It is, to say the least, an unexpected way to treat a not-so-famous 377-year-old painting. But the Museum of Fine Arts has decided to use “The Triumph of the Winter Queen: Allegory of the Just,” a sprawling oil portrait by the Dutch artist Gerrit van Honthorst, in a new experiment.
The 10-by-15-foot painting has been put on view in the museum’s Loring Gallery accompanied by a nine-minute film created for the MFA. There’s also a lot to read. The gallery walls are covered in texts detailing the history of the painting, the museum’s extensive restoration of it — done over 18 months in full view of the public — and the lives of the characters who became Honthorst’s subjects. The painting is on long-term loan to the MFA by an anonymous donor.
Comments
Bravo MFA!
I "experienced" this work a couple of weeks ago and it was wonderful to have the background information on the work and its history. My friends and I managed to get three of the eight seats leaving a number of people standing around the edges of a rather large room for the duration of the presentation. Those standing couldn't really explore the information panels on the sides of the room during the presentation without obstructing folks who lacked seating. Lots of us commented on the decision to place two rather small couches in the middle of a big room. I suppose it was to allow some folks to mingle along the walls while others watched, but it was just odd and didn't function that way. Great concept to be improved with more seating.