Category: Exhibitions
'In Front of Arcimboldo' Exhibition in Metz
March 30 2021
Picture: Centre-Pompidou-Metz
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Centre-Pompidou-Metz in France will be opening a new exhibition next month entitled Face à Arcimboldo. Alongside showing several original works by Giuseppe Arcimboldo, the exhibition will also chart how later artists have reacted to the surreal themes found in works of the sixteenth century painter. Other artists whose works feature within the exhibition include Pablo Picasso, Francis Bacon, Lynda Benglis, les frères Campana, Hans-Peter Feldmann, Lavinia Fontana, Felix Gonzales-Torres, Pierre Huyghe, Zoe Leonard, Kerstin Braetsch, Mario Merz, and Francis Picabia.
The exhibition will run from 29th May 2021 to 22 November 2021.
Raphael Tapestry Exhibition in Urbino
March 29 2021
Picture: finestresullarte.info
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
On 21st May 2021 the Palazzo Ducale in Urbino will be opening their new exhibition dedicated to Raphael and Tapestries. The show will be in collaboration with the Vatican Museums and Mobilier National Paris. It will features tapestries made after his designs and frescos, and include later reinterpretations such as those made at Gobelins during the age of Louis XIV (pictured).
Hyacinthe Rigaud at Versailles
March 29 2021
Video: Château de Versailles
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Good news that le Château de Versailles's exhibition Hyacinthe Rigaud or the Sun Portrait has been extended until 13th June 2021.
As the exhibition blurb explains:
Laid out chronologically and by theme, the exhibition illustrates Hyacinthe Rigaud’s career from his early years in Catalonia to his consecration in Paris. Special focus is given to the artist’s self-portraits painted throughout his life, while a particularly spectacular section is entirely dedicated to portraits of Louis XIV.
In another section, visitors will be able to discover the very process of making a portrait, from the choice of format through to popular distribution through engravings, including the production of sketches and their presentation to the models. The portraits on display reflect the remarkable diversity of Rigaud's clientele from both France and abroad. The exhibition also highlights his sensitivity for sculpture: in 1695, his final trip to Catalonia was motivated by his desire to capture the features of his mother, Mme Rigaud (born Marie Serre), and to have them set in marble by the sculptor Antoine Coysevox.
Hermitage to put on NFT Exhibition
March 26 2021
Posted by Adam Busiakeiwicz:
The State Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg, Russia, has announced that it will be hosting an NFT exhibition later this year. This will make it one of the first major museums to host a show dedicated to these digital artworks which have become the latest craze in the art world. The show will be supported by the Aksenov Family Foundation and aims to 'study new forms of audience involvement in cultural practices.'
The Legacy of Carmen Sánchez García
March 23 2021
Picture: Prado
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Prado in Madrid have opened yet another exhibition this month celebrating the acquisition of several paintings made possible by the legacy of Carmen Sánchez García (d.2016). García, a school teacher who had connections with the museum, left over 750,000 euros to the institution with the proviso that the money would be spent on acquisitions or restoration projects. The museum has purchased several paintings with the money, including artists not previously represented in the collection. Some of the highlights include works by Alonso Berruguete, Mariana de la Cueva, Gabriel Antonio Corvoysier, François Clouet (pictured), Adriaen Thomaszoon Key and María Blanchard.
165 Works of the Spannocchi-Piccolomini Collection Reunited
March 22 2021
Picture: ilgiornaledellarte.com
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
News from Italy that 165 works from the Spannocchi-Piccolomini Collection have been reunited in the former hospital of Santa Maria della Scala in Siena. This includes works by Lorenzo Lotto, Giovan Battista Moroni, Paris Bordon, Sofonisba Anguissola, Sodoma, Albrecht Dürer and Albrecht Altdorfer. Amongst the most important works included within are a series of cartoons by Domenico Beccafumi relating to the floor of the Cathedral of Siena. This collection was formed in the late eighteenth century and was gradually disperesed amongst several museum collections in the twentieth.
The National Gallery to send Nine Paintings to Southampton
March 22 2021
Picture: The National Gallery
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Brilliant news today that the National Gallery in London will be loaning nine paintings to the Southampton City Art Gallery. Works that will be loaned include paintings by Monet, Gainsborough and Salvator Rosa. This special exhibition, which will run from 28th May - 4th September 2021, will celebrate the untold story of the two galleries relationship throughout the twentieth century.
As AHN is a big advocate for spreading out works of art from London institutions, it would be wonderful to hear more stories like this during the upcoming year!
Create Your Own Virtual Exhibition
March 19 2021
Picture: Occupy White Walls
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery have teamed up with a new 'art-focused sandbox game' called Occupy White Walls, which allows users to create their own virtual exhibitions. The gallery is the first major art institution to hand over hundreds of images from its collection to allow players to create their ideal virtual art gallery.
