TWO EARS GOOD: FOUR EARS BAD or bring on the year of the horse

Moved to tears by the sight of a horse's ears?  It happened and the horse in question was not a snorting, snuffling, sugar- cube loving, living creature but a statue.

   Until I saw the Renaissance bronze "Prancing Horse" modelled by Giambologna (of which this is  detail) the only image of a horse that I'd ever been thrilled by was George Stubbs's "Whistlejacket,"

at the National Gallery in London.   "Whistlejacket" painted in 1762 is an enormous 292x246 cm. --colossal for an 18th century portrait. Yet standing before it, I accept without thinking that such a giant-sized canvas was needed in order to do justice to majesty and high spirits of this beautiful creature. I might feel scared of such a beast up close and in person but in the gallery I look at Whistlejacket and feel nothing but joy. I just stand there and smile.

   Two days ago I visited "Renaissance and Baroque Bronzes from the Hill Collection," which has just opened at the Frick in New York. On view are 33 bronzes from the Collection of Janine and J. Tomilson Hill. Mr. Hill is big in money (Vice-Chairman of the Blackstone Group). He collections paintings also. Three of them--two by Cy Twombly and one be Ed Rucsha are also on view--a first showing of contemporary art for the Frick.  By Mr. Hill's reckoning, he is one of about 15 major bronze collectors world wide--"major" defined as people who can spend $3 million or more on a single piece. More importantly for this viewer, he appears to have a good eye and good advice. There are many fine and lively works; some French, a few German but most Italian. To my surprise (I am doggy not horsey) while I admired and enjoyed many of the bronzes, I fell for the "Prancing Horse." Cast around 1573, it is 25.1x28.7 cm. -a statuette and a midget compared to Whistlejacket. Yet it is every bit as arresting. The whomph it packs is different however; it is not the power of joy but rather the power of tenderness. The show is terrific and this prancing pony is its star.

  Now about another two ears; the baddies.  Not far from the Frick, at the Richard Feigen gallery, London dealer Sam Fogg is staging "Wonders of the Medieval World." Among the objects on view is a carved wood, painted "Palmesel" or figure of Christ on a donkey. Such a statue (here as in many others, the figure of Christ is about the size of a 8 to 10 year old) was pulled through the street on Palm Sunday; it represents Christ's triumphal entry into  Jerusalem. This honey of an example is in the collection of the Victoria & Albert Museum in London. (An image of Fogg's proved elusive.)

  The trouble with Fogg's version was the donkey's ears. The problem wasn't that they are clearly replacements. It is a good thing to make plain what is original and what is not. The difficulty was that these large pointy substitutes were wooden; not as in made of wood but as in lacking soul. I was standing alongside the piece thinking about the expressive, touching ears of Giambologna's horse when Sam Fogg strode up in the company of another man.
  "Larry thinks these ears are distracting and should be removed, what do you think?" Sam asked me. Larry I later learnt is  Lawrence W. Nichols Senior Curator of European & American painting and sculpture before 1900 at the Toledo Museum in Ohio. Larry could have been reading my thoughts so I had no difficulty saying that I agreed. Evidently this was a casting vote (or a flourish of showmanship).  Sam gave a gentle tug; the ears came off. He slipped them under the pull- toy like platform on which the Palmesel stands. A big improvement. 

  Two magnificent memorable ears are all New York needs to celebrate the start of the Year of the Horse in the highest possible style. Happy New Year.

Come hither City boys

The Museum of London invites us to "Discover the city of London and its people."  It does not deliver. Should you actually find your way to the vile seventies building on a roundabout in the City you won't see an entrance. That requires another hunting expedition. Hidden inside other buildings on the "mainland" are stairs and escalators to take visitors up to walkways which are open to the wind and rain. When you finally make it to the museum's actual entrance you sense immediately that everything has been done on the cheap. Even its logo is cringe- inducing. It looks like the winner of the booby prize in a first year, design school competition. Far more serious is the shocking fact that entire museum has a whopping total of four curators. They are heroic women and men, dedicated and hard working, but they are attempting to do an impossible job. The place is a disgrace to the city and the City both. Come on city boys and you women in finance, too. Use your expertise--and your dough--to create a museum we can all be proud of. It can be done. They've done it in Antwerp. 

 Visit the MAS (above). This exciting example of contemporary architecture is set in the old port's red-light district. The history and life of Antwerp is imaginatively displayed--its procession of elaborate model ships is thrilling-- something I had not imaged possible. The success of the MAS has led to regeneration of the entire neighbourhood.
    The Museum of London's collections include the 500 pieces of the Cheapside Hoard, the world's largest collection of Tudor and Jacobean jewellery.  Exceptionally all of it is on view for the first time in almost a century but most of it will go back into store in the spring when the current exhibition devoted to it closes. There it will rejoin  a million other objects--A million! Among these treasures are finds from Roman and Saxon London; artifacts of London's life as a major international port --and that means full-size boats. There are 24,000 examples of of  historic and contemporary clothing; impressive collections of tools, toys, paintings and photographs. There is street furniture and shop fronts and the entire archive of the Port Authority. Almost all of this is an all too well kept secret.
   There is no way to fiddle with the current museum. It is an architectural and geographic mistake. Yet, wouldn't you know that this is precisely what is being planned. The only approach that makes sense it to tear down the monstrosity and start again. Raze it and raise the dough to do it right next time around.

 Happy New Year to All