V&A Museum
11 February – 11 June 2023
The Victoria and Albert Museum in London is currently hosting the exhibition Donatello: Sculpting the Renaissance which explores the works of the Renaissance master Donatello. The exhibition showcases over 50 artworks never seen before in the UK, providing a fresh and unique vision of the artist, his innovations, collaborations, and inspirations. Donatello is considered one of the greatest sculptors of all time and was part of the vanguard of a revolution in sculptural practice in the early Renaissance. He worked in the full range of sculptural materials and techniques, including marble, bronze, wood, terracotta, and stucco.
The exhibition focuses primarily on Donatello’s lifetime and immediate followers, combining a thematic approach with chronology, encompassing the inter-relationship between sculpture, paintings, drawings, and goldsmiths’ work. The collection comprises around 130 objects, including key works by the master himself. It is complemented by carefully selected works by Donatello’s contemporaries and followers that explore and expand on the sculptor’s prominent place within the development of Renaissance art and its context, as well as inter-relationships across materials.
The exhibition is divided into six sections that offer a unique perspective on Donatello’s life and work. The first, Donatello’s Florentine Foundations, explores his early experiences and collaborations, including his partnership with Michelozzo. The second, Tradition and Innovation, focuses on Donatello’s ability to blend inspiration from antiquity with that from the more recent past. Bronzes: Sacred and Secular showcases a selection of works in bronze and how Donatello responded to the needs of different patrons and contexts. Padua and Northern Italy highlights Donatello’s ten-year sojourn in Padua and his impact on artistic developments in the city and nearby centres. Devotion and Emotion showcases Donatello’s exceptional ability to portray emotions through his works, especially those intended to inspire religious devotional practice. Finally, Homage to Donatello reviews how his sculptures inspired generations in the later Renaissance and beyond, including the V&A’s collection and later imitations.
Unmissable highlights of the exhibition include Donatello’s early marble David and bronze Attis-Amorino from the Museo Nazionale del Bargello, Florence. It also features the impressive reliquary bust of San Rossore from the Museo Nazionale di San Matteo, Pisa, and bronzes from the High Altar of the Basilica of St Anthony in Padua. A noteworthy addition is the V&A’s beautifully carved shallow relief of the Ascension with Christ Giving the Keys to St Peter, displayed alongside other works such as the Madonna of the Clouds from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and Desiderio da Settignano’s Panciatichi Madonna from the Museo Nazionale del Bargello.
