The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists (36 page)

 
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(1626?–1704).
English painter and illustrator of animal subjects, known as ‘the father of British sporting painting’. He painted numerous large canvases for decorative schemes (examples are at Ham House in London and Clandon Park in Surrey) and was also a prolific book illustrator, his etchings for an edition of Aesop's
Fables
published in 1666 being particularly well known. His work is vividly observed, with an almost naïve charm.

 
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Barna da Siena
.

Sienese painter of the second half of the 14th cent. Nothing is known for certain of his life and no documented works survive, but he was probably the leading Sienese painter of his period.
Ghiberti's
Commentarii
associated him with frescos in the Collegiata at S. Gimignano, and the series on
The Life of Christ
there (
c.
1350–5) is the core around which his work has been reconstructed. As with
Simone Martini
(traditionally Barna's master) and Lippo
Memmi
, drawing plays a predominant part in his work; where their line is a graceful arabesque, however, Barna's is direct and thrusting, his figures having a more dramatic vigour than any in previous Sienese painting. Other works given to Barna include
Christ Carrying the Cross
in the Frick Collection, New York. Tradition has it that Barna died in a fall from scaffolding.

 
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Barnard , George Grey
.

See
METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART
.

 
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(1872–1951).
American drug manufacturer and art collector. He made a fortune with the antiseptic Argyrol, which he created in 1901 (its success depended largely on its being adapted as the standard anti-venereal treatment of the French Army), and by 1913 was devoting his life to collecting. His greatest interest was in modern French painting (his representation of
Matisse
being particularly outstanding), but he also bought Old Masters and primitive art. According to Kenneth
Clark
he was ‘not at all an attractive character. His stories of how he had extracted Cézannes and Renoirs from penniless widows made one's blood run cold.’ In 1922 he established the Barnes Foundation at Merion, Pennsylvania, to house his collection and to provide education in art appreciation. Barnes commissioned Matisse to paint a mural decoration for the Foundation in 1931, and when it turned out to be unusable because of an error in the measurements he had been given, Matisse did a new version. The abortive scheme,
The Dance I
(1931–2), is in the Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, and the second scheme,
The Dance II
(1932–3), is
in situ
in the Barnes Foundation. The museum Barnes created was closed to the public during his lifetime, and after his death the trustees engaged in litigation over whether it should be opened. An agreement was reached in 1960 allowing restricted public access, but it retained its reputation as a virtually inaccessible treasure house. In 1993–4, however, following court action, a selection of paintings went on tour to Washington, Paris, and Japan.

 
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Barocci , Federico
,
(or Baroccio Federico)

(
c.
1535–1612).
Italian painter. Barocci was born in Urbino and apart from two trips to Rome early in his career was based there all his life. He is said to have abandoned his frescos in the Casino of Pius IV in the Vatican Gardens (1561–3) for fear that rivals were trying to poison him, and the hypersensitive temperament this suggests comes out in his work. It consists mainly of religious paintings, which combine the influence of
Correggio
and
Raphael
(also a native of Urbino) in a highly individual and sensitive manner. His colour harmonies are sharp but subtle, and although his paintings often convey a feeling of intimate tenderness, his handling has great vigour. Despite the fact that he worked away from the main centres of art, his work was much sought after, his patrons included the emperor Rudolf II in Prague. And although Barocci constantly claimed to be ill, he had a long and productive career; he was prolific as a draughtsman as well as a painter and was one of the first artists to make extensive use of coloured
chalks
. Barocci is generally considered the greatest and most individual painter of his time in central Italy; certain features of his work are thoroughly in the
Mannerist
tradition (his rather indefinite treatment of space, for example, and his delight in fluttering draperies), but in his directness and freshness he looked forward to the
Baroque
.
Bellori
, the pre-eminent biographer of the Baroque age, considered him the finest Italian painter of his period and lamented that he had ‘languished in Urbino’.