Category: Collection

From the Collection—German Renaissance Mirror

Post author By Catherine Sawinski
Post date January 25, 2013
1 Comment on From the Collection—German Renaissance Mirror

In the manner of David Altenstetter Augsburg, Germany, d. 1617. Mirror, ca. 1600. Enamel, silver, and gilt. Milwaukee Art Museum, Purchase, with funds from Avis Martin Heller in honor of the Fine Arts Society. Photo credit John R. Glembin.

Late last year, the Milwaukee Art Museum acquired a truly one-of-a-kind object: a Renaissance mirror that is on display in Gallery #2.

Created around 1600 in the metalworking center of Augsburg, Germany, it demonstrates the technical skill and fantastic design indicative of the region. The mount includes cherubs, mythological figures, and foliate designs that masterfully come together in one fabulous whole. These decorative elements are most likely based upon contemporary books published by German artists, which in turn are Renaissance in style because they draw inspiration from antiquity.

In particular, the basse-taille technique (when colored glass fills a pattern engraved or carved into the metal), which is used on the inner frame, makes this mirror a rare object. This high-quality version of the enamel was pioneered by the Augsburg goldsmith David Altenstetter (ca. 1547-1617). Only a handful of objects in museums world-wide incorporate this type of enamel-work, which puts the Museum in the company of institutions such as the Wallace Collection in London and the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna.

Tags German Renaissance, McElheny, mirror history, mirrors, mirrors in art

Art Collection Curatorial European

From the Collection— “Meissen in Winter” by Ernst Ferdinand Oehme

Post author By Catherine Sawinski
Post date December 19, 2012
3 Comments on From the Collection— “Meissen in Winter” by Ernst Ferdinand Oehme

Ernst Ferdinand Oehme (German, 1797–1855), Meissen in Winter, 1854. Oil on canvas; 27 x 23 in. Milwaukee Art Museum, Gift of the René von Schleinitz Foundation M1962.105. Photo credit P. Richard Eells. — Ernst Ferdinand Oehme (German, 1797–1855), Meissen in Winter, 1854. Detail. Oil on canvas; 27 x 23 in. Milwaukee Art Museum, Gift of the René von Schleinitz Foundation M1962.105. Photo credit P. Richard Eells.

Speaking of the holidays, one of my favorite paintings in the Museum Collection is Meissen in Winter by German artist Ernst Ferdinand Oehme. Oehme (pronounced EHR-ma) shows us a snowy street in the German town, with the church tower silhouetted against the dusky sky, and a single star shining brightly.

I’ve seen many evenings like this in Wisconsin!

A few inhabitants have braved the cold, crisp air in this Meissen scene: a couple is talking a walk, a man makes his way up the hill, and a gentleman in the foreground has stopped to gaze up at a brightly lit bay window with a cheerfully decorated Christmas tree shown in the detail at left.

The holiday scene is subtle, quiet and calm—and clearly chilly—but I think that the happy glow of that window and the hopeful promise of the single star in the darkening sky are reassuring in what could be a desolate winter scene.

I see hope in that star, and spirit.

Tags Caspar David Friedrich, Christmas, Ernst Ferdinand Oehme, European art, genre, German Art, Holidays, painting, Romanticism

20th and 21st Century Design American Art Collection Curatorial Modern

Lewandowski’s Mosaic Mural at the Milwaukee County War Memorial Center

Post author By Mel Buchanan
Post date November 23, 2012
8 Comments on Lewandowski’s Mosaic Mural at the Milwaukee County War Memorial Center

Milwaukee County War Memorial Center. Image courtesy www.warmemorialcenter.org. — Milwaukee County War Memorial Center. Image courtesy http://www.warmemorialcenter.org.

Though the soaring wings of the dramatic Santiago Calatrava building sometimes steal the show, the Milwaukee Art Museum’s Quadracci Pavilion is just one of two internationally significant architectural gems here on the Museum campus.

The other is the bold Saarinen masterpiece 1957 Milwaukee County War Memorial Center.

Modernist architect Eero Saarinen (American, b. Finland 1910–1961) is known for dramatic design accomplishments like the St. Louis Gateway Arch (1965), JFK Airport’s TWA Flight Center terminal (1962), and the iconic “Tulip chair” (1955). He took over the Milwaukee County War Memorial Center commission at the death of his father, Eliel Saarinen (Finnish, 1873–1950). The designs called for an arts complex that would “Honor the Dead by Serving the Living,” including a museum, performing arts center, and veterans’ memorial.

On the western facade of Saarinen’s Modernist concrete, steel, and glass floating cruciform is a purple and blue tile mosaic. You probably see this mural best when driving toward the building on Mason Street.

I had been working in this stunning building for several years before I finally paused to ask: What is that mosaic? What do the letters mean? Who is the artist?

