Evening star., 1948-02-01
Booth Gifts Augment
Gallery Collection
OF German Art
By Florence S. Berrymon

Lie superb 1cIuidu dllu ltdAIdI
masterpieces recently given to the
National Gallery of Art by Mrs
Ralph Harmon Booth of Detroit
will be previewed this evening by
invitation, and will be on view to
the public beginning tomorrow
Supplementing the information
published in the Star both in the
art and news columns January 1s
and 20, additional data about these
paintings has been supplied by John
Walker, chief curator of the gallery
The Madonna and Child" paint
ed about 1880 by Giovanni Bellini
was included by the 17th century
Flemish artist David Teniers the
younger, in one of his paintings OF
the picture gallery of Archduke Leo
pold Wilhelm at Brussels, in whose
inventory it also is listed. Subse-
quently, 1t was lost to records until
the summer of 1922. when it was
rediscovered in England and pur-
chased by Mr.. Booth. However, in
1916, Bernard Berenson, American
expert on italian painting, foretold
the existence of this picture, then
unknown, through study of two
extant variants and with clue from
Teniers' painting. The Madonna
and Child" is predominantly blue in
tonality: deep blue of the Madon-
mas cloak, and sky blue of the back
ground. -
Mr.. Walker says that few inter
pretations of youth in Italian art
are as sensitive and sympathetic as
Gianantonio Boltraff1o's portrait OF
a youth. 1t has a simple harmoni-
GUS color scheme of various browns
ranging from the boys pale olive
complexion to darker tones in his
clothing, and a strong red-brown in
his jacket, to the dark green back
ground. At one time it was thought
to be a portrait of Girolamo Casio
and periodical references mention
it by that name.
Represent Important School
The Tintoretto Madonna and
Child" whose restoration to its
original appearance after X-rays
indicated it, has been reported in
detail, once was considered frag-
ment of a larger composition. This
painting now appears as one of the
masterpieces of Tintoretto's last
period.
The five German portraits, be-
sides being admirable per Sc, are
particularly welcome to the Ma
tional Gallery, Mr.. Walker says,
because they augment the repre-
sentation of an important school
not extensively represented hereto
fore.
I think the pair of portraits by
Lucas, Cranach the Elder, of a
pIlilSc dllO ~ AIIeCoo oA oohOiy, WAL
prove to be the most popular paint
ings in the Booth gift. They depict
beautiful fair-haired children with
fresh, innocent faces, and (as Mr..
Walker says the assurance and
poise of young people accustomed to
the ritual of court life. They are
richly dressed in brocaded clothes,
embellished with exquisite, intrf-
cately made jewelry. They have
been tentatively identified by Ger
man experts as Prince Friedrich and
Princess Christine, children of Duke
George the Bearded, of Saxony,
which would make them II or 13
in the portraits. The little prince
was included in the old master ex-
hibitions of the Chicago and New
York Worlds Fairs, and is one OF the
eight German paintings in Thomas
Craven's well-known Treasury Of
Art Masterpieces" Craven says
that lin delicacy of workmanship,
sympathetic understanding OF per-
sonality and . . pure charm it
makes no concession to the child
studies of any painter"
To1o~e ADDoar Fresh