Table Of Content

TThhee FFrriicckk CCoolllleeccttiioonn mmeemmbbeerrss’’ mmaaggaazziinnee wfailnlt e20r2 20011 Giovanni Bellini’s St. Francis in the Desert The Frick Collection Letter from the Director Board of Trustees It has been more than seven months since Elizabeth M. Eveillard, Chair COVID‑19 began altering our lives and the Michael J. Horvitz, Vice Chair world around us. While there remain many Juan Sabater, Treasurer uncertainties, more than ever before we are Kathleen Feldstein, Secretary committed to providing meaningful, inspi‑ rational programming that enriches the lives Peter P. Blanchard III of our members and other constituents. In Margot Bogert the first several weeks after shutdown as the Ayesha Bulchandani majority of our staff transitioned to working Sharese Bullock-Bailey remotely, we adapted our programs to fit our virtual world, creating new content, ensur‑ Tai-Heng Cheng ing easy access to archived resources, and keeping our growing global audience informed Bradford Evans and entertained with weekly e‑newsletters, webinars, and at‑home activities for families Barbara G. Fleischman to enjoy together. I am immensely proud of our efforts and so very appreciative of all our Emily T. Frick friends who have cheered us on and continued to support our work by renewing their Christian Keesee memberships, making a donation, or taking the time to leave a comment on social media. Sidney R. Knafel Your kind emails and phone calls have meant so much, encouraging us to keep develop‑ James S. Reibel, M.D. ing the most innovative ways to connect during this unprecedented time. I am especially Charles M. Royce grateful to all our online guests who helped make our first virtual gala, Frick on the Move, Stephen A. Schwarzman a huge success. Thank you! Bernard Selz We continue to make preparations for the ground‑breaking of our renovation and Victoria Lea Smith enhancement project and the move to our temporary home at Frick Madison, only a few J. Fife Symington IV blocks north on Madison Avenue. For the next two years, the Collection will be housed Ian Wardropper, ex officio at the Marcel Breuer–designed building, formerly occupied by the Whitney Museum of President Emerita American Art and, most recently, The Met Breuer. Presenting beloved Frick masterpieces Helen Clay Chace in Breuer’s iconic concrete shrine is an unparalleled opportunity for all of us to see the Frick’s holdings in a surprising new context. Striking a balance between tradition and Trustees Emeriti innovation, the installation at Frick Madison will depart from the museum’s customary I. Townsend Burden III presentation style in a domestic setting and instead organize works chronologically and L. F. Boker Doyle by region. Deputy Director and Peter Jay Sharp Chief Curator Xavier F. Salomon and Franklin W. Hobbs his team have done a remarkable job envisioning and executing this installation, and we Howard Phipps Jr. are excited to soon be able to share with you what we have been planning for so many years. In the meantime, we are in the midst of developing some wonderful members‑only benefits—including exclusive access and bonus content—to show our gratitude for your ongoing support. Keep an eye on your inbox in the weeks ahead for more details. If you are in a position to do so, I hope you will consider making a donation to the Annual Fund. From November 1 through the end of December, your gift will be matched dollar for dollar by Trustee Stephen A. Schwarzman, doubling its impact. We are tremen‑ dously grateful to Steve for offering this match for the fifth consecutive year, as it helps make possible everything we do. Thank you again for your involvement. All of us at the Frick are truly inspired by your commitment and generosity. The Members’ Magazine is In gratitude, published three times a year by The Frick Collection as a benefit for its members. Volume 20, Number 2 issn: 1534‑6412 Ian Wardropper Editor: Rebecca Brooke Anna‑Maria and Stephen Kellen Director b m o c y d o b ael The Frick Collection h c mi members’ magazine fall 2020 2 community The Frick at Home: Coming Together Virtually to Find Inspiration in Art 4 community Planned Giving at the Frick: Trustee Peter P. Blanchard III Honors His Great-Grandfather’s Legacy 6 collection news Building Project Update: Preserving and Protecting the 70th Street Garden 7 collection news Horticulturist Galen Lee Retires: More Than Forty Years Caring for Two Beloved Gardens 8 publications