Donatello: Sculpting the Renaissance exhibition provides a unique opportunity to experience the works of one of the greatest sculptors of all time. The collection offers a fresh and insightful perspective on Donatello’s life, his innovations, and his influence on subsequent generations of artists. The exhibition is a testament to the V&A’s commitment to showcasing the very best of Renaissance art and is a must-see for anyone interested in this fascinating period in the history of art.
多納泰羅:塑造文藝復興
維多利亞與阿爾伯特博物館
2023年2月11日-6月11日
倫敦維多利亞與阿爾伯特博物館正在展出《多納泰羅:塑造文藝復興》展覽,該展覽探索了文藝復興時期大師多納泰羅的作品。這次展覽呈現了50多件過去從未在英國展出的藝術作品,提供了一個全新而獨特的視角,展現了藝術家的創新、合作和靈感。多納泰羅被認為是史上最偉大的雕塑家之一,他也是文藝復興早期雕塑實踐革命的先驅之一。他對各種雕塑材料和技術進行了研究,包括大理石、青銅、木材、紅陶和灰泥。
本次展覽主要關注多納泰羅的生平及其追隨者的作品,以主題與年代順序相結合的形式,展現了雕塑、繪畫、素描和金匠作品之間的相互關係。展品總計130件,包括大師本人的重要作品,與多納泰羅同時代人和追隨者的作品精心搭配展出。這些作品探索和擴展了多納泰羅在文藝復興時期藝術發展及其背景中的突出地位,以及不同材料之間的相互關係,相互呼應,彰顯了多納泰羅在藝術史上的不朽地位。
展覽分為六個部分,以獨特的視角展示多納泰羅的生活和作品。
第一部分是《佛羅倫薩的根基》,著眼於文藝復興時期這座城市雕塑創作迅速發展的時期。多納泰羅爲主教座堂(Opera del Duomo)製作了第一件大理石雕塑《大衛》,並在雕塑家洛倫佐·吉貝爾蒂(Lorenzo Ghiberti)的工作室習得了用蠟、粘土和青銅創作的經驗。這些早期的經歷,包括與馬薩喬(Masaccio.)等畫家的關係,勾勒出其同輩們之間的友誼、競爭和合作。通過圖紙和模型,以及經常被低估的他曾受過的金工訓練,呈現多納泰羅的非凡創造力和實踐能力。
第二部分《傳統與革新》更深入地探討了多納泰羅如何將古代與近代的靈感相結合,以創造出新的視覺效果,例如他對復興半身像的貢獻,以及在他的聖母與聖嬰主題雕塑中表現出的親密母子關係。展品將被置於連續的語境中,我們既可以看到激發其靈感的前輩作品以及後期追隨者的作品。這些原件或複製品在不同語境下更是蘊含了不同層次的解讀,如V&A博物館館藏的《切利尼聖母(Chellini Madonna)》、盧浮宮的《皮奧聖母(Piot Madonna)》和維也納藝術史博物館的《謙卑的聖母(Madonna of Humility)》,就在宗教活動中的不同語境和作用有多重意義。V&A博物館館藏中標誌性的多納泰羅“耶穌昇天”浮雕,以及陳列在其周圍的一系列作品,更將體現他在淺浮雕方面的非凡創新以及透視方法。
第三部分,《青銅:神聖與世俗》,聚焦於一組精心挑選的青銅作品,展示多納泰羅如何用這種昂貴的材料來回應贊助人的需求,在公共和私人、神聖和世俗的不同語境進行創作。這些雕塑在圖像學和選材上都展露出政治和宗教信息。小型青銅雕塑,如受到古代啓發的“精靈(Spiritelli)”,曾經作爲宗教和家庭用途。但在現場,你將看到多納泰羅爲錫耶納洗禮堂和佛羅倫薩聖母百花大教堂製作的雕像,它們脫離了原始形式,發展為青銅雕像,使其成爲15世紀的一場復興。此外,這組青銅作品中還有兩個與美第奇家族有關的噴泉雕像,以及爲美第奇圈子裡的一個家族創作的阿提斯青銅雕像。
《帕多瓦和意大利北部》,這一部分聚焦多納泰羅在帕多瓦的十年生活(1443-54),考察他對該城市和附近城市如費拉拉和威尼斯的藝術發展帶來的影響。這裡不得不提到多納泰羅與諸多雕塑家和畫家的關係,以及對他們產生的啓發,如喬瓦尼·達·比薩 (Giovanni da Pisa)、曼泰恩(Mantegn)、貝里尼(Bellini)、斯基亞沃內(Schiavone)、佐波(Zoppo)。在帕多瓦,他創作了格太梅拉達騎馬像 (Equestrian statue of Gattamelata),以及聖安多尼聖殿內高壇的傑出雕像。現存的三件雕像是多納泰羅的非凡創作能力的絕佳體現,詮釋出它們的宗教意涵。祭壇上的浮雕《騾子的奇蹟(The Miracle of the Mule)》尤其顯示了他創造空間和色彩效果的創新方法。多納泰羅爲祭壇創作的“耶穌受難像”和位於費拉拉由尼科洛·巴龍切利(Niccolò Baroncelli)創作的“耶穌受難像”並列展出,突出了多納泰羅和巴龍切利及其後人之間尚未揭示的重要聯繫。
《虔誠與情感》,這一部分將集中展示多納泰羅通過設計和材料爲作品注入情感的卓越能力,雕塑家這樣做的目的通常是為了激發教徒的虔誠之心。耶穌受難記的意象來自於當時佛羅倫薩的宗教戲劇,多納泰羅對此想必非常熟悉。V&A博物館館藏的浮雕《哀悼基督(Lamentation)》和巴傑羅國家博物館的耶穌十字架受難像,在同時代和追隨者的作品中非常突出。
展覽的最後一部分,《致敬多納泰羅》,凸顯了這位文藝復興大師的藝術遺產,回顧了他的雕塑如何在文藝復興後期以及19世紀和20世紀初啓發了幾代藝術家,讓他們不斷模仿和參考文藝復興時期的雕塑風格。這一章節以馬爾泰利(Martelli)家族的大理石大衛像開場,這件作品可能由多納泰羅在晚年設計並由他的追隨者執行。展覽結尾以來自底特律藝術學院由雕塑家阿爾塞奧·多塞納(Alceo Dossena)創作的宏偉大理石《聖母子(Virgin and Child)》浮雕畫下句號,這是多納泰羅延續到20世紀的傳奇遺產的例證。
《多納泰羅:塑造文藝復興》為觀眾提供了一個獨特的機會來欣賞史上最偉大的雕塑家之一的作品。此次展覽上的藏品以新穎而富有洞察力的視角介紹了多納泰羅的生活、他的創新以及他對後代藝術家的影響。該展覽證明了 V&A 致力於展示文藝復興時期最好的藝術,對於任何對藝術史上這個迷人時期感興趣的人來說都是必看的。
Edited 编辑 x Victoria Huang