You don’t need me to tell you what to do on a rainy day in L.A.  The only question is “which museum?”  To accompany the romantic, pensive quality of gray winter days, I can recommend Captured Emotions, Baroque Painting in Bologne, 1575 – 1725, at the Getty Center through May 3, 2009.                    . 

As always, presentation is stunning -- the galleries are well divided to encase an artist, or a

Joseph and Potiphar's Wife, Carlo Cignani, about 1670–1680

time period or a theme.  And unlike some museums we know, the halls are warm and plenty of seating is available for relaxing and mulling.  

The exhibit draws us into the world of the immensely talented Caracci family, Ludovico (1555-1619) and his two cousins Agostino (1557-1602) and Annibale (1560-1609.)  Late in the 16^th Century the Caracci family rejuventated the art of painting, which had languished since the late Renaissance.  Everyone wanted to buy sculpture, but the Carracci revival changed all that.  Flesh and emotion infused religious subjects with a life that replaced the stylized, idealized religious figure of the past. 

The Carraccis founded their academy in 1582, and clearly one of their star pupils was Guido Reni (1575-1642).  Eight lustrous Renis are featured, including his Christ with the Crown of Thorns, done in oil on copper, which was a new medium indeed.  According to Jonathan Scott Schaefer, Curator of Painting, this medium was thought to impart a richness and life to the subject, but was dicy in that many of the paintings survived superbly, and many crumbled off the copper.  Lucky for us, yet another Reni on copper is in the exhibit, the Martyrdom of Saint Apollonia. 

Another talent came into the style camp of Carracci’s although he did not actually attend their academy.  Giovanni Francesco Barbieri (1591-1660) is known as Il Guercino, since he was born with a squint (guercio.)  On display is his set of four paintings of the Evangelists (Saints Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.)  Squinting didn’t lessen the talents of  Guercino any, as his use of chiaroscuro and human emotions and layout give a different light to the attributes and attitudes of the saints. 

This exhibit contains pieces loaned by both the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden, Germany, which owns the lion’s share of the pieces on display, and the Norton Simon Foundation, and of course pieces from the Getty’s collections.  Many of the larger pieces have not left Dresden since the 18^th Century.

Many programs are planned to enhance the enjoyment of the exhibit. www.getty.edu