Konrad and Alexandra (pdf) - Rolf Gross

e the most beautiful painting I have ever seen. Its translucent clarity and warm intimacy would
be unimaginable, did I not stand before it."
"Yes, the Flemish have different eyes. You have not looked at the side panels. See the
splendid garments of the ladies on the right? And on the left stand two holy men, and kneeling,
in old-fashioned inverted perspective, the much smaller Pontinari, the sponsor of the altar with
his two sons. His wife and daughter kneel on the other side. Pontinari was a rich merchant, like
Konrad’s ancestor. The self-important merchants and the cocky Italian princes paid for this
revolution in art. Thanks to their riches Tuscany and Flanders became the birthplaces of the
Renaissance."
Walter in his excitement took her arm. "Let me show you two Italian paintings that share
the clarity of this van der Goes but are, unjustly, much more famous."
They walked back to the Italian section. On their way Walter, his eyes burning,
exclaimed. "The discovery of this new way of seeing revolutionized everything, painting,
philosophy, and the belles lettres. Tonight I will show you a literary example of this revolution.
From the two-dimensional world of the Middle Ages modern, egocentric, three-dimensional
man was born, fully formed—on his own power. Forgive me, I wanted to say without the help
of God. This is the great experience of the quattrocento, the consequences of which still have
not reached Russia and the East."
He went to show her Botticelli’s Birth of Venus. Venus in her full beauty stands on a
seashell about to step on land. Aunt Sophia had given her a reproduction of this painting, it had
been one of her favorites. How much smaller the painting was than she had imagined!
"You know this painting, don’t you?" asked Walter fascinated by her expressive face.
She smiled. "When I was twelve, I was in love with this Venus. It hung over my bed for years."
"After seeing the van der Goes," said Walter, "you will appreciate its clarity better. No
reproduction can show this. The Birth of Venus was painted in 1478, three years after Pontinari
donated the van der Goes altar to a church in Florenz. Has van der Goes influenced Botticelli’s
painting? He shows the same attention to detail but lacks van der Goes’ intimate warmth. A
classical, southern brilliance suffuses Botticelli’s paintings contrasting with their mysterious
strangeness."
He walked a few steps to the right and pointed at another much larger Botticelli. "Here is
the equally famous Primavera painted a year later. It is even stranger than his Venus on the
Seashell."
Alexandra had also seen reproductions of it, but never examined it closely: On the left
three maidens danced in diaphanous robes—the three Graces? In the center stood a young
woman with a red stole—a heathen Madonna, Aphrodite?–who held her quiet, serene head
tilted. Her dress was gathered under her breasts. Could Manana copy that dress? To
Aphrodite’s right strode another young woman—Spring or Flora?–distributing flowers from a
fold into which she had gathered in her flowing garment. Her highly sculpted face had an
almost masculine strength, which, though no less beautiful, contrasted with the serenity of
Aphrodite’s face. A young man pointed towards the sky with a scepter—Hermes with his
caduceus? Oranges hung in the dense foliage of trees that shaded the scene. All women
except Aphrodite walked barefoot on the flower-covered ground. At the right margin a
disconcerting scene: a male, winged figure in a windblown blue drapery—Zephyr?—flying
through the trees in pursuit of a fleeing girl from whose mouth sprouted flowers—she must be
Ovid’s Chloe!
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