Bartolomé Bermejo at the National Gallery

There's a small exhibition about 'Bartolomé Bermejo: Master of the Spanish Renaissance' on at the National Gallery at the moment. It's one of its 'Room 1' exhibitions with everything in one room, namely Room 1 near the old main entrance. I quite like these small exhibitions since they focus down on a few works by an artist, often someone you've not come across before or know only vaguely. That's Bermejo to me.

The first thing I learned about him was that he wasn't actually called Bermejo and that 'bermejo' means 'reddish' in Spanish. His real name was Bartolome de Cardenas and he may have been Jewish who converted to Christianity before or during the Spanish Inquisition. He seems to have lived between about 1440 - 1501 but the records aren't very exact with historians assuming he died soon after the last documented mention of him. He certainly seems to have sought sanctuary from the Inquisition in Barcelona and the surrounding areas.

There are four works in the exhibition and the centrepiece is the rather tall and thin 'St Michael Triumphant' in his elaborate and very shiny armour as he defeats and casts out evil. His golden armoured feet are on the poster advertising the exhibition. It's an odd painting in many ways, particularly showing the kneeling donor well within scope of Michael's swinging sword poised for the killing blow. The shiny, elaborate armour and the many folds in the flying cloak capture our attention.

The long, thin, body of the warrior angel doesn't look terribly Spanish or, for that matter, Italian. It looks rather Flemish, somewhere in the traditions of the Northern Renaissance. There's no evidence, it seems, that he travelled north to study with the Flemish or German painters so how did he learn how to paint like this and why? The exhibition suggests that he studied the Flemish paintings that were coming into Spain but how did he do this? He wasn't a name and was quite itinerant so how did he get access to them? I suspect there's a lot more digging to be done around Bermejo.

The first work in the exhibition is the 'Triptych of the Virgin of Montserrat' that shows five religious scenes, with the Virgin and Child taking the central panel with a lovely landscape behind them. The landscape is rather detailed and ornate, more decorative than realistic but is that surprising given the scene and the rest of the triptych? I couldn't see what was on the outside of the two wings so I'll check the book about the show the next time I'm in the Gallery. I also can't remember who the archer-type bloke in the bottom right panel is meant to be so I'll check him as well.

A single large panel called the 'Despla Pieta' is so named because the local bishop of Barcelona, Despla, commissioned it and featured to the Virgin's right side. He, apparently, invited Bermejo to work in Barcelona to get away from the worst of the Inquisition in central Spain. I like the very round glasses the bishop is wearing and his studious reading of holy texts while his lord lies dying in front of him, somehow held up in the arms of a presumably old woman. Again there's a wonderful landscape in the background and the sugarloaf mountains of Monserrat in the far distance. This was the latest work in the small exhibition, dated from 1490 and I think you can tell from the detail and the quality of the painting.

The final work of the exhibition are four panels that would, presumably, have been side panels to a grand altarpiece but the central panel is missing. The panels show the 'Descent of Christ into Limbo', 'Christ with the Just in Paradise' (opposite), the 'Resurrection' and the 'Ascension'. The panels are dated between 1470-75, so were completed at around the same time as the 'Virgin of Montserrat' but I think the triptych is of far better quality. The spindly characters reminded me a bit of Bosch's characters (El Bosco). The scene shows Adam (the old man at the front) kissing Christ's hand, presumably in thanks for saving them all from eternity in Limbo. It seems a bit odd that the first Man should be kneeling as a supplicant to his descendant as well as his god. It's also odd that they're all naked with both Adam and Christ having some gauzy material that doesn't quite cover their modesty.

So there we have it, a small but carefully put together exhibition about Bermejo, the 'reddish' artist from Spain. It doesn't seem like a lot is known about him or maybe a lot is known but it hasn't been translated from Spanish? I suspect most of the academic works are in Spanish. Before this exhibition I was only familiar with the the 'Altarpiece of St Dominic of Silos' with the saint having a rather droopy oblong face surrounded by his finery and I saw that in the Prado in Madrid a few weeks ago. This exhibition has added another four works to my knowledge bank. I will go back and take another look the next time I'm in the National Gallery and have some time to spare.