The temporary exhibitions curated by the Museo Thyssen-Bornmisza generally excite me, but when I heard of their current themed exhibit, “Architectural Paintings from the Renaissance to the Eighteenth Century,” I must confess this left me with the lukewarm feeling of “that’s nice.” Architectural paintings are always the ones that I tend to skim over when visiting the permanent collections at galleries in favour of dramatic human dramas or the symbolism and aesthetic appeal of abstract and modern art. However, I’ve never been to an exhibition at the Thyssen-Bornemisza that had disappointed me, so I decided maintain an open mind. This exhibition re-evaluated my opinion on architectural painting, and I not only came away with a new found appreciation, but a growing interest in the use of architecture in art.

Francesco d’Antonio (c. 1393-1433), Christ Healing a Lunatic and Judas Receiving Thirty Pieces of Silver, c. 1425-1426
Philidelphia Museum of Art, John G. Johnson Collection 1917, Philadelphia

The evolution of architecture in painting has served various different functions in the history of art; it has been used as a tool to set the scene and to provide keys in interpreting compositions, sometimes the buildings used in art become living characters in their own right. Architecture is also used as a metaphor and sometimes even for propaganda, political or ideological reasons. The exhibition examines the theme of architecture throughout the history of art, taking a chronological progression from the early Renaissance and the discovery of perspective, through to the 18th century capriccios where fantasy and reality coexist side-by-side. The exhibition is split into two parts – the first half is located in the Thyssen-Bornemisza museum and covers work up until the late 17th century, whereas the second part of the exhibition is held in the main hall of the Caja Madrid Foundation close to Madrid’s central Puerta del Sol, here the focus is on the art of the 18th century.

The exhibition galleries at the Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza open with the early Renaissance usages of architecture as a stage. These paintings focus on narrative scenes, mostly from the Bible, and while architecture is only used as a background set, they enhance the painting with specific details taken from real buildings, heightening the drama already present in its figures. In these paintings, some as early as the 13th century, we can see early and basic usages of perspective, most notably in Maestro Dell’Osservanza’s “The Flagellation of Christ.” This work of tempera on panel once was part of a series of five panels, organised about the theme of Christ’s execution and formed part of an altarpiece. The interior is lavish, and is staged in Pontius Pilate’s palace. The ceiling is detailed with the night’s sky, while the columns are structured to create a sense of perspective. The picture draws your attention all the way into the background, to the corridors and black doorways. The setting is extravagant and sumptuous, only adding to the drama in the painting’s subject of Christ’s flagellation.

Gentile Bellini (1429-1507), The Anuciation, c. 1475
Museo del Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid

Moving into the next room, the themes of perspective and space take precedence. While architecture was not only an excellent opportunity to provide a stage, they could also reflect real places and buildings in art. In these paintings from the early part of the High Renaissance, we can see how art evolved, creating a sophisticated use of space with depth and perspective, conveying realistic dimensions. In Gentile Bellini’s “The Annunciation,” the painting is an elaborate tapestry of architecture. The street on the left hand side, where the angel is standing, disappears into the buildings in the back, where green hills and landscapes peak above them. This detailed focus into the background on the left contrasts against the foreground on the right hand side, where our eye is drawn back to the kneeling virgin. The arch of this principle chamber is brought out into the painting with its stone columns, almost carved lovingly with details, including natural faults in the marble.

The use of archaeology and ruins in painting is not an unfamiliar topic, and has been fashionable throughout the majority of Western art history, none more so than Imperial Rome. The third room examines views of the Italian capital, once the nucleus of the Roman Empire, depicting both its ruins and its past. Some paintings even allude to using such metaphors to denote a birth of a new era: the coming of Christ, or even to remind us of civilisation’s mortality.

Attributed to Girolamo Da Cotignola, View of a City, 1520
Pinacoteca Nazionale

“The Ideal City,” was a popular concept in Renaissance Europe, the idea of a Utopian existence of perfect, orderly spaces soon became a rich ground for experimentation for many artists of this time. “The View of a City,” attributed to Girolamo da Cotignola (Girolamo Marchesi) draws you into the painting even from a distance. It shows an empty street, where two salmon coloured buildings frame the sides, and the line of sight is directed towards the middle to the focal point of the house further down the street between them. The alternating colours of salmon and beige, combined with the soft illumination of light and shadow enhances the perspective of the painting, and continuously draws you back to that simple wooden balcony at the very end, a sole hint at the sign of life—where a white shirt is draped.  