The Sleeve Should Be Illegal: Cultural Luminaries Share Thoughts on Favorite Frick Works 10 recent acquisition Hearth and Home near Haarlem: Salomon van Ruysdael’s Landscape with Farmhouse 12 curator’s choice Bastiani’s Adoration of the Magi: “Mingled Hilariousness and Solemnity” 15 news at a glance 16 behind the scenes Frick on the Move: Staff Begins Preparations for Frick Madison cover Giovanni Bellini (ca. 1424/1435–1516), St. Francis in the Desert, ca. 1476–78, oil on panel, The Frick Collection community The Frick at Home Coming Together Virtually to Find Inspiration in Art Since the galleries closed in March, Salomon and Ng in illuminating explora‑ to create a virtual tour on its website, in members of the Frick community have tions of art, culture, and history. 1998, and was one of the original seventeen visited destinations as varied as a rocky out‑ Remarking on the translation of the institutions that helped launch Google Arts cropping in Italy, a moody Polish landscape, Frick’s characteristic intimacy to the digital & Culture. The Frick’s website offers a trove and the sublime pre‑industrial grandeur of realm, Salomon explains, “In a sense, we of virtual exhibitions, digitized collections, Constable Country—all without breaking have flipped the museum experience on and archived lectures and symposia, and its stay‑at‑home orders or travel restrictions. its head. Instead of inviting you into the YouTube subscribers have tripled since lock‑ Every Friday evening, far‑flung viewers Frick family’s former home, Aimee and I down, with Cocktails and other new video celebrate the end of the week by taking a vir‑ are bringing the treasures of the museum series surpassing one million views. The tual journey with Deputy Director and Peter directly into your living rooms.” institution cultivates a lively social media Jay Sharp Chief Curator Xavier F. Salomon The outpouring of praise for these online presence whose audience has increased or Curator Aimee Ng, the hosts of Cocktails offerings has been astounding. In July, The nearly 50% since March, climbing to over with a Curator, one of the Frick’s most Wall Street Journal lauded Cocktails and half a million followers across Facebook, popular new online programs. As 5:00 p.m. Travels as “an entertaining crash course in Instagram, and Twitter. approaches, the YouTube chat box lights up art history and a wonderful introduction The Frick’s innovative online content has in anticipation: “Hello from sunny Seattle!” to the riches of The Frick Collection” and, broadened its community in meaningful “Hi from Ukraine.” “Good evening from in August, Cocktails was featured in both ways, introducing the museum and library Berlin.” “Hola desde Montevideo.” “Costa The New Yorker and The New York Times. to individuals not previously familiar with Rica in the house!” Myriad messages pour This critical acclaim is echoed by enthusias‑ their diverse offerings. Susan Siris Wexler in, including one from a nurse at Lenox tic audience members, who have taken the of Cambridge, Massachusetts, for example, Hill Hospital, fewer than ten blocks from Frick’s programming as an opportunity to has shared her love of Cocktails with a the Frick: “Watching from the ICU. Cheers gather with loved ones at home or via video Curator with fellow members of the Harvard everyone.” The global reach of the pandemic call to reflect together on works of art. Institute for Learning in Retirement, a pro‑ is a reminder of art’s capacity to offer collec‑ Trudi Richardson, a Cocktails fan from gram that offers extracurricular activities to tive moments of solace, whether we experi‑ Manhattan’s Upper East Side, used the series seniors. Susan reports, “The Frick is one of ence it in sweatpants or scrubs. to reconnect with her girlhood friend Lucille. my treats in the time of COVID. We’re faith‑ Since the inaugural Cocktails episode Now in her mid‑seventies, Trudi shared, “We ful attendees of the delightful cocktail hour premiered in April, the program’s timely ‘see’ each other online on Friday afternoons, and also enjoy your marvelous archived lec‑ reflections on beloved paintings as well as before the show starts. We exchange photos tures. We all very much appreciate what you lesser‑known sculptures and decorative arts of ourselves and our drinks of choice, and have done to make valuable the many hours objects from the permanent collection have after each episode we giggle and discuss over of distancing.” provided