Spring 2015 - Friends of European Art

Connecting with Leonardo
(cont’d from page 1)
Leonardo lived 100 years before the invention of the telescope and was
limited in his day on his powers of observation by having to rely on the naked
eye to observe nature. It is intriguing to wonder what he could have done
had he access to a telescope or, better yet, a
camera. Photography plays an important part in
the exhibition. Still-action photographs from the
19th and 20th centuries by Eadweard Muybridge
and Harold Edgerton picture ideas expressed by
Leonardo and demonstrate examples of close
observation made possible through mechanical
means. Photographs by Edward Weston and
Ansel Adams, on the other hand, express the
important lesson learned by returning repeatedly
to a subject, of thinking on photographic paper
looking to the ideal image. Other works included
in the exhibition will be images by Kiki Smith, Tony
Les arceaux fleuris, Giverny (Flowering
Arches, Giverny), Claude-Oscar Monet, 1913.
Foster, Andreas Feininger, Devorah Sperber, and
Oil on canvas. Collection of Phoenix Art
Museum, Gift of Mr. & Mrs. Donald D.
a powerful video installation by Bill Viola that will
Harrington.
be difficult to forget.
I’m pleased to say
that this is an
unusual, even
groundbreaking
approach to the
exhibition of
Leonardo’s Codex
Leicester that we
hope you enjoy and
remember. It is
certainly a great way
to kick off 2015.
In Honor of Jim Ballinger
Friends of European Art
and Western Art Associates
are pleased to co-host a
dinner on March 27, 2015,
to honor Jim’s long-time
commitment to the
Museum. It will be a time for
our two support groups,
special to Jim, to socialize
and reminisce.
For this fund-raiser, you are
invited to underwrite
appetizers or a dinner
course, in Jim’s honor.
Contact Bunny Gordon to
contribute. (602.214.8883
or bungor@cox.net) FEA’s
net proceeds will go toward
our commitment to assist
funding Leonardo da Vinci
Leicester Codex and the
Power of Observation and
the exhibition on
Michelangelo in 2016.
Georgia Wolfe, Program Chairman
Bill Viola, The Raft, 2004, Collection of the Bill Viola Studio
The Schorr Collection Loan Expands to Twenty Works
Our multi-year loan of Old Master European paintings now includes twenty works
with the installation of six additional paintings from The Schorr Collection,
significantly enriching our Renaissance, Baroque and 17th century European
galleries. The integration of the Schorr loans brings new artistic context to the
objects in our own collection. Giovanni Balducci’s The Martyrdom of St. Lawrence,
before 1587; The Mocking of Christ, early 1630s, by Matthias Stomer and The Death
of Sapphira, 1590s by Ambrosius Francken the Elder illustrate three dramatic
religious narratives.
The Sukhman Gallery dedicated to Dutch art has two stunning landscapes.
Landscape with Travelers on a Path Near a Waterfall, 1640s is by Jan Both, a
leading master of the ‘italianate’ trend of Dutch landscape painting in the 17th
century. Jan van der Heyden’s harmonious view of Travellers in a Hilly Landscape,
1660s, appears to depict an imagined ruined castle and a farmhouse. Bernardo
Strozzi’s Saint Jerome, 1630s, complements our Jan van Dalen’s Vanitas, c. 1665,
and an earlier The Schorr Collection loan, St. Jerome in his Studio, c. 1520-1550 by
Marinus van Reymerswaele.
President’s
Letter
Letter from the Director
Dear FEA Members:
Dear FEA Members,
What a unique
year for FEA thus
far! We have had
several lectures
and events in
conjunction with
other support
groups like the
Contemporary
Forum, the
Collectors
Club and our upcoming event with
the Western Art Associates. These
joint events are a first and lay the
foundation for continued cooperation
in support of Phoenix Art Museum.
