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Tuesday, July 9, 2013 As of 7:01 PM EDT


America's Next Top Super Berry?

Exotic Varieties, From Aronia to Olallie, Line Up for Their Shot at Celebrity Status in the Produce Aisle

more in Life & Culture »
    By
  • ANNE MARIE CHAKER
As the health world touts berries as a low-sugar, high-fiber superfood, growers, chefs and food companies are looking for the next big mainstream berry hit. Anne Marie Chaker and Mary Ann Lila, director of plants at NC State's Human Health Institute discuss. Photo: AP.
Move over, acai. Food and flavor companies are hunting for the next big berry.
Berries are nutritional royalty these days for their reputation as both a "low glycemic food" and a rich source of antioxidants, the substances that may protect cells against the damaging effects of "free radicals." And like a dash of red lipstick, berries provide a splash of rich color and an upscale aura to supermarket products ranging from breakfast cereal and granola bars to juices and yogurt. Their fan base spans from the health- and diet-conscious community to picky toddlers.
Most berries want to emulate blueberries, which have transformed from tasty things found in muffins and pancakes to stars of the produce aisle, says Lu Ann Williams, head of research for Innova Market Insights, based in the Netherlands. Now more varieties want to make the leap from seasonal treat to staple. Since 2008, Innova says, U.S. marketers have introduced 358 products with goji berries as an ingredient, about 200 with bilberry and more than 500 with elderberry, the latter driven largely by its use as a natural food coloring. "They're here to stay," Ms. Williams says.
Growing demand has led U.S. farmers to plant more acres of berries and spurred imports from more growers overseas, especially raspberries from Mexico and blueberries from Chile. Their tiny size often means laborious handpicking and special packaging and shipping, and many travel long distances to American supermarkets.
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Getty Images
Red Huckleberry: Native to the mountainous Northwest, huckleberries are having their moment in jams, pie fillings and most especially in cocktails, as an ingredient infusing vodka.
The result is that berries remain a premium product, with an average retail price of $2.82 for units comparable with $1.68 a pound for stone fruits like plums, peaches and nectarines, according to Nielsen Holdings N.V NLSN +0.33% .'s Perishables Group.
No wonder berry consumers tend to be higher-income, says Roberta Cook, agricultural economist at the University of California, Davis. "Families with kids living in affluent suburban neighborhoods and cosmopolitan areas index extremely high for berries," she says.
In the past two years, weekly same-store supermarket sales of berries have risen 18%, according to Nielsen, despite an average 4% rise in retail prices for the berries in the same period. Sales of raspberries rose 31%, and blackberries and blueberries 27% and 25%, respectively. Strawberries' respectable 11% increase is actually a drag on growth.
The Washington Red Raspberry Commission, which represents growers, has taken note of blueberries' success and funded recent studies on raspberry consumption's effects on diabetes, chronic inflammation and other ailments. Driscoll Strawberry Associates Inc., a Watsonville, Calif., berry grower, last year began promoting heart health on supermarket signs and recipe cards with the slogan, "Raspberries…Your Heart Will Love You Back."
Of course, as with a lot of dietary health claims, consumers' hopes often outweigh the scientific evidence.
Getty Images (7); Gorbis Images (Olallieberry)
