"Inspiring Impressionism," the first comprehensive survey to explore the influence of Old Master painters on Impressionist artists, will open at the High Museum of Art on October 16, 2007. This groundbreaking exhibition will juxtapose works by such artists as Monet, Cézanne and Degas with those by Titian, Rubens and Fragonard to explore the impact that Dutch and Spanish 17th-century Schools and the French Rococo style had on 19th-century French Impressionism.
"Inspiring Impressionism" features 86 works, including paintings and works on paper, drawn from more than 40 museums, some of which have never traveled to the United States. Organized by the Denver Art Museum, "Inspiring Impressionism" will remain on view in Atlanta through January 13, 2008 and subsequently travel to the Denver Art Museum (February 23 through May 25, 2008), and the Seattle Art Museum (June 19 through September 21, 2008).
The national tour of "Inspiring Impressionism" is made possible by Northern Trust. "Through the juxtaposition of noted works by Old Masters with those of the Impressionists, this exhibition reveals visual evidence of connections that, until now, were confined to art historical papers," commented Michael E. Shapiro, the High's Nancy and Holcombe T. Green Director. "'Inspiring Impressionism' asks visitors to rethink preconceived notions about the Impressionist movement and will allow audiences to discover how these artists, like many of their predecessors, imitated earlier art, borrowed particular motifs, and transformed existing compositions and techniques into something completely new."
"Inspiring Impressionism" will explore the ways in which Impressionist artists continued a dialogue with their predecessor artists and styles, while simultaneously striving to create the innovative new style depicting modern life that came to be known as "Impressionism." Exhibition highlights include traditional landscapes, still lifes and portraits by Old Masters such as Titian and Claude Lorrain that are paired with Impressionist works such as Monet's "Summer" (1874) and Renoir's "Confidences" (ca. 1873). Groupings like Mary Cassatt's "Mrs. Duffee Seated on a Striped Sofa, Reading" (1876) and Jean Honoré Fragonard's "Reader" (1776) will explore connections through use of similar artistic technique, composition, and subject matter. The examination of Manet's "The Little Cavaliers,"
"Inspiring Impressionism" is organized by the Denver Art Museum, and co-curated by Timothy Standring, deputy director for collections and programs, and Ann Dumas, a London-based independent scholar, in collaboration with the High Museum of Art and Seattle Art Museum. After opening at the High Museum of Art, the show will travel to the Denver Art Museum from February 23–May 25, 2008 and the Seattle Art Museum from June 19–September 21, 2008. Northern Trust is the National Tour Sponsor of "Inspiring Impressionism." Additional support is provided by the National Endowment for the Humanities and an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities.
"We are delighted to be involved with this exhibition and the opportunity it offers audiences across the country to experience this new perspective on Impressionism and the artists' deep understanding of the Old Masters who inspired them," stated William A. Osborn, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Northern Trust.
An illustrated exhibition catalogue will include an introductory essay by Ann Dumas and eight essays by Impressionist and Old Master scholars such as George Shackelford, Chair, Art of Europe, Museum of Fine Arts Boston; John House, Walter H Annenberg Professor, Courtauld Institute of Art; and Frances Suzman Jowell, Independent Art Historian, who will provide a more detailed evaluation of the relationship between Impressionism and the art of the past. -- www.high.org
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