THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, December 24, 1995 TAG: 9512240017
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
LENGTH: Short : 36 lines
From 1562 until the late 1790s, these two Pablo Veronese paintings hung in adjacent chapels in the abbey church of San Benedetto Po, a monastery southwest of Venice. At The Chrysler Museum of Art, these monumental works - called altarpieces - have been reunited for the first time in two centuries, and are on display through Jan. 14.
``The Virgin and Child with Angels Appearing to Saints Anthony Abbott and Paul, the Hermit'' has been in the Chrysler's collection since 1971; benefactor Walter P. Chrysler Jr. purchased the work from a Paris dealer in 1954. The two saints are depicted as awe-struck at the miraculous visitation from the Madonna and Child.
``The Consecration of Saint Nicholas'' presents the moment just before the green-robed saint, humbly kneeling, is elected Bishop of Myra. Legend has it that his appointment was divinely ordained, so an angel hovers near with his bishop's staff, stole and crown.
The ``Saint Nicholas'' painting is on loan from The National Gallery, London. A third altarpiece by the great Venetian painter, who was a master of color and composition, depicted Saint Jerome. That work was destroyed by fire in a London gallery in 1836.
The Chrysler Museum of Art is at 245 W. Olney Road in Norfolk. Gallery hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday. Admission is free. Call 622-ARTS. ILLUSTRATION: Color photos
by CNB