Realms of the Dharma: Buddhist Art Across Asia @ LACMA, Los Angeles

Realms of the Dharma: Buddhist Art Across Asia

LACMA, Los Angeles

May 11, 2025 – July 12, 2026 

The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) presents Realms of the Dharma: Buddhist Art Across Asia. International in scope, this exhibition examines key concepts of Buddhist thought and practice through sculptures, paintings, textiles, and ritual objects. Incorporating 180 masterpieces of pan-Asian Buddhist art, Realms of the Dharma begins with the religion’s origins in India in the 5th century BCE and follows its spread through Southeast Asia, the Himalayas, and East Asia. Drawn from LACMA’s permanent collection, with several significant loans from private collections, the exhibition explores the life of the Buddha, the role of the bodhisattva or Buddhist savior, Buddhist cosmology, and such key concepts as dharma, karma, nirvana, mantra, mudra, and mandala. The show will focus on art associated with such key phases of Buddhism as Theravada (early monastic Buddhism), Mahayana (the “Great Vehicle”), Vajrayana (the “Diamond Vehicle”—tantric or esoteric Buddhism), and Chan (Zen).

“Realms of the Dharma presents an exciting opportunity for visitors to learn about the Buddhist religion, cosmology, and practice through works of art,” said Stephen Little, Florence & Harry Sloan Curator and Department Head of Chinese & Korean and South & Southeast Asian Art. “The exhibition explores the key concepts underlying this religion’s historical development and the reasons for its widespread popularity across Asia.”

Michael Govan, LACMA CEO and Wallis Annenberg Director said, "Following our recent exhibition Mapping the Infinite, which looked at cosmologies across cultures, Realms of the Dharma continues LACMA's commitment to presenting stories, perspectives, and ancestries that are deeply connected to the people of L.A. County. We've made that a cornerstone of the museum's approach to studying and sharing the collection with our vast public.” 

Realms of the Dharma: Buddhist Art Across Asia is divided into two sections. The first section tells the story of Buddhism’s birth and growth in and around the Indian subcontinent. The second section follows Buddhism as it travels beyond India to Sri Lanka, Myanmar [Burma], Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Indonesia, Kashmir, Nepal, Tibet, China, Korea, and Japan.

Realms of the Dharma: Buddhist Art Across Asia - Highlights

Buddha Shakyamuni 

India Uttar Pradesh, late 6th century 

Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 

gift of the Michael J. Connell Foundation

Photo © Museum Associates/LACMA

From the late 6th century, the north Indian image of the historical Buddha Shakyamuni, with its serene countenance, embodies the style of the late Gupta dynasty (320–600), a balance of elegant form and inner spirituality. Although the Gupta rulers were Hindu, they actively patronized Buddhism. This Buddha embodies two ideals basic to Buddhism, the perfect yogi and the universal ruler. He possesses the yogi's supple body and contemplative gaze, and the ruler's strong shoulders, firm body, and webbed hands and feet. Time-honored traditions of portrayal connect the Buddha's human form with nature; his long eyes are shaped like fish, his curls like snail shells, and the profile of his left shoulder and arm like the trunk of an elephant. Following the invasion of northern India by Islamic rulers from Afghanistan in the 12th century, this sculpture was long preserved in a Tibetan monastery.

The Bodhisattva Maitreya 

India, Bihar, Gaya District, 11th century 

Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 

from the Nasli and Alice Heeramaneck Collection, 

Museum Associates Purchase 

Photo © Museum Associates/LACMA

In Buddhism, Maitreya first appears as a bodhisattva—a fully enlightened being who was prophesied to become the Buddha of the next cosmic eon, or kalpa, after the end of the current universe. Until that time it is thought that Maitreya exists as a bodhisattva, but will eventually descend to earth from the heaven where he currently resides, undergo his final rebirth, and become a Buddha. In the 11th century schist The Bodhisattva Maitreya, the figure can be identified as Maitreya by the presence of a miniature stupa (reliquary) in his headdress. Maitreya's name means “The Benevolent One."

The Cosmic Buddha Vairochana 

China, c. 1600 

Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 

gift of Richard and Ruth Dickes 

Photo © Museum Associates/LACMA

The Cosmic Buddha Vairochana is a rare painting from China of the primordial Buddha Vairochana, a central figure of the Five Cosmic Buddhas of the Mahayana and Vajrayana pantheons. The veneration of Vairochana first flourished in China during the Tang dynasty (618–906), and worship of this Cosmic Buddha soon spread to Korea and Japan. The historical Buddha Shakyamuni was believed to be a manifestation of Vairochana, who exists beyond time and space. Perhaps the most remarkable aspect of this work—in addition to its remarkable state of preservation—are the large numbers of smaller Buddhist and Daoist figures, among which are the guardians of the four cardinal directions and Dizang (Kshitigarbha or Earth Matrix), Bodhisattva of the Underworld.

The Buddhist Deities Chakrasamvara and Vajravarahi 

Tibet, c. 15th century 

Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 

from the Nasli and Alice Heeramaneck Collection, 

Museum Associates Purchase

Photo © Museum Associates/LACMA

The vibrant The Buddhist Deities Chakrasamvara and Vajravarahi depicts the embrace of the deities Chakrasamvara and Vajravarahi, symbolizing the two essential elements of Buddhist belief and practice: compassion (male) and wisdom (female). Chakrasamvara is the central deity of the Chakrasamvara Tantra, a text composed in the late 8th or early 9th century in India, the main purpose of which is to provide a path to spiritual awakening and enlightenment through the meditation on the deity Heruka Chakrasamvara in union with Vajravarahi. The tantra outlines rituals, philosophies, and practices designed to cultivate enlightened states of mind by uniting the principles of bliss (right method) and emptiness (wisdom).

As part of the museum’s effort to share its permanent collection with audiences around the globe, a version of this exhibition was on view at the Museo Nacional de Antropología in Mexico City, in 2018, Las Huellas de Buda (The Footsteps of the Buddha). 

Realms of the Dharma: Buddhist Art Across Asia was organized by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

The exhibition is curated by Stephen Little, Florence & Harry Sloan Curator and Department Head of Chinese & Korean and South & Southeast Asian Art, and is accompanied by an illustrated catalogue with essays by Stephen Little and Tushara Bindu Gude, LACMA’s former Associate Curator of South and Southeast Asian Art.

