Evening star., 1943-01-17
Art
Decorative Arts
Hold High Place
In Widener Group
By Florence S. Bergman.

The superb quality. Of the paint
ings In the Widener' collection, to-
gether with the fact that, generally
speaking, paintings are the most
popular of the spatial arts serves
to overshadow the important and
extensive groups of decorative arts
also included in Mr.. Widener's gift
10 the National Gallery.
These treasures, which fill nine
galleries on the ground floor, in
clude furniture. tapestries, small
bronzes, plaques and medals, rock
crystals, Renaissance jewels, majo-
lica, Chinese porcelains, stained
glass and textiles. They are out
standing for variety, quality and
beauty. knowledge, taste and pains
taking care controlled the selection
of each object; in some cases the
donor searched for years to find
objects needed to complete certain
groups or sets, as in Chinese porce-
lains and furniture.
The decorative arts are installed
In galleries in the west wing, de-
signed for the exhibition of smaller
sculptures, tapestries and other OBJ
iects not shown in the painting and
sculpture galleries on the main floor
These ground floor galleries were
completed to the smallest detail be-
fore the building was opened in
March, l94l. The vitrines, built
into the walls, the inches and light
ing, were all finished according to
blue prints which indicated the
placing of each object down to the
smallest bronze or porcelain. Hence,
when the collection arrived at the
National Gallery everything went
into the place prepared in advance,
making it possible, even in wartime,
to install and exhibit Immediately
this large and varied collection.
The visitor can reach these dec
orative arts rooms in two ways: Via
the long gallery in which prints
are often exhibited, or by the west
staircase leading from the main
floor. The gallery walls are uni
formly treated with travertine stone;
their floors are black and gray
Nero Nube marble They are IL
Illuminated by fiuorescent, concealed
lighting. Individual objects, such
as tapestries and sculpture, are spot
lighted from small openings In the
cctljng.
Renaissance Rooms.
italian Renaissance furniture,
bronze medals and plaques are dis
played in the foyer at the foot Of
the west staircase. Arts of the same
period occupy the large room which
opens from. it. This room has a
handsome dark-beamed wood CELL
ing which constitutes an appropriate
setting. A 18th century carved stone
fireplace at one end Of the room
has andirons attributed to the 18th
century Venetian school.
Furniture includes carved walnut
chests made for the Strozzi, Altovitt
and other families, benches or cassa-
hancas bearing the Medici arms, anc
chairs with cushions of old red OF
blue velvet. The benches have
richly colored tapestry cushions
The walls are decorated with a few
reliefs in bronze, marble and terra
Gotta. Centered on one wall is the
famous "Mazarin tapestry" A few
small bronzes by Giovanni Bologna
Riccio and Andriaen de Vries arr
placed on the tables.
Smaller bronze statuettes are
shown in an adjoining gallery II
glass cases (vitrines) set into thu
walls. They are lined with mirrors
permitting each object to be seer
from all sides Two recessed case
in the same gallery hold outstanding
objects of medieval art. Rock crys
tails and jewels are displayed agains
a background of white velvet II
cases set flush with the walls, ant
when their doors are closed are in
distinguishable from the wall.
Pictorial enamels from Limoge
and Italian majolica are set forth il
a room to themselves, while th
Chinese porcelains occupy one larg
and two small galleries. Eighteenth
century French furniture is ex
hibited in two galleries.
Outstanding individual object
will be illustrated and described
on this page during coming week
as space permits.