a much‑appreciated facsimile of text what we’ve learned. At a time of high The Frick’s education department was the shared experiences lost to shuttered anxiety, twenty minutes with a charming also quick to respond to the museum’s closure museums around the world. Soon after curator is the perfect escape.” by adapting its onsite programs to virtual Cocktails came Travels with a Curator, virtual The expansion of the Frick’s online pro‑ platforms. Since April, Frick Connections excursions to mostly European destinations, gramming has brought renewed attention has offered a lineup of inspiring content and and Frick Five, lighthearted but thought‑ to its virtual platforms. An early adopter activities, including art‑making and writ‑ provoking interviews with Frick curators of digital content within the art world, the ing prompts, videos featuring community and their colleagues. All three series feature Frick was among the first major museums partners, and Untold Histories, a blog series 2 The Frick Collection a r t w o r k b y g e o r g e k o e lle spotlighting the Frick family’s domestic Library has been hard at work developing people around the country and the world, workers, employed when the mansion was a ways to serve scholars working from home. some of whom have never before stepped private home. In Continue the Conversation, The library, long recognized as a leader in foot in the Frick. It’s amazing to think that Frick educators lead thoughtful dialogues in digital art history, regularly hosts webinars these new programs have brought such real time through video conferencing. guiding participants through the multitude disparate audiences together, some seek‑ Free guided virtual visits for middle of online tools available to them, including ing solace, entertainment, education, or school, high school, and college groups have WorldCat and the Frick Digital Collections. escape—or a little bit of all of these.” proven especially popular, serving some Other online events have included a sum‑ Art, after all, offers ways to ponder life—a 1,600 students since April. Kimberly Pearson, mer book club featuring a conversation with moment rendered timeless, a personal expe‑ an English teacher from Gunston Middle Robert M. Edsel, author of The Monuments rience shared collectively. A YouTube viewer School in Arlington, Virginia, recounted, Men: Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves, and the praising Frick programming in the com‑ “Many of my students have never been to Greatest Treasure Hunt in History (2009). ments section may have put it best: “What a New York, and a visit to the Frick would These and other programs have introduced time in the world to step back and embrace normally not be feasible. Our virtual experi‑ users to the thousands of ever‑growing free the universal.”—Noah Purdy, Assistant Editor ence expanded my students’ worldview and resources housed digitally by the library and for External Affairs created a sense of joy and continuity for our peer institutions. community. The insights we shared together The restrictions necessitated by the pan‑ were the perfect capstone to a school year demic have, ironically, created an important above unexpectedly thrown into chaos—it felt like opportunity to engage and serve a broader Deputy Director and Peter Jay Sharp Chief Curator Xavier F. Salomon discusses Rembrandt’s Polish Rider all was not lost.” audience seeking comfort in art. Reflecting during an episode of Cocktails with a Curator. In order to aid students and art historians on the popularity of Cocktails and other Virtual programs have been made possible, in part, by impacted by the physical closures of research online offerings, Ng noted, “What has been a major grant from the National Endowment for the centers and archives, the Frick Art Reference particularly rewarding is connecting with Humanities. Members’ Magazine Fall 2020 3 community Planned Giving at the Frick Trustee Peter P. Blanchard III Honors His Great-Grandfather’s Legacy Peter P. Blanchard III is the great‑ RB: In what ways are you inspired by RB: What is your earliest memory of grandson of Henry Clay Frick and has the legacy of your great-grandfather? The Frick Collection? been a Trustee of The Frick Collection for nearly twenty years. Recently he decided to PB: I admit that while growing up I was a PB: I remember attending the celebration [in build on his great‑grandfather’s legacy by bit overwhelmed by my family