Realms of the Dharma: Buddhist Art Across Asia

Edited with text by Stephen Little, Tushara Bindu Gude 

Foreword by Michael Govan

Published by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art / D.A.P.

Hardcover, 288 pages, 9 x 11 in., 254 color illustrations

ISBN: 9781942884781 -  Published 2025

LACMA - LOS ANGELES COUNTY MUSEUM OF ART 

5905 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA, 90036 

lacma.org

Myth and Marble: Ancient Roman Sculpture from the Torlonia Collection @ Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth

Myth and Marble: Ancient Roman Sculpture from the Torlonia Collection

Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth

September 14, 2025 – January 25, 2026

Statue of Cupid and Psyche 

Roman, Imperial Period (second half of 2nd century AD)

Marble

Torlonia Collection, Rome

© Fondazione Torlonia. Photo by Lorenzo De Masi

Statue of Artemis Ephesia 

Roman, Imperial Period (2nd century AD) 

Marble

Torlonia Collection, Rome

© Fondazione Torlonia. Photo by Lorenzo De Masi

The Torlonia Nile, Formerly the Barberini-Albani Nile 

Roman, Imperial Period, Flavian Era (late 1st century AD) 

Gray marble 

Torlonia Collection, Rome

© Fondazione Torlonia. Photo by Lorenzo De Masi

The Kimbell Art Museum presents the exhibition Myth and Marble: Ancient Roman Sculpture from the Torlonia Collection, in the Renzo Piano Pavilion. This exhibition brings to North America for the first time a selection of fifty-eight rarely seen masterpieces from the world’s most important private collection of Roman sculpture. 

“The opportunity to bring large-scale works of ancient Roman sculpture to the American public is extremely rare, and we at the Kimbell are grateful to Fondazione Torlonia for creating this once-in-a-lifetime experience,” said Eric Lee, director of the Kimbell Art Museum. “This is the first exhibition of ancient Roman sculpture in the Kimbell’s fifty-three-year history and is all the more exciting because the legendary Torlonia Collection has been largely unseen for the last seventy years.” 

Established during the course of the nineteenth century by the Franco-Italian banker Prince Giovanni Torlonia (1754–1829) and his son Prince Alessandro (1800–1886), the Torlonia Collection was handed down over generations, eventually growing into the largest private collection of ancient Roman sculptures. This veritable “collection of collections” was assembled through acquisitions from prominent collections of Roman patrician families and from excavations undertaken on the family’s own estates throughout Italy. By 1876, Prince Alessandro Torlonia created a museum to house and exhibit the family’s impressive holdings of ancient marbles. The Museo Torlonia was open to small groups until its closure at the onset of World War II. During this closure, Fondazione Torlonia was created at the behest of Prince Alessandro Torlonia (1925–2017) for the continued study and conservation of both the collection and the Villa Albani Torlonia, a monumental complex and one of the highest expressions of eighteenth-century taste. The sculptures remained largely unseen by the public until Fondazione Torlonia’s first exhibition, at the Musei Capitolini in Rome in 2020. Myth and Marble comes to North America after a recent exhibition of the Torlonia Collection drew unprecedented audiences at the Louvre in Paris.

The works on view at the Kimbell Art Museum were made between the late fifth century BC and the early fourth century AD, with most dating to the High Imperial period (first–second centuries AD). Visitors see examples of the most emblematic genres of ancient marble sculpture, including large-scale figures of gods, goddesses, and mythic heroes, vivid portraits of emperors and their families, and magnificent funerary monuments. Half of the sculptures have been newly cleaned, conserved, and studied specifically for this North American presentation.

Portrait of a Young Woman, known as the Maiden of Vulci 

Roman, late Republican Period (mid-1st century BC)

Marble

Torlonia Collection, Rome

© Fondazione Torlonia. Photo by Lorenzo De Masi

The exhibition is organized thematically into six sections. Upon entering the Kimbell’s special exhibition galleries, visitors first encounter three Icons of the Torlonia Collection, including the mid-first-century BC Portrait of a Young Woman, known as the Maiden of Vulci. This is among the earlier and best-known works in the Torlonia Collection, providing a singular representation of Roman female portraiture from the early Augustan era. This and other portraits on view convey the striking naturalism that is a hallmark of ancient Roman sculpture and that viewers come to appreciate throughout the exhibition.  

Statue of a Goddess, known as the Hestia Giustiniani 

Roman, Imperial Period, Hadrianic Era 

(first half of 2nd century AD) 

Marble 

Torlonia Collection, Rome.

© Fondazione Torlonia. Photo by Lorenzo De Masi

Next, Ideal Bodies and Model Behavior introduces visitors to depictions of myriad deities from the broader Roman world. This section illustrates how, as it expanded, the Roman Empire increasingly embraced aspects of Greek culture, both in its mythology and its visual language, cementing a shared Greco-Roman cultural heritage. The Statue of a Goddess, known as the Hestia Giustiniani, one of the most important works in the collection, is also one of the very few Roman versions of the classical Greek “severe” style in existence and is the largest and most intact sculpture of its type.

Statue of an Emperor on a Throne with Portrait of Augustus 

Roman, Imperial Period (1st century AD) 

Marble 

Torlonia Collection, Rome.

© Fondazione Torlonia. Photo by Lorenzo De Masi

Portrait of Hadrian

Roman, Imperial Period (c. 130 AD) 

Marble 

Torlonia Collection, Rome.

© Fondazione Torlonia. Photo by Lorenzo De Masi

Strategies of Succession displays second-century AD emperors and their imperial families, including a remarkable selection of female portraits. These stunningly realistic portrait sculptures, the likes of which would have permeated public and private spaces in the ancient world, functioned much as mass media does today. Visitors recognize the names of rulers such as Trajan, Hadrian, Marcus Aurelius, Commodus, and Septimius Severus, whose marble busts at once convey their likenesses, deliver overt political propaganda, and communicate subtle messages of power, authority, and identity.   