As the above article explains:
Want a river coursing through a velvet-walled gallery? Not a problem; take your pick from 2,300 architectural assets. Fancy putting Leonardo Da Vinci’s “Salvator Mundi” in contentious conversation with his “Mona Lisa”? Why not throw in the game’s 11 other Leonardos, or any of the platform’s more than 17,000 artworks that resonate for that matter?
Linda Spurdle, the museum's digital development manager, is also quoted saying:
“We talk a lot about getting younger and more diverse audiences involved. Occupy White Walls is a next step. We want people to use our artwork creatively. If people want to build art galleries and exhibitions, go ahead, use our art.
A wonderful idea, it seems, to alleviate the utter boredom of lockdown. But I for one can't wait to leave my screens behind and go and see some beautiful objects made by human hands.
Breaking the Mould - Touring Exhibition
March 18 2021
Picture: The Arts Council
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Arts Council have organised a special touring exhibition this year entitled Breaking the Mould: Sculpture by Women since 1945.
According to the exhibition blurb:
This major new touring exhibition challenges the male-dominated narratives of post-war British sculpture by presenting a diverse and significant range of ambitious work by women. Offering a radical recalibration, Breaking the Mould not only celebrates the strengths of sculpture made by women but also seeks to guard against the threat of slipping out of view. Through this deliberately restorative act, the exhibition seeks to inspire future generations, supporting the maxim ‘if she can see it she can be it’.
Breaking the Mould represents the work of over forty-five sculptors including Barbara Hepworth, Elisabeth Frink, Kim Lim, Cornelia Parker, Veronica Ryan, Rachel Whiteread and Anthea Hamilton.
The exhibition will first open on 21st May 2021 at the Longside Gallery, Yorkshire Sculpture Park, and will then tour to New Art Gallery Walsall, Djanogly Art Gallery, The Levinsky Gallery at the University of Plymouth, Nottingham Lakeside Arts and Ferens Art Gallery, Hull.
Venus Exhibitions in Mantua
March 17 2021
Picture: finestresullarte.info
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Palazzo Te Foundation and the Palazzo Te Civic Museum in Mantua will be putting on three exhibitions and a programme of events this year celebrating the mythological figure of Venus. The Divine Venus project was inspired by depictions of the goddess in the Palazzo Te, and will feature loaned works by the likes of Cranach, Guido Reni, Titian and Dosso Dossi, not to mention many other works of tapestry, sculpture and printed materials.
The three exhibitions are as follows. 1) The Myth of Venus at the Palazzo Te, which will focus on frescos and stucco representations featured in the palace. 2) Titian's Venus Blindfolding Cupid, which will see the loan of one of the Villa Borghese's most iconic Titians to Mantua. 3) Venus: Nature, Shade and Beauty, an exhibition of international loaned works from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.
The first and third exhibitions run from 21st March - 12th December 2021, apart from the Titian loan which will run from 22nd June - 5th September 2021.
L'Empire des Sens - Extended
March 17 2021
Picture: The Musée Cognacq-Jay
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Musée Cognacq-Jay in Paris has announced that it will extend its current exhibition L'Empire des sens, de Boucher à Greuze until 27th May 2021. The exhibition takes a special look at the sensual bodies portrayed by eighteenth century artists such as Boucher, Watteau, Fragonard and Greuze.
The museum have also uploaded their audio guide onto their website, in case any French speakers might enjoy hearing more.
Renaissance Children at the Museum Hof van Busleyden
March 16 2021
Picture: Museum Hof van Busleyden
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Museum Hof van Busleyden, Mechelen, in Belgium will be opening their latest exhibition this month on Renaissance Children: Art and Education at the Habsburg Court in Mechelen.
According to a translation made by hnanews.org:
Mechelen was not only an important political and cultural hub for Burgundian and early Habsburg rulers, it was a center of education too. Three successive generations of Habsburg princes and princesses spent part of their childhood there. When Philip the Fair died in 1506 and his wife, Joanna of Castile, was pronounced mad, four of the couple’s children – Eleanor (of Austria), Charles (V), Mary (of Hungary) and Isabella (of Austria) – were sent to Mechelen to be raised by their aunt, Margaret of Austria, regent of the Habsburg Netherlands. When Isabella of Austria died in 1526, her three children with King Christian II of Denmark – John, Dorothy and Christine – were also taken to Mechelen. Margaret of Austria herself, together with her brother Philip the Fair, had spent part of her youth in the city too, at the court of Margaret of York. The regent’s court enjoyed such an excellent educational reputation that great families from all over Europe sent their children there, the best known of whom was Anne Boleyn. The future queen of England came to Mechelen in 1513, where she learned amongst other things to dance and to speak French.
The exhibition Renaissance Children will use artworks, books, prints, letters, jewelry and everyday items to present a unique insight into the education, emotions and identity of children during the transition from the Middle Ages to the early modern era.
The exhibition will run from 26th March - 4th July 2021.