Lucas van Valckenborch (1535-1597), The Tower of Babel, 1595
Mittelrhein-Museum, Coblenz

Real architecture was not the only focal point for artists, but also the legendary cities from Classical myth and Biblical legend, such as Jerusalem, Babylon and the Seven Wonders of the World, but it’s the painting of “The Tower of Babel,” from 16th century Flemish painter, Lucas van Valckenborch that interests me. This is a popular theme in art, from Pieter Brueghel the Elder to M.C. Escher in the 20th century. This epic cityscape directs your gaze to the tower and to all its fine detail, from the figures involved in its construction to the machinery used. However, as you move your gaze left, you’ll see a hazy cityscape melt into the distance.

Towards the latter half of the exhibition’s first half, are an interesting selection of Northern European art focussing on “Architecture of Imagination and Fantasy,” most notably François de Nomé’s “Architectural Fantasy and Ruins,” showing a graveyard of eclectic ruins of classical, gothic and Renaissance styles standing side by side: a precursor to the surrealist art of the 20th century.

The first part of the exhibition ends with the epic, propaganda inspired paintings of the grand Italian cities of Rome and Naples. Here the paintings depicting “The Modern City as a Metaphor for Power” are showcased. These large canvases with their epic views of Rome’s Piazza Navona or St. Peter’s Square are used to convey the power and announce the magnificence of these cities through their representation in art.

Gaspar van Wittel (c. 1652-1736), View of Molo, the Piazzeta and the Palazzo Ducale, Venice, 1697
Museo National del Prado, Madrid

Francesco Guardi (1712-1793), The Grand Canal with the Rialto Bridge, c. 1762-1763
Calouste Gulbenkian Museum, Lisbon

Giovanni Antonio Canal, Ilmado “II Canaletto” (1697-1768), Piazza San Marco in Venice, c. 1723-1724
Museo del Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid

The second part of the exhibition focuses on the use of architecture in art during the 18th century, most notably the cities in the “Grand Tour”: Venice, Florence and Rome. The exhibition captures your attention as you enter the Fundación de Caja Madrid with the vivid and intense blues of Venice’s cityscapes, painted by Gaspar Van Wittel, these sharp paintings of Venice’s landmarks of St. Mark’s Square and the Doge’s Palace are contrasted against Francesco Guardi’s hazy depictions of “La Serenissima”. However, the highlight of the Venice paintings is “Piazza San Marco in Venice” by Venetian artist Canaletto, a delicate composition of light and shadow expressing the character of the piazza through its illumination, rather than through photographic detail,  and succeeds in capturing the movement and the dynamic life of the city.  Bernardo Bellotto’s city scenes from Florence, “The Piazza della Signoria in Florence,” and Rome, “Santa Maria d’Arcoeli and the Capitol, Rome” are both paintings marked in rich detail, combined with dramatic use of shading to bring life into the scenes of these two iconic cities.

Bernardo Bellotto (1722-1780), The Piazza della Signoria in Florence, 1742
Szépmüvészeti Múzeum, Budapest

Bernardo Bellotto (1722-1780), Santa Maria d’Aracoeli and the Capitol, Rome, c. 1743
Petworth House, The Egremont Collection

The exhibition continues with cityscapes from other European cities on the top floor, before we move on to the architectural capriccios, a new genre that arose out of 18th century architectural art – combining buildings and architectural elements in fictional and often fantastical combinations. Most notable are Canaletto’s “Capriccio: The Rialto Bridge and the Church of San Giorgio Maggiore,” two iconic Venetian monuments, displaced and transposed next to each other. The accurate details expressed in the painting make it almost believable to those who don’t know Venice, but it’s only their actual proximity in real life that makes the capriccio fantastical. The same can be said for Bellotto’s “Capriccio with the Colosseum”.

Bernardo Bellotto (1722-1780), Capriccio with the Colosseum, 1746
Galleria Nazionale, Parma

The exhibition ends in decline, with the poetry of archaeology, and ruins and memory used as architectural objects. One of the passions held by travellers in the 18th century was archaeology, and many painters used architecture from Roman and Greek ruins as a focal point for their art. In addition, Giovanni Battista Piranesi fills the final room with works, engravings of both modern day Rome alongside scenes of the ancient city.

This exhibition is a fascinating chronological and thematic guide through architecture’s role in art. It makes you get up close and personal with the paintings, forcing you to appreciate the minute detail, the play of light and perspective in the painting, and introduces us to a lesser-known side of art.

I would like to say a special thank you to Gema Sesé Alegre from the Museo del Thyssen-Bornemisza in Madrid for her help and co-operation.  
 
References:

1. The Catalogue: Arquitecturas Pintadas – Del Renacimiento al Siglo XVIII, Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza & Fundación Caja Madrid (2011)