Statue of a Resting Goat 

Roman, Imperial Period, Trajanic Era (body: late 1st century 

head: attributed to Gian Lorenzo Bernini [1598–1680])

Marble 

Torlonia Collection, Rome 

© Fondazione Torlonia. Photo by Lorenzo De Masi 

Not a single work on view in Myth and Marble looks today as it did when it left the ancient artist’s workshop, whether through the wear and tear of time or by the hands of generations of art restorers. Restoration and Reconstruction spotlights sculptures that have been altered over the centuries—sometimes into nearly new works altogether—reflecting how collectors from the Renaissance through the nineteenth century preferred unfragmented objects to decorate their villas and estates. Intact portrait heads were regularly placed on newly carved busts in the past, and sometimes unrelated elements were assembled into wholly new works of art. The Rondanini-Type Medusa on a Trapezophoros (Table Leg) with a Griffin’s Head, for instance, was created through the assembly of two otherwise distinct, ancient sculptural fragments: a Medusa head joined to a Griffin-headed table leg. Sometimes great artists were engaged to update or perfect ancient fragments. For example, a mundane sculpture of a reclining ram was entirely transformed, made glorious with the addition of an exuberant head carved by the famed Baroque sculptor Gian Lorenzo Bernini around 1620. 

Portus Relief 

Roman, Imperial Period (2nd–3rd century AD) 

Marble 

Torlonia Collection, Rome 

© Fondazione Torlonia. Photo by Lorenzo De Masi

As one of the largest landowners in nineteenth-century Rome, Prince Alessandro Torlonia hired archaeologists to excavate some of his own estates, notably a tract along the Via Appia Antica, which was a major ancient thoroughfare near Rome, and a property at Portus, once ancient Rome’s main harbor. Torlonia Excavations displays remarkable discoveries from these excavations, including an Attic Votive Relief from the fifth century BC, which is the only Greek sculpture in the exhibition and the earliest work in the entire Torlonia Collection. The Portus Relief offers a rare representation of the place where it was found, combining elements of the architectural and commercial landscape with symbolic motifs and deities.

Sarcophagus Depicting the Labors of Hercules 

and Lid with Reclining Couple 

Roman, Imperial Period (second half of 2nd century AD)  

Marble

Torlonia Collection, Rome. 

© Fondazione Torlonia. Photo by Lorenzo De Masi

Sarcophagus Depicting the Labors of Hercules 

and Lid with Reclining Couple 

Roman, Imperial Period (second half of 2nd century AD) 

Marble

Torlonia Collection, Rome. 

© Fondazione Torlonia. Photo by Lorenzo De Masi

Myth and Marble closes with Death and Remembrance, reflecting a major strength of the Torlonia Collection: funerary monuments. These superb carvings underscore the longstanding Roman tradition of commemorating the dead and visually memorializing their likenesses and personal identities in marble, to be publicly displayed and visited by generations of descendants. Several extraordinary sarcophagi (stone coffins) such as the Sarcophagus Depicting the Labors of Hercules and Lid with Reclining Couple are among the largest sculpted works in marble to survive from ancient Rome.  

“Each of these exceptional sculptures has lived many lives over the centuries,” said Jennifer Casler Price, senior curator of Asian, African, and ancient American art at the Kimbell Art Museum and curator of the exhibition for the Kimbell. “Reaching across space and time, connecting the past with the present, these powerful works still resonate with us today. We are thrilled to be able to share their fascinating stories with our visitors and to bring these magnificent ambassadors from Rome to Texas.”

“Fondazione Torlonia is excited to be sharing the Torlonia Collection with audiences in North America for the first time. This exceptional group of ancient sculptures is a testament to the enduring cultural legacy of ancient Rome, as well as the vision and passion of multiple generations of the Torlonia family,” said Alessandro Poma Murialdo, president of Fondazione Torlonia.

“By sharing these rare masterpieces with the public, Fondazione Torlonia aims to deepen appreciation for and foster a renewed connection with the artistic achievements of the ancient world,” said Carlotta Loverini Botta, director of Fondazione Torlonia. “The universal spirit that has always informed classical art must continue to be nurtured for generations to come. It is a universal language that thrives on the ongoing reinvention of the classics through engagement with modern culture.” 

Portrait of a Man, known as the Old Man of Otricoli 
Roman, late Republican Period (1st century BC) 
Marble 
Torlonia Collection, Rome 
© Fondazione Torlonia. Photo by Lorenzo De Masi

Portrait of Faustina the Younger 
Roman, Imperial Period, Antonine Era (c. 160 AD) 
Marble 
Torlonia Collection, Rome 
© Fondazione Torlonia. Photo by Lorenzo De Masi

Myth and Marble: Ancient Roman Sculpture from the Torlonia Collection is co-organized by the Art Institute of Chicago and Fondazione Torlonia, in collaboration with the Kimbell Art Museum, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, and the Museum Box. 

The 160-page hardcover catalogue includes essays by Lisa Ayla Çakmak, the Mary and Michael Jaharis Chair and Curator, Arts of Greece, Rome, and Byzantium, The Art Institute of Chicago; Katharine A. Raff, the Elizabeth McIlvaine Curator, Arts of Greece, Rome, and Byzantium, The Art Institute of Chicago; Silvia Beltrametti, senior lecturer in the Department of Art History, Theory, and Criticism at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago; and Salvatore Settis, independent art historian. 

KIMBELL ART MUSEUM

3333 Camp Bowie Boulevard, Fort Worth, Texas 76107

kimbellart.org

East Asian Art Rediscovered Treasures @ Cincinnati Art Museum

Rediscovered Treasures 

Cincinnati Art Museum

September 19, 2025 — January 18, 2026

This exhibition reveals the untold stories behind East Asian masterpieces long housed in the Cincinnati Art Museum’s (CAM) collection. Featuring approximately 60 objects—ranging from Japanese armor and Chinese scrolls to Korean lacquer—Rediscovered Treasures brings to light transformative discoveries made possible by decades of scholarship, archival research and conservation efforts. 

While many of the featured works entered the museum in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, they remained un-accessioned or misidentified due to a lack of staff expertise in Asian art at the time. Since 2002, when the museum formally established its Asian art department, ongoing research led by Hou-mei Sung, PhD, Curator of East Asian Art, has dramatically improved the understanding of these objects. Their rediscovery has not only reframed the museum’s collection, but has also illuminated Cincinnati’s early cultural ties to East Asia.