history—the December 1955] commemorating the twenti‑ joining the Henry Clay Frick Associates, a grandeur of my great‑grandfather’s resi‑ eth anniversary of the museum’s opening to group of individuals who have remembered dence at 1 East 70th Street, the importance the public. One memory from that evening The Frick Collection through planned giving. of his art collection, and his reputation as a is frozen in time, captured in a photograph Blanchard is an educator, preservationist, hard‑driving industrialist. In college, as an of a group of my cousins, gazing into the and founder of the Dendroica Foundation, art history major, I began to realize the tre‑ fountain pool in the Garden Court [below]. which is dedicated to promoting and con‑ mendous benefits of his legacy to the larger I seem to be losing my balance! serving the environment. He is currently world. Roaming anonymously through the a board member of the Helen Clay Frick galleries of the Collection (and recognized RB: What memories do you have of Foundation and the Board Chairman of as a family member by only a few of the Helen, Henry Clay Frick’s daughter? Greenwood Gardens, a public garden in security staff), I experience both pleasure Short Hills, New Jersey, that he and his wife, and pride in seeing how much the Frick is PB: I have many fond memories of my Sofia, established in 2003. In the interview valued and enjoyed by visitors. The museum great‑aunt Helen [founder, in 1920, of the below, he discusses why making a planned and the Frick Art Reference Library truly Frick Art Reference Library]. My father and gift to the Frick is so important. provide a cultural haven, a sanctuary that I invariably celebrated Thanksgiving with inspires and delights. her and other family members at her farm Rebecca Brooke, Editor: What prompted you to make a planned gift now? Peter Blanchard: I’ve been intending to make a legacy gift to the Frick for several years, well before the COVID‑19 pandemic erupted in New York City in March. The swiftness with which the virus spread around the globe underscores the rapidity of how life’s fortunes and prospects can change, as well as the need for safeguarding the causes that one and one’s family truly believe in. opposite page Peter P. Blanchard III and his wife, Sofia right Peter Blanchard (left) and several other great‑ grandchildren of Henry Clay Frick at the twentieth anniversary celebration of the museum’s opening, December 1955. 4 The Frick Collection community c h r ist in e a . b u t le r in Bedford, New York. I’ll always remember the cozy darkness of her eighteenth‑century farmhouse with its low doors and ceilings and its glowing fireplace, where Aunt Helen presided. She was keenly interested in know‑ ing what the younger generation was up to, and I deeply appreciated that in 1974 she attended my Princeton graduation, at age 86! Whenever I visit the Frick, I can still feel my great‑aunt’s presence. I imagine being in her company on the way up to her office in Constable sky, fully expecting a sun shower! RB: What is the value of supporting the library, where her lifelong passion for art Many years ago, Everett Fahy, the Frick’s cultural institutions like the Frick with unfolded. In the library lobby, Aunt Helen Director from 1973 to 1986, presented me a planned gift? was always visibly pleased to point out two with facsimiles of two of Constable’s sketch‑ memorable items: a sizable rack of black books. Leafing through the pages of pencil PB: A planned gift represents the continua‑ skirts, which she made mandatory for “lady drawings with their smudges and occasional tion of a love affair. It is the most powerful scholars” who had the misfortune of arriv‑ evidence of raindrops is like peering over the vote of confidence in an organization that one ing in pants [a policy discontinued in 1989], great artist’s shoulder as he worked. can make. Such gifts reflect an individual’s and a sign which forbade smoking. The sign recognition that his or her plans and actions proclaimed, “Place your butts here!” Aunt RB: What are your hopes for the future are limited by the relative brevity of a lifetime. Helen’s rules were strict. Although she was of The Frick Collection? Through a legacy gift, one’s passion for the mis‑ diminutive and became increasingly frail sion of an institution can live on in perpetuity. with age, her presence was formidable. PB: I want the Frick to always remain the great oasis of beauty that my great‑ Invest in the Frick’s Future RB: Do you have a favorite work of grandfather intended. While the Frick is art in the permanent collection? undergoing the necessary process of revital‑ The Henry Clay Frick Associates is a group ization—a project in which I’ve been closely of thoughtful individuals who have remem‑ PB: Constable’s White Horse is unques‑ involved—it is critical that its residential bered The Frick Collection through planned tionably my favorite painting. I have long character not be diminished. Enhancing the giving. Contribute to the Frick’s future by admired the artist’s depiction of rural visitor experience, facilitating greater educa‑ making a special gift, such as a bequest in England at a time when such pristine and tional outreach, expanding exhibition space, your will. Your legacy—regardless of size— evocative scenery was already under siege by and more fully integrating the museum and will help support exhibitions, research, con‑ the advances of the Industrial Revolution. I library are all laudable and achievable goals. servation projects, and education programs am completely drawn into the picture, find‑ During the renovation, great pains are being for generations to come. ing myself standing on the river’s edge as I taken to preserve the magic of the place—its For confidential help or more informa‑ watch the ferrying of the white horse to the aura of intimacy and quiet contemplation. tion about how to plan your gift, please towpath on the opposite bank. I imagine fol‑ We always want visitors to feel as if they are contact Sara Muskulus, Manager of Grants lowing the meandering path to the meadows stepping back in time, to be able to savor and Planned Giving, at 646.783.5803 or beyond, under the resplendent clouds of a and reflect. [email protected]. Members’ Magazine Fall 2020 5 collection news Building Project Update Preserving and Protecting the 70th Street Garden As The Frick Collection prepares for acclaimed restoration of Longwood Gardens Some garden features have shifted over the renovation and enhancement of in Pennsylvania), public garden designer the past four decades and will benefit from its historic buildings, steps are now being Lynden Miller, and the landscape archi‑ reinstallation, including the pool’s coping taken to protect and preserve elements of tecture firm MPFP. Noted stonework spe‑ stones and the decorative bluestone edging the 70th Street Garden before construction cialist Nicholson and Galloway will restore that defines the garden pathways. Several begins early next year. the garden’s architectural backdrop, which trees have outgrown Page’s intended scale, The elevated garden was designed in 1977 incorporates eight decorative stone carvings while others are replacements made fol‑ by British landscape architect Russell Page repurposed from the elaborate porte‑cochère lowing damage from storms or disease. The (1906–1985) and was constructed at the same of the Carrère and Hastings residence (1914) fruiting trees will be transported to a nursery time as the museum’s reception hall. Page and from the façade of the original Frick Art in Upstate New York, where they will be played with symmetry and asymmetry to Reference Library (1925). Various compo‑ maintained for the duration of the project, enhance the double trompe‑l’oeil perspec‑ nents will be photographed, dismantled, and ultimately to be replanted at the Frick fol‑ tive experienced by viewers from inside the catalogued before being sent offsite for resto‑ lowing construction. The koi will be moved new interior space and from below, on East ration. The north wall of the garden will be from the pond to a temporary tank in the 70th Street. Using the prominent rectangular temporarily removed to undergo restoration, Fifth Avenue Garden. When the stone walls, pool, flowerbeds, and low plantings dotted while the east wall will be conserved onsite. gate, pool, pebble paths, and other elements with trees, he created painterly effects that Similarly, the wrought‑iron gate—also once are reinstalled, visitors and passersby will evoke vistas by Fragonard and Boucher. part of the mansion’s porte‑cochère—will be once again be able to enjoy views of Page’s After completing the garden, Page repaired and repainted offsite. garden.