Marinus van Reymerswaele Opens in Madrid
March 9 2021
Video: Prado Madrid
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Prado in Madrid have released the following video to celebrate the opening of their latest exhibition Marinus: Painter from Reymerswale. Five works were conserved as part of the preparations required for the show, which features ten works by this enigmatic artist in total.
The exhibition will run until 13th June 2021.
Rubens: Reuniting the Great Landscapes
March 9 2021
Picture: The Wallace Collection
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Wallace Collection's Spring / Summer exhibition, which will see the reuniting of Rubens's two great landscapes, is shaping up to be one of the most exciting moments in the London art calendar for 2021. This will be the first time in two hundred years that the paintings will be hung next to one another, as they were originally intended in the artist's house in Het Steen. Indeed, this was only made possible due to the Wallace Collection's trustees recent overruling of Lady Wallace's 1897 bequest which specifically stopped the collection giving or receiving loans.
The dates of the exhibition haven't been announced on the museum's website yet, but it's likely that it will be opened once the UK comes out of the next stage of lockdown on 17th May 2021.
Furthermore, the museum have also released details of a very exciting two day online conference on 17th & 18th May 2021 which will dwell on many aspects to do with the paintings' various contexts and conservation histories. Speakers will include experts from Antwerp, the MET, The Kunsthistoriches Museum, the State Academy in Stuttgart, the Hamilton Kerr Institute and the National Gallery of course.
Mythological Passions Opens in Madrid
March 8 2021
Video: Prado Madrid
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Prado in Madrid have recently opened their latest exhibition Mythological Passions. The highlight will of course be Titian's mythological works which will be reunited in Spain for the first time since the sixteenth century. Other artists featured in the show include Veronese, Allori, Rubens, Ribera, Poussin, Van Dyck and Velázquez.
The photographs of the displays look spectacular and rather intimate, which is quite a surprise considering the times in which we live.
The exhibition will run till 4th July 2021.
Update - A reader has written in with the following question:
Does the Mythological Passions at the Prado have the first loan from the Wallace Collection ? (Perseus & Andromeda).
Unless a more obscure work of art has already gone out on loan already, I suppose this might be true (?) Any reader is welcome to correct me on this!
Alice Ravenel Huger Smith Exhibition
March 5 2021
Picture: Middleton Place National Historic Landmark and the Edmondston-Alston House
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
News has reached me from the US of a special exhibitions celebrating the American artist Alice Ravenel Huger Smith (1876-1958). These exhibitions opened on 1st March 2021 and will be held at Middleton Place National Historic Landmark and the Edmondston-Alston House in downtown Charleston, South Carolina. The show has been accompanied by the publishing of a new book on Alice's art entitled Alice Ravenel Huger Smith, Charleston Renaissance Artist.
Wounded Lebanese Artemisia Gentileschi Arrives in Milan
March 3 2021
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
A damaged painting by Artemisia Gentileschi has arrived for the Le Signore dell’Arte exhibition in Milan. Curiously, the Italian press have published images of the Lebanese Sursock Magdalene which was damaged in last summer's Beirut explosion. The article above shows that glass and rubble have in some cases pierced through the canvas itself. The damaged painting will feature in the exhibition in its unrestored state.
Caravaggio sent to Turin
February 25 2021
Picture: Musei Reali di Torino
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
A new exhibition opened today in the Galleria Sabauda in the Musei Reali di Torino. The highlight of the show is Caravaggio's San Giovanni Battista on loan from the Gallerie Nazionali di Arte Antica in Rome. The gallery will be showing this masterpiece alongside its own collection of Caravaggist paintings by the likes of Giovanni Baglione, Valentin, Vignon, Ribera and Serodine.
The exhibition will run till 30th May 2021.
Women Painters at the Musée du Luxembourg
February 23 2021
Picture: Musée du Luxembourg
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Musée du Luxembourg in Paris are set to open their new exhibition Women Painters 1780-1830 on 3rd March 2021.
As the museum's website explains:
A half-century journey from the pre-Revolutionary years to the Restoration, the exhibition Women Painters, 1780-1830. The Birth of a Battle features some 70 works on display from public and private French and international collections. The exhibition aims to bring the public’s attention to an issue about which little or nothing is known: how the then-unprecedented phenomenon of increasing numbers of women in the fine arts was linked to the changing organisation in the sphere of artistic production (administration, training, exhibition, criticism) and the transforming tastes and social practices relating to art.
The exhibition is due to run till 4th July 2021.
Gray Collection at the Morgan Library & Museum
February 22 2021
Picture: The Morgan Library & Museum
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Morgan Library & Museum in New York have recently opened their latest drawings exhibition entitled Gray Collection - Pure Drawing. The show features works collected by the dealers and art historians Richard and Mary L. Gray. Visitors will have a chance to see prized works on paper by the likes of Rubens, Boucher, Degas, Van Gogh and Picasso.
The exhibition will run through till the 6th June 2021.