Among the exhibition’s highlights are three exceptional works: the fan-favorite Japanese bronze “magic mirror,” which reveals an image of Amida Buddha under special lighting, making CAM one of the few museums in the world to house such an object; a Qing dynasty portrait of a court lady, identified through research as an imperial portrait of Lady Nian, possibly painted by the Jesuit artist Giuseppe Castiglione; and a Meiji period sumo wrestler’s embroidered apron, recently linked to the tragic career of Otokoyama Osuke, a promising young wrestler immortalized in a ukiyo-e print by Utagawa Kuniaki II. Each piece offers a unique story of rediscovery that enriches the understanding of East Asian art and culture.

“This exhibition is both a reflection of CAM’s mission to preserve and interpret cultural heritage and a celebration of the exciting process of rediscovery,” said Hou-mei Sung. “Many of these works, once overlooked or mislabeled, now tell vibrant stories of art, of individual lives, and of historical connections that extend far beyond Cincinnati.”

The exhibition is organized in three thematic sections. Uncovering Hidden Gems spotlights artworks recovered from storage and newly identified, including Japanese scrolls linked to Cincinnati artist Robert Frederick Blum and samurai armor tied to CAM’s early supporters and a trailblazing Japanese doctor. Revealing Identities feature reclassified works with newly attributed artists, corrected origins and uncovered meanings. Preserving Legacies highlights the scientific and technical efforts behind preserving these treasures, with insights from CAM conservators Cecile Mear and Kelly Rectenwald.

CINCINNATI ART MUSEUM

Thomas R. Schiff galleries (234 and 235)

953 Eden Park Drive, Cincinnati, OH 45202

www.cincinnatiartmuseum.org

Divine Egypt @ Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York - A Landmark Exhibition that Explores Powerful Imagery of the Gods of Ancient Egypt

Divine Egypt 

Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

October 12, 2025 – January 19, 2026

Triad of Osiris, Horus, and Isis 

From Egypt, probably Thebes, Karnak Temple 

Third Intermediate Period, Dynasty 22, reign of Osorkon II 

(about 872–837 BCE) 

Gold inlaid with lapis lazuli. Acquired in 1872 

Paris, Louvre Museum, 

Department of Egyptian Antiquities (E 6204) 

© 2025 GrandPalaisRmn (Louvre Museum)

Photo: Mathieu Rabea 

Divine Egypt at The Metropolitan Museum of Art—the first major exhibition of Egyptian art at the Museum in over a decade—explores how images of gods in ancient Egypt were experienced not merely as spiritual depictions in temples, shrines, and tombs but were the instruments that brought the gods to life for daily worship, offering ancient Egyptians a vital connection between the human and divine worlds. The exhibition brings together over 200 spectacular works of art to examine the imagery associated with the most important deities in ancient Egypt’s complex and always-expanding constellation of gods.

Over more than 3,000 years, the Egyptian people’s belief system grew to include more than 1,500 gods with many overlapping forms and traits. Divine Egypt features impressive works of art, ranging from monumental statues to small elegant figurines in gleaming gold and silver and brilliant blue faience, that represent 25 of ancient Egypt’s principal deities, including the stately falcon-headed Horus, the potentially dangerous lion-headed Sakhmet, the great creator-god Re, and the serene mummiform Osiris. The exhibition will reveal the ways in which subtle visual cues, like what a figure wore, how they posed, or the symbols they carried, helped identify them and their roles.

“Divine Egypt will immerse visitors in the breathtaking imagery of the most formidable ancient deities and expansive universe of the Egyptian gods,” said Max Hollein, The Met’s Marina Kellen French Director and Chief Executive Officer. “The Museum’s galleries for Egyptian art are among the most beloved by our millions of yearly visitors, and this dazzling exhibition brings together some of our most exquisite works with loans from leading global institutions for an exceptional, once-in-a-lifetime exhibition of ancient Egyptian art.”

The exhibition includes magnificent works of ancient Egyptian art that have never been exhibited together before, many of them on loan from institutions such as the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; the Musée du Louvre, Paris; and the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, Copenhagen. There are also over 140 works from The Met’s own iconic Egyptian art collection. Highlights range from impressive sculpture to a striking pectoral in gold and lapis (the substances that the bodies of gods were believed to be made of) to detailed metal and wood sculptures. A solid gold statue of the god Amun will adorn a re-creation of a divine barque, a type of boat that held the principal deity of a temple and would be paraded through the streets during festivals so that people could commune directly with the god. Each section of the exhibition will provide an immersive opportunity to examine the ways in which the kings and people of ancient Egypt recognized and interacted with their gods.

"The ways in which the ancient Egyptian gods were depicted are vastly different from the divine beings in contemporary religions and therefore are intriguing to modern audiences," said Diana Craig Patch, Lila Acheson Wallace Curator in Charge of Egyptian Art. "The identity of an ancient Egyptian god may at first seem easy to recognize but looks can be deceiving, as one form can be shared by many deities. Across more than 3,000 years of history, gods, attributes, roles, and myths were rarely dropped from use, yet the Egyptians of the time had no difficulty understanding and accepting the resulting multiplicity. Through hundreds of spectacular objects, Divine Egypt will allow visitors to understand the complex nature of these deities and help translate the images that were needed to make the inhabitants of the celestial realm available to ancient Egyptians."

By focusing on the imagery associated with many of the most important and powerful deities in ancient Egypt, the exhibition reveals the multifaceted nature of ancient Egyptian religion as well as the ease with which ancient Egyptians connected with their complicated divine landscapes. Some deities deceptively employed the same imagery with the result that one form could be shared by many gods, while in other cases the roles of deities would expand or change over ancient Egypt’s long history, with one god taking on many forms. The evolution of this landscape over time created deities with numerous roles often having a different representation for each manifestation. Hathor, for example, can appear as a cow, a woman wearing a headdress of horns protecting a sun disk, or a human-headed snake, while some gods maintained consistent forms over thousands of years, like Ptah, who is almost always mummiform and wears a cap.

Divine Egypt also looks at how two categories of society interacted differently with the gods: the Pharoah and high priests had access to the gods in daily temple rituals, while non-royal Egyptians were not permitted to enter the inner sanctuaries of the great temples where the deities came to Earth and inhabited their images. Through objects of private devotion, including donations to offering tables and shrines in temples and images of deities found in homes and villages, the people of Egypt could find support from their gods daily.

