Cathy's Art Diary

Fun online discussion from the National Gallery examining whether Giorgione’s Il Tramonto (The Sunset) should be considered a fake or a true image by the artist. The discussion was around whether so much had been added or repaired that this had now become an image which had not been imagined and devised by Giorgione. Two of the educators from the gallery, Marc Woodhead and Carolo Carsato, took opposing views to make for an interesting half an hour   with one speaking from the heart and the other analysing the science and evidence. They had great slides of the damage and how it was repaired in the 1930s when many of the stranger elements of the picture such as St George and a rather add dragon were added to hide missing areas of paint.   They talked about how the composition might have looked and at how the picture links stylistically to other by the artists. In the end   they both agreed that 88% of a Giorgione is still quite a lot and worth having!

Good exhibition   at the Louvre in Paris on the later work of Raphael. It started with five large pictures and accompanying drawings including some commissioned by Pope Leo X for Francis I. A real strength of this exhibition was the bringing together of paintings and their drawings. There was a heavy emphasis on works for the popes including the decoration of the papal apartments. there was a good definition of studio of that Raphael "controlled it's quality and homogeneity".  There was also an emphasis on his legacy and followers mainly Giulio Romano and Gian Francesco Penni with a gallery devoted to each of their works. Romano was more mannerist in style while Penni was quite delicate. The exhibition saved the best till last with a room of stunning portraits many of which were old friends. Particularly beautiful was a Romano picture of a young man thought to be a Medici.  However the whole thing confirmed my suspicion that Raphael copied and imita...