So, I have to start off by admitting, my goal is to go to one museum each month. And I'm two days late for March. Bad planning on my part. Oh well, I am counting my visit to the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, where I saw the special exhibit, "Titian and the Golden and Age of Venetian Painting" as my March museum stop. I also plan to visit a second museum later this month.
This month, my sister was my museum tour buddy. (Our wanting to go together and both having busy schedules is one of the reasons I missed my March deadline. I'm a little hung up on that, unnecessarily. Anyway...) We both loved the exhibit and would highly recommend it.
On the MIA's website, the exhibit is described as:
Catch this rare opportunity to see the cream of the Venetian paintings collection of the National Galleries of Scotland, here for the first time ever. Two ravishing pendants by Titian, Diana and Actaeon and Diana and Callisto, make this a must-see for painting lovers.
Acclaimed as the most poetic creations of the Italian Renaissance, these luminous sixteenth-century paintings are the two most significant works by Titian outside of Italy and Spain. Originally painted for King Philip II of Spain, they entered the Bridgewater/Sutherland collection at the end of the eighteenth century and have been on loan to the National Gallery since 1945.
The exhibition also includes Titian's famous Venus Rising From the Sea (formerly a Bridgewater picture) and masterpieces by Lorenzo Lotto, Jacopo Tintoretto, Jacopo Bassano, Paris Bordon, Giovanni Cariani, and Paolo Veronese. A companion exhibition, "Venice on Paper," will present a selection of stunning Venetian drawings by Venetian Renaissance masters.
While it is a small exhibit, I was overwhelmed as soon as I walked in the room. I learned a lot about Titian, and his Venetian roots. The exhibit of course featured several other Venetian
artists from the period, as well as some beautiful maps drawn of the city of Venice.
One thing I found really interesting was a map Titian drew of the city of Venice, which is considered to be history's first copyrighted work. (See below.)
I actually found a review of this exhibit from its tour at the High Museum in London online that gives a nice overview of what you'll find. The article describes Titian's work as a mix of humor, eroticism and mythology-- and its true, you'll find that in several of the paintings on display at the exhibit.
My favorite piece was a Madonna and child (below).
I did not pick this as my favorite because of the subject matter (I think we've all seen more than enough interpretations of the Madonna and child from Renaissance artists), but because of the bright, beautiful paint used. I love the way she is posed, too. The Madonna has slight gesture away from the saint who has a tear in his cloak (which shows a location of one of Christ's wounds). There is an unknown female saint in the background leaning near her, and two mysterious men in the background going about their work. This particular painting caught my attention more than any others I saw today. It was just beautiful and rich.
I'd really encourage anyone who appreciates art to see this exhibit. It goes through May 6, 2011 and is well worth the mere $8/ticket (non-member price).
Also, Art in Bloom starts later in April. While I don't plan to count a second visit to the MIA among my tour, I may come back the weekend of April 28-May 1 to see this exhibit. I went last year and it was beautiful and well worth the visit.
For those who aren't familiar, Art in Bloom features fresh floral arrangements placed throughout the museum that are meant to be an interpretation of the piece that they are arranged near. According to the MIA's website, more than 150 floral artists will be featured. It's a great event and a fun and interesting way to look at art and think spring! Again, highly recommended!
As a final note, I also checked into the MIA today on Four Square and earned a badge. I'm not an avid Four Square user so I'm up to a solid two badges. (Woot!) But thanks to the History Channel, I can now proudly say I have a "historian badge. " I guess this museum tour idea is worth something!
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