The exhibition concludes with artifacts relating to the transition to the next life—a reality shared by Egyptians of all rank—with depictions of the gods who together oversaw each person’s passage from this world to the next: chief god of the underworld, Osiris, supported by his sisters, Isis and Nephthys, and Anubis, the canid-headed god who supervises the embalming process.

Divine Egypt is curated by Diana Craig Patch, Lila Acheson Wallace Curator in Charge of Egyptian Art at The Met, with Brendon Hainline, Research Associate, Department of Egyptian Art.

A fully illustrated catalogue will accompany the exhibition.

METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART

The Met Fifth Avenue, The Tisch Galleries, Gallery 899, 2nd floor

www.metmuseum.org

Recasting the Past: The Art of Chinese Bronzes, 1100–1900 @ Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC & Shanghai Museum

Recasting the Past: The Art of Chinese Bronzes, 1100–1900

Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

February 28 – September 28, 2025

Shanghai Museum 

November 12, 2025 – March 16, 2026

Incense burner in the form of a goose, China, 

Ming dynasty (1368–1644), early 15th century. Bronze

H. 14 1/2 in. (36.8 cm); W. 18 3/4 in. (47 6 cm)

Purchase, The Vincent Astor Foundation Gift, 2020 - 2020.335a, b

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Water dropper in the form of a rhinoceros

China, Ming dynasty (1368–1644), 15th century, Bronze

H. 2 1/8 in (5.4 cm); W. 5 in. (12.7 cm); D. 1 7/8 in. (4.8 cm)  

Purchase, The Vincent Astor Foundation Gift, 2015 - 2015.294

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

"Taihe" bell, note "Jiazhong"

China, Song dynasty (960–1279), ca. 1105, reinscribed ca. 1174

Bronze, H. 9 in. (22.8 cm)

Courtesy of the Palace Museum, Beijing

In ancient China, bronze vessels were emblems of ritual and power. A millennium later, in the period from 1100 to 1900, such vessels were rediscovered as embodiments of a long-lost golden age that was worthy of study and emulation. This “return to the past” (fugu) was part of a widespread phenomenon across all the arts to reclaim the virtues of a classical tradition. An important aspect of this phenomenon was the revival of bronze casting as a major art form. Recasting the Past: The Art of Chinese Bronzes, 1100–1900 aims to be the most comprehensive study of Chinese bronzes during this period. This exhibition, co-organized by The Met and the Shanghai Museum, where it will open following its display in New York, presents the new aesthetic represented by these creative adaptations of the past, while exploring their cultural and political significance throughout China’s long history.

“While bronze as an art form has long held a significant role throughout China’s history, this exhibition explores an often-overlooked time period when a resurgence of craftsmanship and artistic achievements revitalized the medium,” said Max Hollein, The Met’s Marina Kellen French Director and Chief Executive Officer. “Bringing together major loans from institutions in China alongside works from The Met collection, this exhibition offers viewers an important opportunity to better understand the lasting aesthetic and cultural impact of bronze objects.”

The exhibition is divided into five thematic and chronological sections that explicate over 200 works of art—an array of bronze vessels complemented by a selection of paintings, ceramics, jades, and other media. Some 100 pieces from The Met collection will be augmented by nearly 100 loans from major institutions in China, Japan, Korea, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, and the United States to present the most comprehensive narrative of the ongoing importance of bronzes as an art medium throughout China’s long history. Featured in the exhibition are around 60 loans from institutions in China, including major works such as a monumental 12th-century bell with imperial procession from the Liaoning Provincial Museum, documented ritual bronzes for Confucian temples from the Shanghai Museum, and luxury archaistic vessels made in the 18th-century imperial workshop from the Palace Museum, Beijing.

Vase with archaistic design

China, Yuan dynasty (1271–1368), 14th century

Bronze, H. 15 1/2 in. (39.4 cm) ; Diam. 8 in. (20.3 cm); 

Diam. of rim 4 3/8 in. (11.1 cm); Diam. of foot 5 5/8 in. (14.3 cm) 

Purchase, Brooke Russell Astor Bequest, 2014 - 2014.449

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Ritual vessel (xizun)

China, Qing dynasty (1644–1911), 

Qianlong mark and period (1736–95)

Bronze, H. 15 3/16 in. (38.6 cm);

Diam. 4 5/16 in. (11 cm); Wt. 36,4 lb (16.5 kg)

Courtesy of the Palace Museum, Beijing

The exhibition begins with the section “Reconstructing Ancient Rites,” which introduces how emperors and scholar-officials commissioned ritual bronzes from the 12th to the 16th century as part of an effort to restore and align themselves with antique ceremonies and rites. The exhibition continues with “Experimenting with Styles,” illustrating how the form, decoration, and function of ancient bronzes were creatively reinterpreted from the 13th to the 15th century. The next section, “Establishing New Standards,” explores further transformations in both the aesthetic and technical direction of bronze making from the 15th to the 17th century. The fourth section, “Living with Bronzes,” features a display in the Ming Furniture Room (Gallery 218) to demonstrate how bronzes were used in literati life from the 16th to the 19th century. The last section, “Harmonizing with Antiquity,” examines how the deep scholarly appreciation of archaic bronzes during the 18th and 19th centuries led to a final flourishing of bronze production.

Pengliang Lu, Brooke Russell Astor Curator of Chinese Art at The Met, said: “This exhibition attempts a long-overdue reevaluation of later Chinese bronzes by seeking to establish a reliable chronology of this art form across the last millennium of Chinese history. The exhibition will also distinguish outstanding works from lesser examples based on their artistic and cultural merits.”

This exhibition provides visitors with a captivating experience as they follow the shifting cultural roles and evolving canons of beauty represented in later bronzes.

Installation view of Recasting the Past: 

The Art of Chinese Bronzes, 1100–1900, 

on view February 28 – September 28, 2025 

at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. 

Photo by Paul Lachenauer, courtesy of The Met

Installation view of Recasting the Past: 

The Art of Chinese Bronzes, 1100–1900, 

on view February 28 – September 28, 2025 

at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. 

Photo by Paul Lachenauer, courtesy of The Met

Installation view of Recasting the Past: 

The Art of Chinese Bronzes, 1100–1900, 

on view February 28 – September 28, 2025 

at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. 

