I would like to encourage people to think about the history of taste in a more interesting way than, ‘Oh how amazing: it belonged to Charles I.’ What’s much more interesting is how radically things can be misinterpreted, or differently interpreted at different dates. With Titian, Veronese and Tintoretto you’re dealing with painters who have never really fallen from the highest possible esteem. If you take that permanence and then point out all the impermanence within it, that becomes a really fascinating topic, I think.
Agent provocateur | Art & Architecture | guardian.co.uk Arts
This is an extremely interesting read on the new director the National Gallery in London, Nicholas Penny, written by Jonathan Jones for the Guardian.
This is my favorite bit from the article - which speaks to Penny’s own thoughts on his job as the director/curator of one of the finest art museums in the world.
He understands that instead of stating that something is important because it is a “Titian” that for many - you need to take the discussion further. The moment he talks about talking about the impermanence of the permanent collection by heart stopped for a moment.
Very much looking forward to what he does at the National Gallery.
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