Once best known for flavoring ice cream, black raspberries are now playing a role in cancer research. Don Sturm has more than doubled the size of Sturm's Berry Farm, in Corbett, Ore., in the past five years to 290 acres. He grows everything from blackberries to Marionberries, but much of his new acreage is devoted to black raspberries.
In 2009, Mr. Sturm formed a partnership with a cancer researcher, Gary Stoner, and a tech entrepreneur, Steve Dunfield. Their company, BerriHealth, sells black raspberry liquid extract and freeze-dried powder to university researchers testing the effects on cancers and chronic inflammatory diseases.
"I never even liked black raspberries that much before," Mr. Sturm says. "But now I make sure to put them on my cereal every day."
Some trace the start of the berry boom to the late 1990s, when Tufts University researchers showed that a diet of blueberry supplements helped alleviate age-related declines in motor and brain function in rats. In addition, blueberries are rich in anthocyanins, pigments that provide the dark-blue color and offer antioxidant benefits. The Tufts findings fueled hundreds of studies on the effects of other berries on cancer prevention and heart health, says Mary Ann Lila, director of North Carolina State University's Plants for Human Health Institute.
Next came acai, the small, black berry from Brazil, which made a splash in 2008, when TV doctor Mehmet Oz called the acai an "antiaging" food.
The tiny, purple aronia berry, or chokeberry, a native of the eastern U.S., had all but disappeared from cultivation until growers saw its potential as a health food. The Midwest Aronia Association formed in 2008. Westin Foods, of Omaha, Neb., whose top-selling food product is bacon, now sells aronia berries under the Superberries brand in packets of gummy chews for kids and in concentrate form for adding to smoothies.
Amy Butts, 31 and the mother of two boys, had never heard of an aronia berry before wandering into the Superberries store in Omaha last year and buying the gummy chews. They have since replaced the Betty Crocker fruit-flavored snacks that used to be a staple in her household. She pays about $19 for a bag of 11 packets, which lasts about a month.
Unfamiliar berry flavors can be earthy or tart, as in the case of goji berries and bilberries, which are the blueberry's smaller, tarter cousins. To introduce these flavors to consumers, many companies blend them with sweeter, more-familiar flavors, like raspberry or pomegranate, says Ed Nappen, a senior marketing manager for International Flavors & Fragrances Inc., IFF -0.46% the big supplier of ingredients based in New York.
On the radar for next year is the Olallieberry, a hybrid cross of loganberry and youngberry that is known locally in California, says Andrea Ramirez, customer marketing manager for Torani, a San Francisco maker of berry and other flavored syrups. "Seasonally you see it around here in pies and other desserts," she says. "It tastes sweet and tart and is especially good in lemonades, iced teas and cocktails."
Barberries are tart, currant-size red berries known primarily in Iranian cooking. Dried barberries—called zereshk—can be found in Middle Eastern markets. Clif Bar & Co.'s "Kit's Organic" line of snack bars, launched a year ago, features a Berry Almond flavor that contains barberries along with dates, bilberries, almonds and sea salt.
"I had never heard of them until our cook in the kitchen said, 'Hey, try these,' " says Tara DelloIacono Thies, Clif Bar's registered dietitian.
"Shocked" is how she describes her reaction to the flavor. They give a "nice balance" to the sweet dates, she adds, and their smaller-than-a-raisin size adds unique texture.
Write to Anne Marie Chaker at anne-marie.chaker@wsj.com
A version of this article appeared July 10, 2013, on page D1 in the U.S. edition of The Wall Street Journal, with the headline: America's Next Top Super Berry?.
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Can Jeans Stay Dry in the Rain?