—Rebecca Brooke, Editor remained a consultant until 1981. In col‑ laboration with Galen Lee, the museum’s m horticulturist for more than forty years (see ich a e opposite page), he would periodically visit l b o d the Frick to make alterations when neces‑ yc o m sary, based on whether or not specific plants b were thriving. Notes from Page’s original design and his subsequent visits are con‑ sulted by Lee to this day. In order to ensure that garden elements will be protected during construction and then reinstalled in keeping with Page’s vision, the Frick has assembled a team of experts to oversee the garden’s conservation. The team includes preservation architects Beyer Blinder Belle (which recently completed the right The Frick’s 70th Street Garden, designed by Russell Page and constructed in 1977. 6 The Frick Collection collection news Horticulturist Galen Lee Retires More Than Forty Years Caring for Two Beloved Gardens After caring for the Frick’s gardens for more than four decades, Galen Lee retired in July. Fortunately, he will continue to consult with the building project team to help restore elements of the 70th Street Garden before and during construction. Galen’s cultural lexicon and experiences, coupled with his boundless energy and big personality, are unmatched. He is a fixture of the Upper East Side; often, when some‑ one learns that you work at the Frick, the first question asked is, “Do you know Galen Lee?” Colleagues describe this phenomenon as “Six Degrees of Separation from Galen.” Some of us were fortunate enough to have or impassioned conversations. The range of Galen was hired in 1977 at the suggestion been the recipients of Frick‑grown tomatoes topics about which he can opine is impres‑ of British landscape architect Russell Page, and peppers. Galen also nursed many of our sive, and colleagues routinely marveled at and he played an integral role in selecting office plants back from the brink of death. I the number of skills that he has mastered, plants for the new 70th Street Garden, then doubt there is another staff in New York City his encyclopedic knowledge in diverse fields, under construction. For the next forty‑three (or anywhere, for that matter) that has been and his intellectual curiosity. His willingness years, he was a dedicated and enthusiastic the beneficiary of such wonderful perks. to pitch in and help out is commendable, caregiver to the flowers and trees that sur‑ Galen’s talents do not end with horticul‑ and he could be counted on every August round Henry Clay Frick’s Gilded Age home. ture. On numerous occasions, his input was to host a session or two for Staff Education Galen’s care of the Frick’s famous magnolia vital when choosing furnishings, carpets, and Day: orchid repotting, windowsill garden‑ trees, hydrangeas, tulips, and other plants window treatments for many of the rooms ing, flower‑crown weaving. Since the Frick’s has been remarkable. The beautiful sea‑ on the mansion’s second floor. His excel‑ first Take Your Children to Work Day in sonal plantings he chose for the Garden lent taste, imagination, and design sense are 2006, Galen was an enthusiastic participant, Court were equally beloved: amaryllis, lilies, legendary. Over the years, his selection and leading drawing and photography activities orchids, palm trees, and many others. His execution of stunning floral arrangements and—the highlight, always—helping the kids skill and talent have been appreciated by and table coverings magically transformed feed the koi in the pool of the 70th Street thousands of museum visitors and the many the galleries and Garden Court, providing Garden. passersby who stroll down Fifth Avenue or breathtaking settings for memorable parties, All of us here wish Galen a wonderful East 70th Street, but for our Frick family, dinners, and countless special events. retirement. Thank you, Galen, for every‑ Galen has provided so much more. Interactions with Galen are never dull. He thing you’ve done for The Frick Collection. For years, Galen cultivated herbs and even is known for his directness, candor, and dis‑ —Ian Wardropper, Anna-Maria and Stephen some vegetables in the Fifth Avenue Garden tinct opinions on politics, culture, and rela‑ Kellen Director and on the library’s penthouse terrace. Many tionships. Always, his great sense of humor of these herbs ended up in dishes prepared leavened it all. He often could be observed above for the staff and special guests by the Frick’s holding court in the staff lunch room, regal‑ Galen Lee planting water lilies, one of his many former chefs, Joseph Teresa and Tony Huebe. ing his fellow diners with entertaining stories seasonal