In light of their role in altering the course of Western art, the works examined are among the most influential masterpieces of the African artistic canon.
Appreciated for their beauty alone for over a century, this exhibition will address the sensation these now-classic works generated among the earliest generation of African art amateurs. But beyond that it will reveal the significance of these works to their cultures of origin by revealing the underlying sources of cultural and spiritual inspiration that led to their creation in equatorial Africa. Drawn from the most important collections of African art in Europe and the United States, the more than 120 works featured are from a dozen distinct cultural traditions in Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, the Republic of Congo, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
These sculptural masterpieces, which ultimately transcended their original cultural contexts to enter the mainstream of universal art, were created to portray ancestors as vital intermediaries. Through a range of different visual vocabularies and materials, this is evident in dynamic depictions of the human form conceived to enhance, venerate, and amplify the power of sacred relics. The exhibition will provide a foundation for greater appreciation of central Africa's cultural legacy and the relationship of its art to other major traditions from around the world.
Since sacred relics have served as the catalysts for some of the most exalted and revered creations in the history of Western, Eastern, and African civilizations, the exhibition considers reliquaries from other world cultures alongside those produced in Africa, thereby drawing upon works from other parts of the Metropolitan's encyclopedic collections. The exhibition catalogue is made possible by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Press preview: Monday, October 1, 10:00 a.m.-noon
Threads of Splendor: Tapestry in the Baroque: October 16, 2007-January 6, 2008
Conceived as a sequel to Tapestry in the Renaissance: Art and Magnificence (spring 2002), this international loan exhibition will consider the European tapestry industry between ca. 1590 and ca. 1700. It will include approximately 40 tapestries, three or four full-scale cartoons, and about 30 drawings, engravings, and oil sketches.
The exhibition is made possible in part by the Hochberg Foundation Trust and the National Endowment for the Arts. The catalogue is made possible by the Samuel I. Newhouse Foundation, Inc. The exhibition was organized by The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, with the generous participation of the Patrimonio Nacional, Madrid. Press preview: Monday, October 15, 10:00 a.m.-noon
Gifts for the Gods: Images from Egyptian Temples: October 16, 2007-February 18, 2008
This will be the first exhibition to deal with the art and significance of Egyptian bronze and precious metal statuary as a whole, which is connected with the drama and intimacy of ancient temples. Three intertwined themes will be presented: the heights of artistry reached during the Third Intermediate Period (ca. 1070-712 B.C.), the long development of metal statuary in concert with the changes in the temple world that form the background of this achievement, and the nature of the Egyptian's beliefs about the statuary and its crucial role in their relations with their gods. The exhibition will include approximately 70 objects drawn from American and international collections. Press preview: Monday, October 15, 10:00 a.m.-noon
Cast Images: American Bronze Sculpture from The Metropolitan Museum of Art
The centuries-old tradition of casting bronze into sculptural form reached the United States by 1850, realizing its apogee in the early decades of the 20th century. Sculptors such as Augustus Saint-Gaudens, Frederick MacMonnies, and Frederic Remington were innovators in this medium; by mastering a vital French-based naturalism and choosing modern subjects, they popularized the American bronze as a fine collectible object. A selection of 50 statuettes and portrait busts from the Metropolitan's unparalleled collection traces the historical development of the small American bronze from technical, aesthetic, and thematic standpoints. New York State Museum, Albany October 20, 2007-February 24, 2008
The Gates of Paradise: Lorenzo Ghiberti's Renaissance Masterpiece: October 30, 2007-January 13, 2008
After more than 25 years, the conservation of Lorenzo Ghiberti's doors for the Baptistery in Florence-called the Gates of Paradise-now in the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo, is nearing completion. This exhibition will provide an unprecedented opportunity to see three of the doors' famous narrative reliefs, with their masterful retelling of Old Testament subjects, as well as four figural sections from their opulent surrounding frames, before they are permanently installed in the museum.
The panels and elements from the doorframe-two of its supremely elegant figures of prophets and two of its heads set in roundels-represent the sculptor's artistic development over the 27 years (1425-52) that he spent executing this seminal work of Italian Renaissance art. The exhibition was organized by the High Museum of Art, Atlanta in collaboration with the Opera di Santa Maria del Fiore and the Opificio delle Pietre Dure, Florence. It is supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities. Accompanied by a catalogue. Press preview: Monday, October 29, 10:00 a.m.-noon
The Jewelry of Alexander Calder: October 30, 2007-January 20, 2008
This landmark exhibition will be the first museum show dedicated solely to Alexander Calder's extensive output of inventive jewelry. During his lifetime, Calder (1898-1976) produced more than 1,500 pieces, beginning in 1905 when he crafted small pieces of jewelry for his sister's dolls. His desire to make "wearable art" continued throughout his life, and he dealt with this aspect of his oeuvre much as he did in his other work. The jewelry had the same linear, yet three-dimensional, aspects as his mobiles, each piece comprising parts that are hammered, shaped, chiseled, and composed in a fashion that precisely echoes his sculpture.
The exhibition will put on view about 60-70 objects--necklaces, bracelets, earrings, pins, and hair combs-as well as several notebooks of Calder's working drawings and photographic panels of his jewelry worn by patrons, art collectors, friends, and family. The exhibition was organized by the Norton Museum of Art, West Palm Beach, Florida. Accompanied by a publication. Press preview: Monday, October 29, 10:00 a.m.-noon. -- www.metmuseum.org
Posted January 18th, 2007 by ruzik_tuzik