Cranky Consumer put the water-repellency and water-resistance claims of four jeans to the test

  By RAY A. SMITH
Chances are this summer something will accidentally spill on your jeans or you'll be caught in a sudden afternoon thunderstorm and stuck walking around with soaked pants.
Wearing wet clothes is always a drag, but wearing wet jeans can be even more so by virtue of the weight of wet denim. Some brands have sought to address the uncomfortable wet-jeans problem with water-repellent or water-resistant jeans, zeroing in on active, outdoorsy people. While the companies stress their jeans aren't waterproof, they claim water will roll right off them. They also say some water seeps through water-repellent jeans, which are treated with a chemical treatment.

We conducted an unscientific test of the water-repellency and water-resistance claims of four jeans. (With water repellent, water beads off the surface more quickly.) We spilled a glass of water on the jeans. To simulate being caught in the rain, we stood in a shower with them on for five minutes. After we washed the jeans according to their care instructions, we tried the water-glass test again. (The companies say a jean's water-repelling finish will wear off after repeated washings.) Two pair of jeans, one from Levi Strauss and one from Athleta, appeared to repel water even better after being washed.
Overall, we found all of the jeans repelled water when it came to light spills, with most of the water rolling right off. But when it came to our shower tests, they all became drenched. The brands said the jeans' water-repellency is most effective for spills or a light drizzle.
Levi Strauss's Levi's 511 Commuter Jean is aimed at "the modern cyclist," hence the "commuter" in the line's name. The jeans are coated with a protective water-resistant and dirt-repellent finish called NanoSphere, according to Levi's website. The jeans are for men "but based on the incredible consumer response, we're not ruling out the creation of a women's line," a spokeswoman said.
The water beaded and slid off the fabric after the first spill of water from the glass. We noticed the denim was slightly moist to the touch where the water had hit it, but it dried within seconds. In the shower, which felt like a heavy downpour, they were waterlogged almost immediately. We hung them up and found the denim had dried completely about 2½ hours later.
JeWon Yu, senior designer at Levi's, said "the jeans work nicely in light rain, but in a downpour, yes, you will eventually get soaked." She added, "It also depends on the amount of pressure put on the surface area.…Tops of thighs will most definitely get more penetration of rain while cycling."
Athleta, a women's yoga and workout clothing brand owned by Gap Inc., has a Skinny Dry Dipper Jean with water-repelling technology, Schoeller 3XDry. The jean is aimed at women engaged in hiking, climbing or adventure travel.
We splashed a half-full glass of water on the thighs, pockets and knees, to simulate someone spilling a drink on them. We also splashed the bottom hem as if we had walked through rain puddles. After the first splash test, the jean was soaked through where most of the water hit the pants. Beyond that small area, the water beaded off easily. The hem got pretty soaked, but the jeans were dry in 30 minutes. In the shower test, the water just beaded on the lightly hit areas of the jeans.
"We use both our own internal water-repellency tests, which align with industry standards, along with certification through Schoeller…to ensure the water repellent performance of this jean," Edie Kissko, a Gap spokeswoman, said in an email.
Duluth Trading Co.'s Men's Fire Hose 5-Pocket Jeans are aimed at men in manual-labor jobs. The company's website says the jeans feature a "stain and water repellent FendOff finish, so you can wear them on the dirtiest jobs—the kind that always get thrown at you!" The company says the jeans can also be worn by outdoor enthusiasts, motorcyclists and travelers.
After the glass spill, the bottom hem had droplets clinging to it and was a little damp for a few minutes. Water got trapped in the pocket. After the shower, the jeans were wet but didn't feel drenched or clingy.
The water-repellent coating doesn't "prevent water penetration if water sits on the fabric for an extended period," said Stephanie Pugliese, Duluth Trading's president and chief merchandising officer. "Therefore it is more for spills, not a rainstorm. Our customers working in inclement weather would add rain protective gear to their work wear."
Wrangler, a brand owned by VF Corp., has a water-repellent jean it sells only in India, but the company sent us a pair to test. Why India? It has "unpredictable weather and a large motorcycling population," said Kanchan Pant, managing director of VF Brands in India. VF may eventually roll the jean out to other countries and aim it beyond cyclists.
The jeans felt mostly dry after the water ran right off after the glass spill. There was a little dampness at the bottom hem, which didn't take long to dry. After the shower drenching, we hung the jeans to dry and found they were still wet hours later, with the pockets taking longer to dry. After a washing, the water rolled off as before and the bottom hem was damp as in the first test.
VF said water-repellent garments delay water penetration, not prevent it. The jeans protect the wearer from everyday spills and light drizzles. Wrangler goes as far as to include a removable tag that says: "This denim is designed to repel water, but is not water proof. Light spills or a mild spray are cool. But ride your bike into a lake or fall into a swimming pool and you're on your own."
—Dale Hrabi and Leslie Yazel contributed to this article.

Is It Me, or Is It My Makeup?