For the first time Phoenix Art
Museum will be hosting an exhibition
of Leonardo da Vinci: Leonardo da
Vinci’s Codex Leicester and the
Power of Observation. Our curator
Jerry Smith has been working hard
on this exhibition developing the idea
of the Power of Observation; read his
article in this issue. Our March 27
celebration, An Evening with Jim
Ballinger – Thank You for 40 Years,
will help support the Museum with
the Leonardo exhibition expenses. I
hope you plan on attending. Jim has
been an avid supporter of FEA as
our liaison. He has been invaluable
in finding excellent speakers,
exhibitions and acquisitions for our
group. His leadership shall be
missed, but remember he’ll remain
an active, honorary member of our
group so we will continue to benefit
from his knowledge.
Our year is half over but we still have
things to do. In addition to the March
27th event FEA is heading to London
and the English countryside in May.
– a must see for you travel and art
lovers!
Jan Both, Landscape with Travellers
on a Path Near a Waterfall, 1640s, oil
on canvas; Dutch, c. 1618-1652
A two-volume publication of The Schorr Collection in its entirety has been purchased
by our Research Library. The Plates volume includes full descriptions and color images. The Catalogue
volume has artist biographies and provenance information. When you come to view the galleries, you’ll
want to include the Research Library in your visit.
Visit our website for details:
www.friendsofeuropeanart.org
Warm Regards, Bunny Gordon
We are beginning 2015 with a bang
opening Leonardo da Vinci’s Codex
Leicester and the Power of Observation
on February 24. Thank you for your
sponsorship of this great project which
brings to Arizona for the first time
original work by Leonardo da Vinci.
This exhibition accomplishes two goals;
first making clear that the genius of
Leonardo is relevant for today’s
audience and artists; while, second,
providing a platform for the Museum to
lead a discussion of water management
and its importance for Arizona’s past
and future. The Leicester Codex is
dedicated to Leonardo’s thoughts about the power of water, its
management and uses for the good of the community.
The exhibition opens at a time of transition for me and the
Museum, as I retire as the Sybil Harrington Director and pass the
leadership baton to Amada Cruz to continue stewardship of our
institution. You will be in good hands with Amada Cruz and Jerry
Smith as your curator. This provides me with a moment of
reflection regarding Friends of European Art. It seems like
yesterday that a group of interested Phoenix Art Museum
members came together with the desire to create a vibrant
organization that would support and further European art for our
community. We formally began in 1997 with Anne Connor as our
inaugural President, and the organization has had consistent
quality leadership ever since, right up to our current leader,
Bunny Gordon. Perhaps the organization has benefited because
our Docents are so well organized and most of FEA’s leadership
has come from Docents.
Along the way, FEA has successfully brought great speakers and
programs to our visitors; helped sponsor several important
exhibitions like the Leonardo project; and made seven important
acquisitions for the galleries. Ironically, I have been directly
involved in four, the most recent our joint acquisition of the Delft
blue and white vase with the Collector’s Study Club. The others
were the Jean-Léon Gérôme maquette of the Gladiator (2012),
the Léon Pourtau pointillist landscape (2011) and our first
acquisition by Hippolyte-Camille Delpy (1989).
Thank you all for your support of Phoenix Art Museum and of me
over many years. Together, working with staff, volunteers,
contributors, collectors and Trustees we have created an anchor
art museum for the people of Arizona. I know your enthusiasm
will not wane in the future, and we all have next year’s exhibition
of Michelangelo drawings to rally around – another first for
Arizona!
See you at the Museum!
James K. Ballinger
The Sybil Harrington Director
Friends of European Art Fall 2013 Newsletter
2015 Calendar of Events
January 14, 2015:
Reception/Lecture: Florence in the Time of Leonardo
John Spike, PhD, Guest Professor
William and Mary College
Hosted FEA Members Reception 5:30-6:30pm on Grossman Terrace
Lecture in Whiteman Hall at 6:45pm
January 19, 2015:
Salon: The Dutch Golden Age
Robert Aronson, Specialist in 17th
& 18th century Delftware, Aronson Antiquaries, Amsterdam
Private dinner & Salon co-hosted with the
Collectors’ Study Club - $60 per person
Cocktails at 5:30pm Dinner at 6pm
The University Club of Phoenix, 39 E. Monte Vista Road, Phoenix 85004
March 27, 2015:
Salons and Saloons: An Evening with Jim Ballinger – Thank you for 40 Years!
• Invitations will be mailed in February.
• Cocktails will being at 6:30pm at the
Phoenix Country Club.