Photo by Paul Lachenauer, courtesy of The Met

Later Chinese bronzes have long been stigmatized as poor imitations of ancient bronzes rather than being seen as fundamentally new creations with their own aesthetic and functional character. This exhibition redresses this misunderstanding by showcasing their artistic virtuosity, innovative creativity, and wide cultural impact. Through archaeologically recovered examples and cross-medium comparisons to a wide range of objects, the exhibition demonstrates the ongoing importance and influence of bronzes as well as how they inspired the form and function of works in other media.

Recasting the Past: The Art of Chinese Bronzes, 1100–1900 is curated by Pengliang Lu, Brooke Russell Astor Curator of Chinese Art at The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

The exhibition is accompanied by a fully illustrated catalogue. A beautiful and very interesting book!

Recasting the Past

The Art of Chinese Bronzes, 1100-1900

by Pengliang Lu

Published by The Metropolitan Museum of Art 

Distributed by Yale University Press

304 pages, 9.50 x 11.20 in, 300 color illus.

Hardcover, 9781588397904, 15 April 2025

METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART

The Met Fifth Avenue, Galleries 209-218

www.metmuseum.org

SHANGHAI MUSEUM

www.shanghaimuseum.net

Michelangelo and Beyond @ ALBERTINA Museum, Vienna - Exhibition + Catalogue

Michelangelo and Beyond

ALBERTINA Museum, Vienna

15 September 2023 - 14 January 2024

Michelangelo Buonarroti

Male Nude Seen from Rear, c. 1504

Black chalk, heightened with white, 20 x 27 cm

The ALBERTINA Museum, Vienna

Michelangelo Buonarroti

Seated Nude Youth and Two Arm Studies, 1510/11 

Red chalk, heightened with white, 28 x 19 cm

The ALBERTINA Museum, Vienna

The master of the Renaissance: Michelangelo is one of a handful of artists whose fame has been unwavering for centuries. Although his art and his ideals are deeply rooted in the attitudes of the time – the heyday of the Renaissance and the progressive 16th century – the impact of his work extends into the present day.

Every century experiences its own Michelangelo Renaissance, and in doing so revives the historic ideal of the perfect male nude developed by the prominent Florence native on an unrivalled scale through his drawings for the incomplete fresco the Battle of Cascina, the Ignudi in the Sistine Chapel and the Dying Slave for the tomb of Pope Julius II.

Michelangelo and Beyond deals with the emergence and the power, the decrease in significance and the decline of a canon – a canon on which Michelangelo and his works made a lasting impression 500 years ago – and how the generations that followed have approached this template since.

The depiction of the human body

The richly populated portfolio of graphic pieces at the ALBERTINA allows for examination of the Michelangelo ideal, which is strikingly conveyed in both his drawings and his sculptures as the athletic and powerful male nude, whose inner tension appears to want to burst out of the body.

The new status of the drawing as its own work of art in the 15th century solidified the artistic concept and the temperament of the artist, and was reflected by the high demand of collectors for these valuable items. The provenance of the drawings by the Renaissance master at the ALBERTINA shows Peter Paul Rubens to be the owner in the 17th century, which highlights the importance of the Italian genius for subsequent generations of artists.

Albrecht Dürer

Adam and Eve, 1504

The ALBERTINA Museum, Vienna

Raffaello Santi 

A Young man Carrying an Old Man, 1514

The ALBERTINA Museum, Vienna

Hendrick Goltzius

The Gret Hercule, 1589

The ALBERTINA Museum, Vienna

Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn 

Naked Woman Seated on a Mound, c. 1631 

The ALBERTINA Museum, Vienna

Egon Schiele 

Nude Self-Portrait, Grimacing, 1910 

The ALBERTINA Museum, Vienna

On the one hand, the classical nude as we encounter it in the drawings in the ALBERTINA Museums’ Collections, from Michelangelo to Raffael and Beccafumi to Bandinelli, da Volterra and Salviati, always strives for the harmonious balance between generic formulas like standardised poses, the study of the anatomy according to ancient sculptures or the full-scale outline of body parts according to the formalised proportions of the Vitruvian man, and emulating nature on the other hand.

With their opposing positions, artists Rembrandt and Rubens shape the Baroque period. Rubens deals with the real, living model and brings back ancient nakedness in a new guise.

Rembrandt, on the other hand, doesn’t shy away from portraying the ugliness of the authentic body, of people in their impermanence and weakness. In doing so, he strikes a harsh contrast with the athletic body of Buonarroti.

In Classicism, the image of the beautiful and muscular naked male body continues. Almost 200 years after the death of Florence’s master, the Michelangelesque canon finds its sequel in the prevalent depiction of the ideal nude. The painters of the time, such as Anton Raphael Mengs or Pompeo Girolamo Batoni, create works that return to Michelangelo with their precision in shaping the musculature, the portrayal of complicated poses and perspective foreshortening contingent on complex postures. They are particularly reminiscent of his superlative drawings, associated with works like the Battle of Cascina or the ceiling fresco in the Sistine Chapel.

Just as slavishly and anachronistically, artists in the time of Klimt and Schiele imitate the heroic, athletic design, but more outwardly, superficially, without the intellectual depth of Buonarroti. This canon, shaped by Michelangelo, finally reaches its peak, as the depiction of the male nude as a symbol of a heroic individual finds increasingly diminishing resonance in modern society.

The exhibition bears the historic sign that for centuries, only men drew men, and women were also only drawn by men. A man defined the canon of the male nude to the extent of that of the female nude. Michelangelo himself drew very few naked women, instead lending the male body a feminine grace.

A woman in art is like the dark side of the moon: you know it exists, but it’s terra incognita. In a few typical examples from the 17th and 18th centuries, the exhibition displays the unrealistic ideal of the woman. For a long time, the depiction of a naked woman was discriminated against and discredited for identifying with vices, immorality and sexual instincts. The immorality of women leads to death and sin in the form of Eve; the sexual instinct of Luxuria appears vain and naked. The virtuous are largely cloaked in flowing robes. The antithesis of virtuously veiled women describes the naked woman as a female force, as a witch, as a seductive Venus.

The outlook at the end of the exhibition has been chosen as an example. It represents a century in which Michelangelo’s canon has lost its authority and devotes itself to the opposition between Secessionist beauty by means of Gustav Klimt’s curvy ideal of the woman and the ugliness and pathologizing of the first nude not robbed of its sexuality by Egon Schiele.