Makeup Industry Has Many New Ways to Achieve Flawless, Natural-Looking Skin


The biggest compliment a woman can get these days: "Your skin looks great." Chances are she is wearing foundation, concealer, BB cream or one of the many tinted moisturizers that make up the biggest category of cosmetics. Elizabeth Holmes explains. Photo: F. Martin Ramin for The Wall Street Journal.
Whether headed to the office, a restaurant with friends or even the gym, Lauren Nolan rarely leaves home without putting on foundation first.
The 26-year Chicago resident, who works in social media, says her liquid makeup evens out her skin tone, without making her look as if she is wearing makeup. "It's like my basic confidence booster," Ms. Nolan says.
Complexion products—foundation, plus a host of new alternatives like BB cream, CC cream and tinted moisturizer—have become must-wear cosmetics, the one type of makeup many women of all ages will wear even on "no makeup" days.
F. Martin Ramin/The Wall Street Journal; Styling by Ann Cardenas
Sometimes flawless skin is the only accessory you need. Wall Street Journal reporter Elizabeth Holmes stops by Make Up For Ever in NYC to show you how to master the perfect foundation.
This type of makeup is tricky, though, because the goal of the products is to be invisible. "The reason we wear foundation is to even out our skin tone—and to look like we're not wearing makeup," says Bobbi Brown, EL -0.23% founder of Bobbi Brown Cosmetics, part of Estée Lauder Cos. When applied well, foundation can be a canvas for the rest of a woman's makeup, Ms. Brown adds, much like the right undergarments beneath a little black dress.
New products are part of an industry overhaul highlighting lighter-weight formulas in dozens of shades with many skin-care benefits built in. It's a big change from when foundation was heavy or caky and available in just a few colors.
Beyond a flawless, camera-ready look, the new offerings also promise women a clear complexion—a signal of health and well-being.
"The ultimate compliment is when people say, 'Your skin looks fabulous,' " says Terry Darland, president of Christian Dior Perfumes North America, including Dior cosmetics, all part of LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton MC.FR +0.27% . From 60% to 70% of women wear some type of complexion product today, up from about 40% several years ago, Ms. Darland estimates.
[image] F. Martin Ramin/The Wall Street Journal, Styling by Anne Cardenas
Bobbi Brown Foundation Stick, $42
But foundation isn't fun. Unlike lipstick and mascara, complexion products aren't impulse buys or pick-me-up purchases. Instead, many women approach foundation shopping as a belabored chore that can easily end badly—perhaps with the purchase of a product that goes on pasty or, worse, a mismatched shade that creates the dreaded line at her jawbone.
And applying foundation isn't enjoyable. "Every morning, it's a chore," says Janet Pardo, senior vice president of global product development at Clinique, also an Estée Lauder brand. The ritual of standing in front of a mirror to examine and camouflage imperfections is "a pain point for women," she says. "It's something they must do, like men have to shave."
So why do it? Three-quarters of women who wear foundation say they like its ability to even-out their skin tone, says Sarah Vickery, principal scientist at Procter & Gamble Co., PG -0.90% maker of CoverGirl cosmetics.