tasks as the Frick’s longtime horticulturist. Members’ Magazine Fall 2020 7 publications The Sleeve Should Be Illegal Cultural Luminaries Share Thoughts on Favorite Frick Works A few years ago at a Greenwich Village DelMonico Books/D.A.P. New York. Adam when he and a friend would enter the “cool dinner party, the artist Darren Gopnik wrote the foreword, as well as an stone temple” on Fifth Avenue to admire the Waterston described his yearly pilgrimage essay on Whistler’s Arrangement in Black velvet sleeve of Holbein’s iconic Sir Thomas from the West Coast to the Frick to spend time and Gold: Comte Robert de Montesquiou- More, so sumptuous it “should be illegal” with Bellini’s St. Francis in the Desert (cover, Fezensac. Among the sixty‑some other con‑ (the origin of the volume’s enigmatic title). opposite page). In attendance that evening tributors are André Aciman, Rosanne Cash, Together, such stories remind us how a work was the Frick’s Editor in Chief, Michaelyn Teresita Fernández, Carolina Herrera, Abbi is carried forward through time, invested Mitchell, who was inspired by Waterston’s Jacobson, Bill T. Jones, Julie Mehretu, Diana with emotional resonance by the viewers account of his annual visits to produce a col‑ Rigg, and Simon Schama. who have stood before it.—Christopher Snow lection of musings and meditations by art‑ For many contributors, their chosen Hopkins, Assistant Editor ists, writers, and other cultural figures, each work evokes a specific memory, catapulting sharing how a painting or sculpture from the them into the past like Proust’s madeleines or The following is an excerpt from the museum has moved or intrigued them. The Kane’s Rosebud. Donald Fagen contrasts the anthology, which is made possible by The resulting volume, The Sleeve Should Be Illegal “perfect love” depicted in Fragonard’s famed Arthur F. and Alice E. Adams Charitable & Other Reflections on Art at the Frick, will panels with an ill‑fated dalliance. Jonathan Foundation. Members can preorder copies at be published in January in association with Lethem recalls his senior year of high school, [email protected]. Rachel Feinstein and John Currin Discuss Bellini’s St. Francis in the Desert Looking at a painting over and over setting for a dark fairy tale and remind me period of your life is not the same painting. again never gets old, especially when of the rocks on the Led Zeppelin Houses of The significance or interpretation changes you can do so together as two artists. Each the Holy album cover. I always wonder why with the viewer. time, we notice something different, and the rocks are that strange green color. John John: The details of the leaves, little with two sets of discerning eyes, there is says Bellini might have used a glaze on top weeds, and sticks coming up through the more to see, especially with Bellini’s St. of that bottom layer of green or that the rocks are what I love most in this painting. Francis in the Desert, which we first saw original color simply turned another shade It’s as if Bellini, through those sharp leaves, many years ago. Looking at the painting with age. Either way, the original color is is showing the clarity you feel from being an is like a game; each time, some new visual now long gone. This makes me think about ascetic monk living alone in a cave. clue is revealed—like the waterspout on Greek and Roman sculptures—how their Rachel: That moment of isolation is fasci‑ the bottom far left under the rocks, spotted stark whiteness has become part of their nating in the context of the situation we are in only recently. There are so many little gems everlasting beauty even though they were now because of COVID‑19. Our family of five scattered throughout the painting. originally garishly painted by their creators. may not be living alone in a cave right now, Rachel: It was the strange malachite I’ve always been interested in how but due to the current circumstances, we green rocks that initially caught my eye. beauty and meaning change with the times, have turned more inward, like Saint Francis. They make me think of Mordor in The Lord and the malachite green rocks in Bellini’s Looking at this image and its sharp clarity of the Rings. The mythical rocks, their weird St. Francis first spoke to me for this reason. during this time of fear and uncertainty is structure and odd shapes, could be the Like a reread book, a painting seen at a later very soothing and inspirational. 8 The Frick Collection