Curators: 

Klaus Albrecht Schröder, Achim Gnann, Eva Michel, Martina Pippal, Constanze Malissa

Michelangelo and beyond

Editors: Eva Michel and Klaus Albrecht Schröder

Published by Prestel Verlag, 2023

English & German, 264 pages, 28,5 x 24,5 cm, Hardcover

ISBN: 9783791391168

Accompanying the exhibition Michelangelo and Beyond an exhibition catalogue of the same title is published. On 264 pages numerous contributions examine the rediscovery of the ancient Greco-Roman idea of the ideal body by Michelangelo, as well as his influence on artists far beyond his time into the 20th century. Through emulation, evolution or absolute rejection of Michelangelo’s ideal, artists like Raffael, Dürer, Rembrandt, Rubens, Klimt and Schiele developed their own perceptions of the body.

The ALBERTINA Museum

Albertinaplatz 1 - 1010 Vienna

www.albertina.at

Joseon White Porcelain @ Leeum Museum of Art, Seoul

Joseon White Porcelain: Paragon of Virtue 

Leeum Museum of Art, Seoul 

February 28 - May 28, 2023 

Leeum Museum of Art presents the first special exhibition, on ceramics in the history of Leeum, Joseon White Porcelain: Paragon of Virtue. It is organized for the express purpose of bringing together all of the diverse types of Joseon white porcelain in a single place. Because there are so many varieties of Joseon white porcelain, as well as many extant works, it has typically been presented in thematic exhibitions or displays focusing on individual forms or decorative techniques. While such exhibitions and projects are very meaningful in providing an in-depth understanding of certain types or categories, they have thus far precluded any attempt to comprehensively examine the full spectrum of Joseon white porcelain. Notably, the development and modification of Joseon white porcelain over time directly reflects the ups and downs of the society as a whole. Hence, white porcelain can serve as a fascinating lens for examining the entire history of the Joseon Dynasty and the minds of its people.

In order to allow various details to be easily distinguished, this exhibition has been roughly divided into three sections: blue-and-white porcelain, white porcelain in iron-brown or copper-red underglaze, and monochrome white porcelain. With the exception of blue-and-white porcelain, which was generally the highest quality white porcelain of the time, the other two types were produced in kilns throughout the country. Therefore, the displays in those sections have also been subdivided between porcelains produced by the official kilns (near the capital) and by regional kilns.

Through the triumph and turmoil of the full 500-year history of the Joseon Dynasty, numerous white porcelains were steadily produced by each region, which now serve as a mirror for their respective time period. Containing both tradition and innovation, elegance and humor, contraction and expansion, the legacy of Joseon white porcelain cannot be easily described or summarized in a few words. Seeking the best way to approach this quandary, Leeum thought about the society that produced and used these white porcelains in everyday life. Taking another look at the white porcelains featured in this exhibition, it is reminded of the “gunja,” or “superior person,” who manifests the highest virtues and ideals of Neo-Confucianism.

From the time of its founding, Joseon established a centralized system of government based on Neo-Confucianism, which became deeply rooted throughout the country as the fundamental state ideology. By practicing self-cultivation based on their study of Neo-Confucianism, the people of Joseon ultimately aspired to transcend their individual lives and become like the gunja, the model of Neo-Confucian virtue. As this exhibition shows, the physical embodiment of that virtue was white porcelain.

Showcasing the myriad facets of Joseon white porcelain, which widely vary depending on the time period, production site, and decorative technique, Joseon White Porcelain: Paragon of Virtue seeks to move beyond mere aesthetic appreciation by illuminating the conception of the gunja that the people of Joseon sought to emulate. To this end, the exhibition not only introduces a dazzling array of Joseon white porcelains, ranging from the highest quality ceramic treasures to everyday household items used by ordinary citizens, but also describes how these vessels epitomize the fundamental principles of Joseon society. As such, our hope is that the exhibition will open a new horizon for the overall perception of Joseon white porcelain.

LEEUM MUSEUM OF ART

60-16, Itaewon-ro 55-gil, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, 04348

www.leeumhoam.org

Vittore Carpaccio @ NGA, Washington DC - Master Storyteller of Renaissance Venice, National Gallery of Art

Vittore Carpaccio 

Master Storyteller of Renaissance Venice 

National Gallery of Art, Washington 

November 20, 2022 – February 12, 2023

Vittore Carpaccio

Virgin Reading, c. 1510

Oil on canvas transferred from panel

Overall: 78 x 51 cm (30 11/16 x 20 1/16 in.)

Framed: 119.7 x 86.4 x 10 cm (47 1/8 x 34 x 3 15/16 in.)

National Gallery of Art, Washington, Samuel H. Kress Collection

Vittore Carpaccio

The Flight into Egypt, c. 1516/ 1518

Oil on panel

Painted surface: 72 x 111 cm (28 3/8 x 43 11/16 in.)

National Gallery of Art, Washington, Andrew W. Mellon Collection

A leading figure in the art of Renaissance Venice, Vittore Carpaccio (c. 1460/1466–1525/1526) is best known for his large, spectacular narrative paintings that brought sacred history to life. Celebrated in his native city of Venice for centuries, beloved for his observant eye, fertile imagination, and storytelling prowess, Carpaccio remains little known in the U.S.—except as a namesake culinary dish, "Steak Carpaccio.”

Vittore Carpaccio: Master Storyteller of Renaissance Venice is set to establish the artist’s reputation among American visitors with this, his first retrospective ever held outside Italy. Some 45 paintings and 30 drawings will include large-scale canvases painted for Venice’s charitable societies and churches alongside smaller works that decorated the homes of prosperous Venetians. The exhibition is organized by the National Gallery and Musei Civici di Venezia, also the organizers of the 2019 exhibition Tintoretto: Artist of Renaissance Venice.

“The National Gallery of Art is pleased to partner, once again, with the Musei Civici di Venezia, this time to introduce American audiences to a lesser-known protagonist of the Venetian Renaissance, Vittore Carpaccio,” said Kaywin Feldman, director, National Gallery of Art. “Our visitors will be delighted by Carpaccio’s vivid and dynamic paintings that bring to life Venice in the 15th and 16th centuries. Through his masterful storytelling, Carpaccio illustrated the maritime empire during a fascinating period when it was a cultural crossroads between West and East. We are grateful to the many museums, churches, and collectors who have generously lent their works to share with the public in this historic exhibition.”

