Past Exhibition

Paintings and Sculpture Acquired by the Samuel H. Kress Foundation, 1945-1951

An elderly man kneels and leans back with his arms spread wide as he gazes up at another older man sitting in a chariot made of flames and pulled by white horses, which are held aloft by fawn-brown, puffy clouds, in this horizontal painting. Both men have pale skin and are partially bald with full beards. To our left, the kneeling man is mostly turned away from us, so we see the back of his ash-blond hair, a deeply furrowed brow, and a hooked nose. His head tips back and his mouth hangs open. He wears a long, mahogany-brown robe with a flax-yellow mantle draped over his left shoulder. One bare foot emerges from under the hem of the robe so we see the bottom of his foot, and his toes dig into the rock on which he kneels. The rock is painted with strokes of amber brown and sage, olive, and pine green, and it slopes down to a blue-green sea in the lower right corner of the painting. The man in the chariot, Elijah, is positioned across from the first man, to our right. With his body facing the kneeling man, Elijah turns his head to look up to the light streaming in from the upper left corner. Elijah’s right hand, on our left, grasps the white mantle wrapped around his tan robe, while the other hand extends to our right with fingers spread wide. A gold, spoked chariot wheel sits below that hand, facing us. Pale coral-peach flames curl around the wheel and flicker around Elijah’s legs. The flames continue to our left, blending into the bodies of the two muscular, white horses who climb the bank of sand-colored clouds that support the entire chariot. Each corner of the canvas has an inward curving, burnt-orange form, like mounting corners holding a photograph in an album.
Giuseppe Angeli, Elijah Taken Up in a Chariot of Fire, c. 1740/1755, oil on canvas, Samuel H. Kress Collection, 1952.5.70

Details

  • Dates

    -

  • Locations

    Main Floor, Galleries 60 - 67, 71, East Garden Court, Lobby C
An elderly man kneels and leans back with his arms spread wide as he gazes up at another older man sitting in a chariot made of flames and pulled by white horses, which are held aloft by fawn-brown, puffy clouds, in this horizontal painting. Both men have pale skin and are partially bald with full beards. To our left, the kneeling man is mostly turned away from us, so we see the back of his ash-blond hair, a deeply furrowed brow, and a hooked nose. His head tips back and his mouth hangs open. He wears a long, mahogany-brown robe with a flax-yellow mantle draped over his left shoulder. One bare foot emerges from under the hem of the robe so we see the bottom of his foot, and his toes dig into the rock on which he kneels. The rock is painted with strokes of amber brown and sage, olive, and pine green, and it slopes down to a blue-green sea in the lower right corner of the painting. The man in the chariot, Elijah, is positioned across from the first man, to our right. With his body facing the kneeling man, Elijah turns his head to look up to the light streaming in from the upper left corner. Elijah’s right hand, on our left, grasps the white mantle wrapped around his tan robe, while the other hand extends to our right with fingers spread wide. A gold, spoked chariot wheel sits below that hand, facing us. Pale coral-peach flames curl around the wheel and flicker around Elijah’s legs. The flames continue to our left, blending into the bodies of the two muscular, white horses who climb the bank of sand-colored clouds that support the entire chariot. Each corner of the canvas has an inward curving, burnt-orange form, like mounting corners holding a photograph in an album.
Giuseppe Angeli, Elijah Taken Up in a Chariot of Fire, c. 1740/1755, oil on canvas, Samuel H. Kress Collection, 1952.5.70

Overview: A presentation of 116 paintings, 18 works of sculpture, and 1,306 small bronzes, purchased from various sources by the Samuel H. Kress Foundation from 1945 to 1951, was placed on view for the first time. The occasion marked the 10th anniversary of the National Gallery. The works of art were loaned to the Gallery with the expectation that the greater part would eventually become its permanent property. Included were 15th- and 16th-century northern paintings; Italian paintings and sculpture of the Renaissance, baroque, and rococo periods; French paintings and sculpture of the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries; and the celebrated collection of medals, coins, and small bronzes assembled by the French connoisseur, Gustave Dreyfus. The special night opening on March 17, 1951, from 9 p.m. until midnight, was attended by 24,350 guests; 16,350 visitors came the following day.

Catalog: Paintings and Sculpture from the Kress Collection Acquired by the Samuel H. Kress Foundation, 1945-1951, by William E. Suida. Washington, DC: National Gallery of Art, 1951.
Renaissance Bronzes from the Kress Collection, by Perry B. Cott. Washington, DC: National Gallery of Art, 1951.

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