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F. Martin Ramin/The Wall Street Journal, Styling by Anne Cardenas
PJ Complexion Nars Styling by Anne Cardenas
In a focus-group study by P&G, participants were shown several pictures of women with no makeup followed by pictures of the same women with a "natural" look in which their skin tone was corrected using foundation. One group was shown the pictures for 250 milliseconds, the amount of time it takes for a gut reaction. Another group was given an unlimited amount of time to look at the pictures. Both groups evaluated the women with the "natural" look as more competent, attractive, likable and trustworthy than the corresponding no-makeup pictures. "Having a smooth and even skin tone really impacts other people's perceptions," Dr. Vickery says.
The quest for the perfect complexion product drives women to beauty counters. It is the biggest product category, in terms of dollars sold, for many beauty brands and giant retail beauty chain Sephora, part of LVMH. Foundation is often among the most expensive items in many beauty lines, with a high-end bottle easily costing $40 or more.
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F. Martin Ramin/The Wall Street Journal, Styling by Anne Cardenas
Nars Foundation
Beauty brands are keen to satisfy foundation shoppers because they can be especially loyal. A woman who finds a foundation that works for her often sticks with the product for years. And, much the way a well-fitting pair of pants brings a shopper back to the store for a top, the right foundation is a frequent entry point to a brand's other products, whether eye color or lipstick.
It's no wonder cosmetics companies have opened the new-product floodgates. There are new formulas—Marc Jacobs Beauty is launching next month with a gel foundation—and new promises. Clinique's new Moisture Surge CC Cream, released earlier this year, says it corrects "redness, dullness, sallowness."
Radiant Cream Compact Foundation, from NARS, hitting shelves Aug. 1, promises to reduce the chalky look foundation can sometimes cause in photographs—an important benefit in the age of smartphones and social media.
"We're at a high level of sophistication—and expectation—for consumers," says Karen Grant, vice president and global industry analyst for NPD Group, a market-research firm.
[image] Sephora
A new device at Sephora helps shoppers find the right shade across brands.
U.S. sales of facial makeup, including foundation, powder and blush, topped $4.4 billion last year, a 4% increase over the prior year and nearly 17% higher than in 2007, according to Euromonitor International.
The fastest-growing facial makeup segment comprises BB and CC creams, which have been popular in Asia and are now gaining traction in the U.S. The next generation of tinted moisturizers, BB and CC creams pack more skin-care benefits, including sunscreen, but in a limited range of shades. Sales neared $88 million in 2012, up nearly 29% from 2011.
Time-starved women looking for an all-in-one product find BB and CC creams attractive. So do consumers Clinique refers to as "foundation-phobes"—women who say they won't wear foundation of any kind. Such women often have had problem skin at some point, such as acne, and fear foundation will clog pores or harm their skin, Clinique's Ms. Pardo says. They see BB and CC creams as skin-care products, not makeup.
Most of all, a foundation must offer the right shade, says Rachel Morris, assistant vice president of makeup marketing for Lancôme, a division of L'Oréal OR.FR +0.35% . The brand spent several years revamping shades of its Teint Idole Ultra liquid foundation, changing not just the pigments but the "recipe" for each. Lighter shades require more titanium for a white base. Darker shades need an almost-translucent base to avoid an ashy look.
F. Martin Ramin/The Wall Street Journal, Styling by Anne Cardenas
Shades of foundation
Lancôme added shades in what it calls the "golden middle," to match the skin tones of more Hispanic, Middle Eastern and Indian women. It corrected its two lightest shades, which were deemed too pink, Ms. Morris said, and added additional darker shades for African-American women. The foundation now comes in 28 shades, up from 16.
To remove some uncertainty from selecting a foundation, Sephora has devised an easier way for customers to compare different shades across various brands. In a partnership with color authority Pantone, Sephora stores are offering a skin-identifying system called Color IQ. Using a hand-held device, an associate captures close-up images from three areas on a person's makeup-free face—the cheek, the forehead and the neck, for example. The system analyzes the images and assigns the customer one of 110 Pantone SkinTone IDs.
The associate enters the number into an iPad, which brings up a list of every product and shade matching that skin tone. Sephora hand-matched the 1,500 foundations and tinted moisturizers it sells. Customers can further filter offerings—more coverage? matte finish?—and try products out using testers. "It's very unbiased. It gives you options," says Hector Espinal, a top Sephora makeup artist.
Alison Hahn, Sephora vice president of merchandising color, says the system removes the element of "blind faith" a consumer would otherwise have to have in the recommendation of an associate. It almost always produces a purchase, she says. It encourages people to try new brands and formulas and has brought down return rates. Following a test of the system in select stores last year, Sephora plans to roll it out in its 325 North American boutiques this summer.
Write to Elizabeth Holmes at elizabeth.holmes@wsj.com

Would You Refuse a Promotion to Stay in a Job You Love?

Some People Find a Job That Suits Both Their Talents and Their Goals—But to Stay in It and Thrive Takes Some Finesse

-
Columnist's name
more in Careers Main »

So much career advice involves how to get ahead, get promoted, move up the ladder. But what if you love the job you have? Sue Shellenbarger and University of Colorado Health president Dr. Rulon Stacey look at finding your professional "sweet spot." Photo: University of Colorado Health.
Most career advice is about getting ahead and climbing the ladder toward bigger titles and higher status.
But what if you love the job you're in?
Some people have found their sweet spot—the job that suits both their talents and their goals. To stay and thrive in it, though, requires proactive steps to both maintain personal satisfaction and avoid seeming to coast.
More than 3 in 4 employees say they have no desire to move up in their organizations, according to a 2011 survey of 431 workers by OfficeTeam, a Menlo Park, Calif., staffing service. Some have found equilibrium between career challenges and family stability. Others don't like managing people or taking on tasks that don't excite them.
Rebecca Greenfield for The Wall Street Journal (3)
Many are wary of office politics at senior levels. "My boss is 2,000 miles away. I like that," says a regional senior executive for a large financial-services firm who has turned down two promotions in the past decade.
Such attitudes are "much more common than people are willing to admit," says Ken Siegel, a psychologist and president of a Los Angeles consulting firm, the Impact Group.
Many employees keep their desire to stay put quiet, because they don't want to be seen as uncommitted or lacking ambition, Dr. Siegel says. Some employers consider employees who don't want to move up a source of problems and a roadblock to others' advancement. At some companies, they are actually referred to as "blockers."

