensive and prestigious curriculum vitae painting clients in all their luxury and refinement, van Dyck’s Mother of Sorrows is a unique contrast.

The Mother of Sorrows or Mater Dolorosa depicts Mary grieving her dead Son. It was developed from the theme of the Virgin of the Seven Sorrows, which showed each anguish she experienced after the birth of Christ. In the sixteenth century, Mary’s mourning was usually represented alongside Christ, the Man of Sorrows. However, by the late sixteenth and seventeenth centuries in Northern Europe, artists began depicting Mary alone against an undefined background to highlight the emotion of a bereaved mother. When this work was created circa 1625-1630, van Dyck had spent time in Italy and created many historic and religious works focused on main characters in their own narrative. Unlike Rubens, van Dyck did not clutter the canvas with various other characters or subject matter, instead focusing on the psychology of the main subject.

In M&G’s Mother of Sorrows, van Dyck explores the emotion of one of the world’s most famous mothers. Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ, stands alone against a dark background. The contrast is so great she seems to glow under the intense chiaroscuro. The rich blue fabric softens the stark white veil, but also stands as a symbolic reminder of Mary’s virginity and status as the mother of the King of Kings. While not overwhelming in emotion compared to other contemporary interpretations, one can tell she is hurting. She leans forward with arms raised as if pleading. There is pentimenti, or earlier painting that has been covered over by the artist. Just under Mary’s outstretched hand is a faint remnant of a previously lower hand positioning. Art historians such as Gustav Gluck and Ludwig Burchard both agree this was created by van Dyck. It is believed that van Dyck did not spend more than one hour on each portrait. This leads the viewer to wonder why the artist adjusted the hand’s placement. Perhaps a lowered hand did not express the right amount of grief. Or perhaps a more uplifted hand shows Mary’s reliance on God in her darkest hour.

This work may not hold the same prestige as other van Dyck paintings. In fact, until 1864, it had been rather unknown since it was relatively inaccessible in a collection in St. Petersburg, Russia. However, it is a beautiful and rare work in van Dyck’s oeuvre. Gluck and Burchard applauded van Dyck’s color (which was heavily influenced by his time in Venice), his hand forms, and his portrayal of deep emotion. Gluck wrote, “the expression of the grieving face—a depth of feeling which is rare to the master’s work,” is a testament to how unique this painting is for its time. Viewers can resonate with this strong emotional moment of a grieving mother and reflect on one of the darkest moments in history, while also knowing the story does not end there.

 

KC Christmas Beach, M&G summer art educator

 

Published 2023

Bone Casket

Casket

Unknown Flemish, 15th century

Below the image, click play to listen.