• A silent auction will be geared to
museum devotees!
• Dinner with comments from Jim will
follow.
• Mayor Stanton will share highlights of
the Museum’s and Jim’s successful and
long-standing relationship with the city
of Phoenix.
Friends of European Art Welcomes Our Newest Members
Nancy Littlefield Davis, Mark Ellis, Mary and Jeff Ehret, Pat Mariella, Jane And Vincent Perla, Helen Pierson, Susan von Hellens, Somers White
Contact Mardelle Mikus for membership brochures and information at (480) 991-8004
A support organization of
FEA BOARD 2014-2015
President
Bunny Gordon
Vice President
Victoria Cook
Secretary
Rona Kasen
Treasurer
Steve Wolfe
Museum Liaison
Jim Ballinger
Member at Large
Dr. Kati Festy-Sandor
Member at Large
Ruth Hay
Member at Large
Jan Gilpin Anderson
Collections
James Melikien
Communications
Carolyn Parker
Hospitality
Dawn Schlott
Membership
Mardelle Mikus
1625 North Central Avenue
Phoenix, AZ 85004-1685
FriendsofEuropeanArt.org
Programs
Georgia Wolfe
Alice Meyer
Publications
Lisa Roger
Gigi Jordan
Public Relations
Matt Engle
Parliamentarian
Toni Minarich
Travel – Domestic
Georgia Wolfe
Travel – International
Mary Newstead
Rachel Maloney
Webmaster
JoAnne Smith
Joyce Durham
Connecting with Leonardo
By Jerry N. Smith, Ph.D.
Curator of American and European Art to 1950 and Art of the American West
Leonardo da Vinci’s Codex Leicester and the Power of Observation is
a rare opportunity to examine a remarkable text written by the great
Renaissance master and to consider his continuing influence on art.
On view will be the codex, marking the first time a work by the hand of
Leonardo da Vinci will be displayed in Arizona. It features Leonardo’s
written passages on properties of water, the moon, shells in mountain
regions, and a host of other topics. The pages are illustrated with
numerous designs and diagrams relating to the scientific text.
The document is, without
question, remarkable and
gives us great insight into the
mind of Leonardo. However, it
is only readable by those who
can read sixteenth-century
Italian written in reverse. The
sketches and images are
fascinating to look at,
especially given the author, but
they are far from being on par
Jacopo de’ Barbari, View of Venice, 1500, with Leonardo’s finest
Collection of Minneapolis Institute of Arts
drawings or well known
paintings. This poses a bit of a problem for an art museum; with its
limited aesthetic appeal, how do we make the Codex Leicester
something people want to see at an art museum? The answer was to
develop an exhibition of works of art based around the codex,
featuring works from the sixteenth century into the present. These are
engaging works of art that complement Leonardo’s working methods,
demonstrate his continued influence and provide opportunities for us
to explain some of the many concepts expressed in the codex itself.
From Leonardo’s own time, we will feature Jacopo de’ Barbari’s
remarkable View of Venice, a large-scale woodcut print made in 1500.
Printed on six sheets of paper from six different blocks, it measures an
impressive 4’ 4¼” x 9’ 1¼”. Barbari viewed the water-bound Venice
from bell towers, and then imagined a bird’s eye view, the first of its
kind of a European city and the first work to ever receive a copyright
(lasting four years). An extraordinarily expensive and rare work in its
day that originally cost 3 golden ducats, the work on view will be one
of only 13 of the original printing known to exist. It is an amazing work
of art that demonstrates the intellectually curious times in which
Leonardo lived.
The theme of close and repeated observation is expressed in the
codex, and is also found in the exhibition in paintings by Gustave
Courbet and Claude Monet. Utilizing the Museum’s own collection of
European art, we feature two paintings by Courbet from his Wave
series from the 1860s, along with the Museum’s Monet from Giverny.
The new context should give us a refreshing way to think about items
in our own collection. In addition, we are borrowing Monet’s The Cliff,
Étretat, Sunset, 1883, from the collection of North Carolina Museum of
Art. It is a beautiful, early work by the Impressionist.
Issue 50 Spring 2015
Cont’d on page 2
FriendsofEuropeanArt.org