Jan 18, 2009 11:31 am US/Eastern
CBS 2 At The Met: Love In Renaissance Italy
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
Those happy family milestones of Italian families were celebrated in extravagant ways. "Art and Love in Renaissance Italy" is a collection of 150 works of art made to mark the occasions of engagement, marriage or a baby's birth. From jewelry given to the couples, to marriage portraits, to birth trays given to the mothers, the art was commissioned and treasured for generations. Curator Andrea Bayer explains to CBS2's Dana Tyler that this exhibition shows domestic art was a big part of the Renaissance.
Bayer says, "We normally think of the church painting, fresco. The greatest artist of the period Botticelli, created great works for private people to be put in their homes."
The art dates from 1400-1550. Bayer says weddings were incredible times of gift-giving. "On some occasions for important weddings, twenty to thirty rings could be exchanged. Rings the groom gave to the bride. She'd also get gifts from his family." Made of silver and gold, she says rings often had inscriptions of love and praise.
Bayer shows us wedding portraits painted by a Florentine artist who portrays the bride surrounded by her sewing box and jewelry, and her groom, the sea merchant seemingly at work. Bayer explains, "This is a very characteristic nuptial portrait. She is shown with domestic objects in the great world while he is doing his business."
Paintings also celebrated childbirth. One of the classic baby gifts back then, was a birthtray.
"They were presented to the mother. Brought into the mother, covered with linen cloths, candies!"
The exhibition also features large and elaborate paintings and furniture. Couples commissioned artists to decorate their bedrooms. Bayer says, "Love didn't always enter into the marriage equation in this period, especially between families that had any kind of property or wealth. That doesn't mean there wasn't a great hope that there would be love in marriage!"
In the final gallery, Curator Bayer shows a late work painted in 1565, by Titian. "Venus Blindfolding Cupid"
Two cupids are at odds about love. "When I say it's one of the greatest works of art in this exhibition, that when you look at this, it's just a great work of art, forget about the symbolism, forget about meaning. The lushness of the paint, the colors, his ability to bring with a few strokes of the brush. Our sense that she's wearing a jewel around her neck He's a consummate artist working at the height of his career."
"Art and Love in Renaissance Italy" at the Met through February 16th.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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