Several paintings have been newly conserved for the exhibition. Two of Carpaccio’s best-known canvases from the Scuola degli Schiavoni were treated with the support of Save Venice, the organization dedicated to the preservation of the city’s cultural heritage: Saint Augustine in His Study (shortly after 1502)and Saint George and the Dragon (c. 1504–1507). Other treatments uncover discoveries about the original compositions. National Gallery conservator Joanna Dunn’s treatment of the museum’s Virgin Reading (c. 1505) reveals a baby Jesus previously hidden beneath a later repainting that sought to disguise where the painting had been cut down centuries ago.

The two paintings from the Scuola degli Schiavoni are among several works never before exhibited outside Italy, including the full, six-painting narrative cycle, Life of the Virgin (c. 1502–1508) made for the Scuola di Santa Maria degli Albanesi. The exhibition also includes the reunification of Fishing and Fowling on the Lagoon (c. 1492/1494)from the J. Paul Getty Museum and Two Women on a Balcony (c. 1492/1494) from Venice’s Museo Correr—two paintings that likely adorned a folding door.

Vittore Carpaccio: Master Storyteller of Renaissance Venice begins in the West Building’s West Garden Court with a special installation of Fishing and Fowling on the Lagoon (c. 1492/1494)and Two Women on a Balcony (c. 1492/1494). The two compositions were painted on the same panel of wood but were likely cut in half in the 1700s. When seen together, the paintings tell the story of two women sitting on a balcony while their husbands enjoy a day of sport on the Venetian lagoon. The panels are believed to have decorated folding doors that led into a domestic space in a Venetian palace. Here, they lead visitors into the exhibition.

The exhibition continues with an emphasis on Carpaccio’s innovations in Venetian painting. Early examples of private devotional paintings by the artist include Virgin and Child with the Young Saint John the Baptist (c. 1493–1496) from Germany’s Städel Museum, a unique depiction of the Virgin and Child as aristocratic Venetians of the 15th century. Another highlight of the exhibition is the reunification of the complete cycle of six canvases depicting the life of the Virgin Mary made for the Scuola di Santa Maria degli Albanesi. Carpaccio sets the story in Venice of his own day, blending details of Venetian architecture, furniture, and clothing with elements that evoke Jerusalem. Carpaccio also transposed scenes from classical mythology to contemporary Venice in other works like Departure of Ceyx from Alcyone (c. 1498/1503) from the collection of The National Gallery, London.

The exhibition includes examples from the three extant narrative cycles that Carpaccio was commissioned to create. His final narrative cycle made for the Scuola di Santo Stefano is represented by Ordination of Saint Stephen (1511) from the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Gemäldegalerie. Among the largest works in the exhibition is the Lion of Saint Mark (1516) from the Fondazione Musei Civici di Venezia, Palazzo Ducale. Spanning more than twelve feet, the painting shows the traditional symbol of Venice, a winged lion. The lion stands half in the sea and half on land, alluding to the vast sea-faring empire.

Carpaccio pioneered narrative subjects in altarpieces. The Martyrdom of the Ten Thousand Christians on Mount Ararat (1515) from the Gallerie dell’Accademia, Venice, was created to decorate the altar of the Ottobon family in the church of Sant’Antonio di Castello, which no longer exists. Its original context can be seen in another painting, Vision of Prior Francesco Ottobon (c. 1513), from the Gallerie dell’Accademia.

More of Carpaccio’s drawings survive than those of any other Venetian painter of his generation. Outstanding works on their own, the drawings include rough sketches for paintings presented in the exhibition, along with meticulous preparatory drawings for paintings too large to travel for this show. Preparatory drawings for a narrative cycle of the Life of Saint Ursula for the Scuola di Sant’Orsola, the artist’s first major commission, include a remarkable double-sided drawing Head of a Young Woman in Profile/Head of a Young Woman in Three-Quarter View (c. 1488–1489) from the collection of the Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford.

Finally, an interpretive and reading room features View of Venice (1500), a remarkable woodcut by Jacopo de’ Barbari. Drawn from the National Gallery’s collection, the six-sheet print details Venice as it appeared in Carpaccio’s day and shows the thousands of buildings, squares, canals, bridges, gardens, and sculptures that filled the bustling city-state.

Exhibition Catalog

Copublished by the National Gallery of Art and Yale University Press, this 340-page illustrated catalog features essays by curators Peter Humfrey and Andrea Bellini along with contributions by other leading scholars exploring the full range of Carpaccio’s artistry and presenting new research on the extraordinary artist. Sara Menato of the Fondo Ambiente Italia analyzes extensively Carpaccio’s drawings. Susannah Rutherglen, independent scholar and former exhibitions research assistant at the National Gallery of Art, illuminates Carpaccio’s narrative paintings for the Venetian confraternities known as scuole. Professor Deborah Howard, St. John’s College, Cambridge, explores the artist’s rendering of architecture. Professor Catherine Whistler of the Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology, Oxford, offers her insights on Carpaccio as draftsman. Joanna Dunn, conservator at the National Gallery of Art, reveals elements of the artist’s pictorial technique. Professor Linda Borean, Department of Humanities and Cultural Patrimony, University of Udine, Italy, offers a historical perspective on early collectors and critics of Carpaccio. Andrea Bellieni of the Fondazione Musei Civici di Venezia shares his insights on the modern understanding of Carpaccio that began in the 19th century.

Vittore Carpaccio: Master Storyteller of Renaissance Venice is organized by the National Gallery of Art and Musei Civici di Venezia. The exhibition will be presented at Palazzo Ducale, Venice, March 18, 2023 – June 18, 2023.

The exhibition is curated by Peter Humfrey, internationally recognized scholar of 15th- and 16th-century Venetian painting and Professor Emeritus of art history at the University of St Andrews, Scotland, in collaboration with Andrea Bellieni, curator at the Musei Civici di Venezia, and Gretchen Hirschauer, curator of Italian and Spanish painting at the National Gallery of Art.

NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART, WASHINGTON, DC

www.nga.gov