Work & Family Mailbox

It's imperative for people who don't want to leave a dream job to let the boss know what they have in mind. Otherwise, "people are going to be making assumptions about where you want to go," says Helene Lollis, president of Pathbuilders, an Atlanta consulting firm. One manager at a financial-services company didn't tell her boss that she didn't want to advance.
"Unbeknownst to her, a senior leader had stuck out his neck to get her promoted," Ms. Lollis says. She turned down the offer and created so much ill will that she decided to resign, Ms. Lollis says.
Most important is to be sure of your reasons for staying put. You should be truly satisfied with your job, not dodging promotions because of self-doubt or fear of failure.
People can thrive after declining a promotion. Typically, they have made it clear to their managers that they want to continue growing while staying in the same job. They update their skills, solve problems for the boss, help colleagues advance and come up with new ways to be seen as invaluable.
They might describe their current job as "an ideal fit for my passion and skill set" or "the role where I can have the biggest impact."
Brenda Thickett makes no secret of the fact that she wants to keep the job she has at Boston Consulting Group. The former consultant stepped off the partner track in 2006 to help manage the firm's social-impact practice, which provides consultants and management help to nonprofits such as the United Nations' World Food Programme and Save the Children.
Ms. Thickett says she has wanted to work on solving social problems ever since studying in Niger for five months during college.
"To have real poverty on your doorstep, to see really hungry kids and children with polio, made me want to understand what we in the U.S. could do to make a difference," she says. The firm also gives her flexibility to work from home, which helps the mother of two children, ages 10 and 7, manage home life.
She says she has turned aside offers to be considered for roles elsewhere within the firm, and rejected numerous headhunter calls. She admits it can be hard to watch peers rise. "I see the class I started with and they're partners, and some are making senior partner," she says.
She finds other ways to satisfy her ambitions. Some have made her invaluable, says Wendy Woods, a senior partner, global leader of the social-impact practice and Ms. Thickett's boss. She started and runs three programs that let the firm's consultants to step away from regular assignments and work with nonprofits for up to a year.
"We talk a fair bit about what she needs to keep it challenging for her," Ms. Woods says.
Often, people who take a promotion discover that they hate the new job. Regrets may spring from the challenges of the transition itself, including longer work hours, more travel or family members' problems adjusting to the change.
Dr. Siegel advises waiting six to nine months to adjust. If you still feel that the new job is a mistake, "you can say, 'It's just not working for me,' " Dr. Siegel says. "It's better to have that conversation than to fake it, because faking it usually leads to firing."
Hospital executive Rulon Stacey moved from Chicago to Fort Collins, Colo., in 1996 to run a medium-size hospital because he wanted to make a difference. "And I don't think we have to be at Mayo Clinic or Cedars Sinai to make a difference," he told employees at the Poudre Valley Health System at the time. He was intent on improving medical care, and he also wanted to raise his four young daughters, now ages 21 to 30, in one place.
Dr. Stacey expanded employment at Poudre Valley fivefold to 5,300 and implemented doctor incentives to provide high-quality care. Poudre Valley has won several management and professional awards under his leadership including the prestigious Malcolm Baldrige award in 2008. Some employees resisted the changes and criticized him for résumé-building at the hospital's expense, he says.
To quell speculation, he signed a new long-term employment contract and started talking openly with senior managers and physicians about his plans to stay.
"I wanted to make a difference professionally without sacrificing personally," says Dr. Stacey, who was recently named president of University of Colorado Health, a partnership between Poudre Valley and University of Colorado Hospital.
He says he has turned down "at least a dozen" offers to head larger hospitals elsewhere. Rather than move on to a bigger organization, he says, he is putting his family first.
It's important to revisit your decision now and then and make sure your reasons are still sound. People are often motivated to take a new job by intrinsic rewards, such as enjoying the challenge, the subject matter or the people, Dr. Siegel says. But when moving upward, people are more likely to be motivated by factors like pay or status. "Those may be very compelling but they're not always very satisfying," he says. "Ask yourself why you took the job in the first place," he says. Are those motivators still in force?
Debra Benton, a Fort Collins, Colo., executive coach, surveyed 100 managers several years ago and found two-thirds didn't desire to move up. Many cited fear of making peers jealous or of breaking out of a comfortable role. "People are more afraid of trying for success and not getting it, than of settling for what they have," she says.

