National Museum of Ancient Art, Lisbon - Sculptures, paintings and tapestries pertaining to the Museum's permanent collection; temporary exhibition - Ivory Coast masks and carved stool - The 21st of October 2017

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I kept on strolling around the various exhibition rooms, not necessarily looking for any sculpture or painting in particular though stopping to admire those that caught my attention the most. The morning ended up being a very interesting one, despite the fact that I have visited the Museum several times before.

 

15th century alabastar St. Catherine sculpture - Nottingham, England.

1475 polychromed limestone St. Catherine sculpture - Carved in "M"  monogram (left). 1460 polychromed limestone St. Catherine attributed to João Afonso (right).

 


1450 polychromed limestone Archangel St. Michael attributed to João Afonso (left). 1325 polychromed limestone St. Peter attributed to the workshop of Évora (right).

1475 polychromed limestone attributed to Diogo Pires-o-Velho

Cherry wood with gilded, textile and polychromed traces St. John the Evangelist - Iberian Province workshop. In the Portuguese Art produced during the transition from the Romanesque to the Gothic period it was quite common to see the representation of the Calvary with Christ on the cross flanked by the Virgin mary and St. John the evangelist as witnessed to the death of the son of God. In this representation the dramatic nature of the Saint is expressed in the gesture of the Saint as he supports his face on his hand expressing his innermost pain and suffering.  The schematic nature of the volume and the graphic work of the garment folds are still connected to the Romanesque-type of representation, whilst the vertical nature of the represented figure is closely tied to the idea of the column type of statue and its adaptation to sculpting architecture.

 

 

Tryptych of the Holy family with angels  - 1520-1525 oil on oak by unknown Nederlandish master painter. 

St. Francis receiving the stigmata - 1475-1500 - Tempera on pine wood panel by Valencian unknown master painter.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Flight into Egypt - 1765-1770 oil on canvas by Giambattista Tiepolo.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Acts of mercy  - 1600-1650 oil on oak panel by Pieter Brueghel the Younger.

 

 

Portrait of Dona Isabel of Portugal in the style of half length portraits dating  from the 16th century - Oil on wood panel.

 

Merry company - 1663-1665 oil on canvas by Pieter de Hooch.

Winter landscape - 1868 oil on canvas by Gustave Courbet.

Battle of Issus and the clemency of Alexander the Great when facing the family of Darius III - Mid 15th century oil on poplar wood panel by Apollonio di Giovani.

 

 

 

 

I must say I was particularly impressed with the two magnificent tapestries I managed to partly photograph.

Hercules ' fight with the Centaurus  -  1530-1540 Wool and silk tapestry - Manufactured in Brussels (left). Wool and silk tapestry "Painting" from a painting by Jean Restout - 1740-1760 Gobelins Factory - Cozette workshop (right)

Bete mask made of wood, natural fibres, horns and teeth of wild animals, Glé (Krou group) - late 19th century - Northwest and West of Ivory Coast (left).  Mahout Mask, koma made of wood, natural fibres, horns and teeth of wild animals - 19th century - Northwest and west of Ivory Coast (right). 

 

 

 

 

Baulé stool, Bia (Akan group) late 19th century - Ivory Coast.

(To be continued)