Vol. 32, no.2
While widely celebrated
for its holdings of French Impressionist paintings, the Art Institute
of Chicago also developed an important collection of works by the Old
Masters—leading European artists of the 15th through 18th
centuries—very early in its history. This issue of Museum Studies
explores our curators’ continued passion for the Old Masters by focusing
on a series of splendid recent acquisitions that have added to the
breadth and depth of the museum’s holdings and by highlighting new
discoveries about objects that have been in the Art Institute for many
years.
Curator and guest editor Larry J. Feinberg
offers a brief introductory essay on the history of the museum’s
Old Master collection, followed by five articles that present new
scholarship on a fascinating range of works. Written by a team of Art
Institute curators and scholars, these include a recently rediscovered
Nativity by Fra Bartolommeo; a late-15th-century Hispano-Flemish
sculpture of Saint Michael and the Devil; a pair of early 18th-century tapestries designed by the French artist Charles Le
Brun; and a stunning group of works by Charles-Antoine Coypel,
Jean-Baptiste Perronneau, and Maurice Quentin de La Tour, the
preeminent pastelists of 18th-century France. Beautifully
illustrated, elegantly designed, and accessibly written, this issue,
like the objects it showcases, will intrigue all those interested in
the Art Institute and the treasures it contains.
The Art Institute of Chicago, 2006
8 3/8 x 10 1/4 in.; 96 pages; 102 illustrations (53 color)
Softcover
$16.95 ISBN 0-300-11951-8
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