A New Way to Heaven


    By
  • KAREN WILKIN
After San Marco, the most famous church in Venice is Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari. The vast 15th-century building, its wide, high central nave and chapels lined with important monuments, has been described as a Pantheon of the glories of La Serenissima. There's a lot to look at, but the most spectacular of the Frari's many riches is the enormous painting above the high altar, Titian's "Assumption of the Virgin" (1516-18). Recent studies have revealed that the great panel, painted when the ambitious young virtuoso was 28 and intended to assert his mastery, is apparently all by his own hand, made without the aid of assistants. When this magnificent work was first unveiled, it announced a new conception of what an altarpiece could be, both in the grandeur of its scale and the simplicity and unity of its composition, and successfully staked Titian's claim to being the most important painter in Venice.
[image]
Assumption of the Virgin.
At nearly 23 feet tall, in a frame like a triumphal arch (probably designed by the artist), the "Assumption of the Virgin" dominates the space above the altar, against a haze of light spilling from the lancet windows of the apse behind it. It's an astonishing painting, first capturing our attention with its bold economy. Titian translated his dramatic motif into a nearly abstract, simple structure that declares itself clearly from a distance, making the powerful image of Mary's ascent to heaven intelligible to worshipers the length of the nave.
The painting is divided into three rather widely separated zones of activity: First, there's a horizontal mass of awe-struck, gesticulating apostles who fill the bottom third of the immense wood panel, tightly packed together below a band of pale blue sky. Next, there's a descending arc with a swaying vertical element in the center: the Virgin, arms raised and balanced on a cloud populated by a throng of putti and a few slightly older angels, as she floats upward from the painting's midpoint into a golden dome of heavenly light. Above her, in a narrow band seen from below, God the Father, flanked by a putto and an angel, swoops in at a slight angle that expands the space, framed by a curving band of closely pressed putti, like a smaller, more distant version of Mary's arc of escorts, all golden orange in the celestial light.
The more time we spend with the painting, the more brilliant and unexpected Titian's staging of the miraculous event appears to be. As we admire the generosity and amplitude of his forms, the simultaneous delicacy and boldness of the modeling, and the rhythmic folds of the drapery, we also note how subtly he played with our expectations of symmetry and marvel at how he created big, eloquent gestures across his huge image both to engage the eyes of even distant viewers and carry the narrative.
Each apostle reacts differently to the vision. One shades his eyes. One kneels in prayer. One raises clasped hands like a supplicant. The figure closest to us turns his back and reaches up, as if longing to embrace the Virgin before she vanishes. All of them gaze upward, as we do, at the rising figure of the Virgin in the implied golden dome of light. In her red robe, she forms the apex of a tall, narrow, slightly asymmetrical triangle. The triangle is visually supported by the apostle with his back to us, one bare arm extended, and his opposite number, who faces us, one arm bent and covered by an artfully draped sleeve. Like Mary, this crucial pair wear red. So does God the Father; a glimpse of his scarlet robe pulls our eye to the top of the panel, so that we metaphorically recapitulate Mary's journey heavenward as we explore the painting. But variations in each of the reds slow us down, making us consider each element individually.
The Virgin's mantle, blown to one side but prudently knotted for her upward voyage, forms a sweeping dark-blue arc that restates, at smaller scale and with new animation, the curving band of cloud and putti. Our perceptions of the different sizes and slightly altered orientation of the two arcs, like the differences in the amounts and types of the color red, as we move through the painting, intensify the sense of ascension. The play of reds, greens and blues—and even some purple—against the radiant ground further heightens the illusion of motion. (It has been suggested that Titian adopted a brighter palette than usual to counteract the sidelight from the apse windows.)
Thanks to Save Venice Inc., the American charitable organization that for decades has been preserving the city's gems, the "Assumption of the Virgin" has recently been treated to dust removal—the horizontal inflections of the wooden panel catch grime—and careful study to determine what might need to be done since it last received conservation treatment in 1972. Generally, the nearly 500-year-old painting is in good condition, but small test patches to remove discolored varnish have revealed its original splendor. Save Venice is poised to begin a campaign to raise funds for conservation, but work can't start until an extraordinary problem is solved. In the 1930s an organ was installed behind the painting, and in the 1970s the pipes were attached to the panel. (Don't even think about what the vibrations are doing.) Negotiations about relocating the instrument have been initiated. Let's hope they are successful so that Titian's Santa Maria Gloriosa can return to her full glory.
—Ms. Wilkin is a critic and independent curator.


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