The Art Institute of Chicago, Illinois will run an exhibition named 'A Case for Wine: From King Tut to Today' from July 11 to September 20, 2009, at Regenstein Hall.
Wine has played a role at the Art Institute almost since the museum's inception in 1879. A major European buying expedition in 1889 to acquire classical antiquities for its fledgling collection resulted in the purchase of several pots originally used for storing and serving wine. Perhaps the most outstanding pot in the group is a stamnos or wine jar made in Greece about 450 B.C.
Its red figure decoration depicts groups of maenads or female followers of the Greek god of wine and revelry Dionysius (known as Bacchus in Roman times). As the "signature" vessel by this unknown artist, related examples decorated by him are referred to as the work of the "Chicago Painter."
In addition to these classical antiquities, A Case for Wine will also explore the cultivation of the grape and its transformation into wine, followed by its storage in barrels, bottles, and even cardboard boxes. A comprehensive collection of English 17th- and 18th-century dated seal bottles will enable visitors to trace the wine bottle form from its more bulbous beginnings to its present-day svelte cylindrical shape, and to examine the evolution of wine labels and corkscrews.
In the course of placing wine consumption in context, both its sacred and secular settings will also be considered. A selection of chalices (many lent by Loyola University Museum of Art) dating from 14th-century Sienna to mid 20th-century Chicago will document their evolution in both Catholic and Protestant worship.
Secular drinking vessels include selections from the legendary American collector J. Pierpont Morgan along with the Art Institute's outstanding collection of European wine glasses dating from the 16th to the 19th century. These examples will be presented in conjunction with still lifes and genre paintings that incorporate remarkably similar wine glasses.
Together with works of art by modern and contemporary artists, sculptors, and photographers, A Case for Wine will be brought almost full cycle in time, space, and subject matter, suggesting that wine still serves as a stimulus and source of inspiration for artistic endeavor.
The picture shows Charles Frederick Kandler. Wine Jug, 1739/40. Silver. Gift of the Antiquarian Society. -- www.artic.edu
Comment and add to the story without registration, but keep the comments meaningful please. Links are not accepted.
