In terms of square footage, the Denver Art Museum is
immense. The North Building, with
its modernist take on the medieval castle, was designed by the renowned Italian
architect, Gio Ponti (1891 - 1979).
The structure opened its 210,000 square feet of gallery space in
1971. As fate would have it, though
my visit there this August was quite fortuitous, it was also quite fortunate as
the entire structure is on the verge of closing for a multi-year renovation and
expansion. I find the exterior
design nothing short of ghastly, but appreciate that it is itself a massive
work of art. For all of the
foreboding penitentiary vibe you get looking at if from without--the interior
spaces couldn't possibly be more comfortable, spacious and inviting.
With so much ground to cover and art to see the plan came
into light. Start in the older
North Building and go to the top floor first. Work my down to the ground, cross the covered walkway into
the Hamilton building and repeat the process. Toss in a lunch at some point, and save enough time to walk
over to the Clyfford Still Museum.
I had just seven hours; it might be tight. But immediately I received a minor disappointment that
turned out to be a blessing in disguise.
The seventh (top) floor of the North Building was already closed. Ergo, first stop was the sixth floor
and the home of European & American Painting and Decorative Arts.
Now, this is another real plus for the Denver Art Museum--it
knows its niche. And the art of
both Europe and America from the Renaissance to the Post-Impressionists is not
it. Not that they don't have some
beautiful works, even some iconic works, but their collection is thin in
keeping with a museum that came along with fewer resources than the Big Boys on
the East Coast and fewer opportunities to build their collection. So you'll see some wonderful works, but
they'll be just the tip of this museum's enormous iceberg of art. Here are a few I especially liked.
The very moment I saw this painting I immediately thought
"Leonardo da Vinci!?"
But I know that the only da Vinci painting in North America is at the
National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. So when I say that it was attributed to one of his
Followers, I was completely thrilled at my budding art instincts and what's more
I also noticed that the Christ Child was reaching for Columbine flowers. How utterly perfect--Columbine being
the Colorado state flower. On the
way up in the elevator I had a brief conversation with one of the staff who
alerted me to a recently discovered Canaletto that had been buried in their collections
archive and forgotten for years before being rediscovered, fully conserved and
just place back on view. I ran
into him again and told him about how delighted I was by this painting, of
which he was unfamiliar, but excited to discover, too. Seven hours might seem like a long
time, but really--in the presence of art, what is the meaning of time?
This work certainly falls into the category of iconic;
however, what many people don't know is that Hicks painted some version of this
scene dozens and dozens of times!
There are at least 62 known copies all made by Hicks, himself. It was his bread and butter. You may have scene it in one museum and
thought to yourself, "Didn't I see that at that other museum?" and
the answer to your question is probably "Yes!"
One advantage to a thin collection, you often discover works
by amazing artists who are completely unknown to you, like this one.
There is a "library" with lots of odd works, kind
of like a Dutch Cabinet of Wonders.
This space also has book to peruse and interactive activities geared to
children.
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