Lasting presence
In light of the recent passing of Joey Tanenbaum, a passionate collector and long-time supporter of the AGO, we reflect on the art that he and his wife Toby have donated to the Gallery.
Gian Lorenzo Bernini. Pope Gregory XV, 1621. marble, Overall (with base): 83.2 × 62.3 × 32.4 cm, 186 lb. Gift of Joey and Toby Tanenbaum, 1997. © Art Gallery of Ontario. 97/152
Joey Tanenbaum’s (1932-2022) passion for art began at the AGO. It was here on a field trip that a school-age Tanenbaum marvelled at Adam (conceived 1881; cast before 1929), a towering bronze masterpiece, crafted by renowned French artist Auguste Rodin. Inspired by that AGO visit, Tanenbaum and his wife Toby became ardent art collectors and long-time supporters of the AGO in the decades after, going on to gift several priceless works to the AGO Collection. “Knowing that these unique works of art,” said Tanenbaum in 2011, “will give pleasure to generations of Canadians justifies our decision to give back to our beloved country a token of our appreciation for the freedom Canada has given to all who have arrived here as immigrants.”
In a full-circle moment, the Tanenbaums donated two works by Rodin to the AGO. They are two of six sculptures from one of Rodin’s most noteworthy works, The Burghers of Calais. Eustache de Saint-Pierre and Andrieux d’Andres were high-ranking citizens, or burghers, of the French city of Calais, captured by England’s King Edward in 1346. The city was under siege and its citizens suffered greatly under the English occupation. Saint-Pierre and d’Andres, along with four other burghers, offered their lives to the king in exchange for their city’s freedom. Rodin was commissioned by the city of Calais to commemorate this moment of sacrifice in French history, but instead of depicting the figures in a conventionally heroic or idealistic way, he chose to reflect the psychological gravity of the moment. Rodin depicts the two men in anguish, their heads lowered while accepting their mortal fate. Both these sculptures will be on view as of May 27 in the Al and Malka Green Gallery, gallery 402, with Rodin’s Adam.
Auguste Rodin. Eustache de Saint-Pierre, conceived 1887; cast 1987. bronze, Overall: 214.5 × 119.5 × 80.7 cm, 1100 lb. Gift of Joey and Toby Tanenbaum, 1992. © Art Gallery of Ontario. 92/310
The Tanenbaums also donated Pope Gregory XV (1621) (image at top) to the AGO. It is the first of two works by Gian Lorenzo Bernini to enter the Collection, making the AGO the only art museum in Canada to hold two works by the Italian master. In a remarkable example of Bernini’s early practice – Bernini was famously just 23 years old when he was commissioned by Gregory to sculpt it – he depicts the pope with exquisite detail. Carved from a single block of marble, the elderly pope looks as if he is about to speak, with his head slightly angled away from centre, his eyes gazing beyond the viewer and his mouth partially open. He appears dressed for a ceremonial procession with robes that reflect his papal authority in the Roman Catholic Church. This sculpture was a favourite of Tanenbaum and AGO visitors alike; it is currently on view in Walter C. Laidlaw Gallery, gallery 119 on Level 1.
Through these and many other gifts, Joey Tanenbaum helped to grow the AGO Collection and share the joy and wonder of art with generations of visitors. Steps away from Walker Court is the Joey and Toby Tanenbaum Sculpture Atrium, current home to Haegue Yang’s Woven Currents – Confluence of Parallels (2020). Other works donated by the Tanenbaums can be seen in the European Galleries on Level 1.