The Art Institute of Chicago collaborated with New York’s Museum of Modern Art to create afascinating exploration of Matisse’s art during a short, prolific period of hiscareer. The exhibition “Matisse: Radical Invention, 1913-1917” (through June20) presents nearly 120 artworks from this era when Matisse pushed his creativeprocess into more extreme experimentation.
The exhibition includesdrawings, paintings and works on paper combined with sculptures obtained frominternational collections. This includes Matisse’s famous Bathers By a River, a painting that comes close to Cubism andperhaps reflects the artist’s response to World War I.
A lecture titled “HenriMatisse and the Methods of Modern Construction” takes place at the ArtInstitute on April 8 at 6 p.m. Additional overviews are scheduled at noon onApril 13 and May 18.
Four hundred yearsearlier, in 1516, Raphael painted LaDonna Velata (The Woman With the Veil).The High Renaissance painter’smagnificent portrait is brought to the MilwaukeeArt Museum (MAM) in a one-work exhibition titled “Raphael: The Woman Withthe Veil” (through June 6). Transported to MAM’s Koss Gallery from the PalazzoPitti in Florence, Italy, this temporary acquisitiongives Milwaukeeans a rare chance to study Raphael’s interpretation of idyllicbeauty.
Modern culture mayrecognize Raphael for the tousled-hair putti staring up into the clouds of hiswondrous, widely printed The SistineMadonna. The robust and realistic features in these two cherubic facestranslate to the woman in Raphael’s later, even more stunning portrait.
The Woman With the Veil is thought to depict the same woman inRaphael’s partially nude La Fornarina.It’s a woman the painter obviously regarded with affection, as demonstrated inthe tender placement and rendering of her hand.
The Woman With the Veil, an approximately 2-by-3-foot sensuousdepiction of earthly loveliness, demonstrates Raphael’s “improvisation on onenote,” or the multiple gradations of white that appear in the woman’s gown andveiling. The embellishments to her bracelet, hair ornament and ribbon pincontain marvelous detail. Surrounded by an atmospheric chiaroscuro that Raphaellearned from his contemporary, Leonardo da Vinci, the light and shadow in theportrait exemplify perfection in technique.
Raphael’s talent allowedhim to become one of the first art celebrities during his short life (he diedat 37 years of age). Programming for the exhibition includes a closer look atRaphael’s importance to High Renaissance culture with a gallery talk on April 6and a lecture on April 11 titled “Amore: Art and Love in Renaissance Italy.”
MAM will also host itsannual “Art in Bloom: A Tribute to Art and Flowers.” The grand opening takesplace Thursday, April 8, at 5:30 p.m. with a preview of area florists whocreate their own masterpieces inspired by the MAM’s collection. A marketplaceand open studio offer a great way for people of all ages to celebrate spring.Some lectures and presentations require advanced reservations. “Art in Bloom”continues through Sunday, April 11.
