AT THE GALLERIES:A passionate performance of art

The coolest thing about the Pageant of the Masters is really the thing you’re not supposed to be thinking about: It’s a three-dimensional set attempting to look like a two-dimensional painting that was (originally) trying to look three-dimensional.

This gets even more complicated with sculpture, which, throughout most of its history, was trying to look more realistic. This means Pageant artists must actually struggle to make the human figure less life-like. Strange.

Of course, the Pageant has already started playing with your mind as you think about this, dropping the illusion so you can see the actors move, break- ing the spell (early and often this year, perhaps before you even get a chance to fall for it).

This year’s Pageant, however, never lets you wander away for too long. The theme, “A Passion for Art,” flowed through each set piece and kept the illusion going.

It built up carefully from simple ideas of romantic passion ? the sentimentality of genre painting to sublime ideas of aesthetic and artistic intensity (the works of Van Gogh).

That theme held it all together, telling a story of passion both in art and for it.

Works of romantic love dominated, but didn’t over- whelm. The sculptural works, in particular, sublimated the theme and kept things moving, really dominating the show.

There were three works hitting on the theme of courtly love, weaving in the words of Alfred, Lord Tennyson with the underlying sexual frustration.

That was an interesting move in the script, adding humor to “The Joust,” a gilt bronze by Alfred Nieuwerkerke. Although it seemed odd that we should find life-size figures dressed in armor frozen in the act of trying to knock each other off horses amazing, nonetheless it was.

A set of bronzes by Paul Manship that dealt with mythological love were the early jaw-droppers: “The Flight of Europa” and “Diana and Actaeon” (Manship created the famous fountain of Prometheus in Rockefeller Center).

Statues usually generate a lot of buzz in the audience because of that doubly odd phenomenon, a dimensional re-creation.

The writers even worked in “tokens of affection” ? a perfume bottle, pendants and a broach ? all done in the very romantic art nouveau style.

The small sculptures are always my favorite, like a magnifying glass held up to the piece to allow you to see all the gorgeous detail. The broach, by Gaston Lafitte, was particularly amazing, all swirls and grace, oozing femininity.

Part of the audience appeal with the sculptures is the nudity. Gallons of body paint go into toning down the natural lines of the human body, and careful lighting urges us to see not naked skin, but naked bronze.

It could be argued that this is the most dominant theme in art ? the struggle to channel the most basic human drives in a controlled direction (in fact, Freud did argue this).

This was blatantly clear in the opening figures in the second act, based on the art of India. A gilt copper figure of Siva and Parvati as divine lovers explored the universal idea of sex as a creative act.

It was a bit of a stretch to include a statue of Siva Natraj ? Siva as the divine dancer ? but I suppose it could be argued that Siva’s dance is also an act of love.

In the West, we have tended to repress the sexual nature of divine love (and of love in general, really). And sure enough, there was Bernini’s famous “The Ecstasy of St. Teresa” to demonstrate that.

Bernini’s orgasmic portrayal of revelation brought to the fore an interesting aspect of the Pageant: it’s very important that you don’t see the faces of the actors.

Often, they wear masks. This seems like cheating somehow, but how do you replicate the plump, stylized expression on Siva’s face if you’re an actor? Masks are a must.

In the case of St. Teresa, you’re talking about a famous expression, definitely sexual. So in addition to all the other layers of illusion that the Pageant provides ? the narration, the music, the lighting, the projections and entertainments ? a certain amount of distance from the stage helps. Too close and you can, as they say, “see” them acting.

That is why the strongest elements of the Pageant involve story. There was an amazing set that told the tragic story of Camille Claudel and Auguste Rodin, placing their work side by side on the stage as the narrator spoke of both mutual artistic influence and mutual destruction.

The story of John Singer Sargent and his patron Isabella Stewart Gardner was a wonderful addition, describing how a “passion for art” created a museum.

The writers wandered a bit off topic in the “vintage posters” section of the show, focusing on wine and champagne ? which, I’ll admit, are at least circumstantially tied to passion.

But they can certainly be forgiven, as this interlude provided us with that adorable green devil from the now cliché “Maurin Quina” poster by Leonetto Cappiello, brought to life and hopping around the stage chasing wine bottles.

I won’t ruin the surprise for you, but if you don’t laugh out loud ? well, then, you have no passion for art.