Tags architecture, Edmund Lewandowski, Eero Saarinen, mosaic, mural, Precisionists, War Memorial Center

Art Collection Curatorial European

From the Collection—Connections with Kenwood House

Post author By Catherine Sawinski
Post date November 20, 2012
No Comments on From the Collection—Connections with Kenwood House

John Hoppner (English, 1758–1810), Portrait of Jane Emma Orde, ca. 1806. Oil on canvas; 30 1/8 x 25 7/16 in. (76.52 x 64.61 cm). Milwaukee Art Museum, Bequest of Josephine S. McGeoch in Memory of her husband, Gordon McGeoch M1983.197 Photo credit John R. Glembin

Through January 13, 2013, the Milwaukee Art Museum will have on display 48 fantastic paintings by some of the most important artists in history. Rembrandt, Van Dyck, Gainsborough: Treasures from the Kenwood House, London is a great opportunity to see art that usually resides across the Atlantic Ocean in England.

But did you know that there are some works by these same artists in the Museum’s permanent collection?

Tags Edwin Landseer, Gainsborough, John Hoppner, Kenwood House, London, prints, Rembrandt, Thomas Gainsborough, Van Dyck

20th and 21st Century Design Art Collection Education Events

Connecting the Dots

Grete Marks, Tea Service, ca. 1930. Milwaukee Art Museum, Purchase, by exchange. Photo by John R. Glembin.

Let’s begin with three seemingly disparate thoughts.

One: Since I started working here at the Museum as the Team Coordinator for the Kohl’s Color Wheels art education outreach program in August, I have seen over 25,000 people while out in the community. As you can imagine, the idea of the accessibility of art has definitely been on my mind.

Two: As part of the Museum community, last month, I had the chance to see two lectures in one day: one on the German potter Grete Marks, given by Mel Buchanan, the Assistant Curator of 20th Century Design at the Museum; the other about the creative process at Pixar Animation Studios, given by Dan Holland, a sketch artist there. It made my day.

Three: I also teach freshmen at MIAD. One of my classes focuses on discussing the philosophical and practical underpinnings of these young artists’ budding visual practices. The other day my students started an impromptu discussion about Felix Baumgartner jumping from the stratosphere. It was a great class.

So, where am I going with all of this? Let me explain.

Tags artmaking, education, Kohl's Art Generation

American Art Collection Curatorial

From the Collection: Wisconsin Crazy Quilt

Post author By Milwaukee Art Museum
Post date November 2, 2012
No Comments on From the Collection: Wisconsin Crazy Quilt

My grandmother made about a dozen quilts in her lifetime and having them around so much as a kid, I sort of took them for granted.

Before I worked at the Museum as an intern, I visited the Milwaukee Art Museum’s exhibition American Quilts: Selections from the Winterthur Collection in the summer of 2010. As many exhibitions of material culture tend to do, the display gave me a new appreciation for artforms that had surrounded me my whole life. I saw my grandmother’s craft in a new way, and as someone who just a few years ago mastered sewing on a button, the awe I feel for the craftsmanship is possibly only outdone by the respect I feel for the artistry of quilt making.

Tags American Art, American Quilts, college intern, textiles, Wisconsin art

Art Collection Curatorial European

Mythology at the Milwaukee Art Museum–Part 2

Post author By Catherine Sawinski
Post date October 2, 2012
1 Comment on Mythology at the Milwaukee Art Museum–Part 2

Corrado Giaquinto (Italian, 1703–1766), The Triumph of Galatea, ca. 1752. Oil on canvas; 33 1/2 x 48 1/2 in. Milwaukee Art Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Myron Laskin M1970.68.2 Photo credit Larry Sanders. — Corrado Giaquinto (Italian, 1703–1766), The Triumph of Galatea, ca. 1752. Detail. Oil on canvas; 33 1/2 x 48 1/2 in. Milwaukee Art Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Myron Laskin M1970.68.2 Photo credit Larry Sanders.

In my August post for the Museum’s blog, Mythology at the Milwaukee Art Museum-Part 1, I focused on some great examples of Classical mythological figures in the Museum’s Collection—hopefully with the result that you will be able to identify those characters the next time you see them.

This month, I am going to explore another aspect of mythology in art. (Don’t worry, we’ll still learn how to identify a myth or two.) But we’ll also see that classical mythology can be both straightforward and convoluted at the same time.

First, let’s start with a basic question: what is “myth”?

There is a lot of scholarship on the definition and meaning of myth in disciplines such as anthropology.

Tags Ancient Art, European art, Mythology

Art Art News Collection Contemporary

Warhol, Warhol, Everywhere a Warhol

Post author By Chelsea Emelie Kelly
Post date September 20, 2012
No Comments on Warhol, Warhol, Everywhere a Warhol

Everybody loves Andy Warhol! Who isn’t immediately attracted to the bright colors, crisp lines, and repetition in Andy Warhol’s artwork? Not to mention the fact that Warhol himself was such a character, playing with the art world, celebrity, and fame.

One of Warhol’s most iconic images, that of the Campbell’s Soup Can, is now available for mass-market purchase. For 75 cents. That’s right. 75 cents for your very own piece of Andy Warhol art history!

Tags Andy Warhol, Campbell's, Consumerism, Soup

Art Collection Curatorial European

Mythology at the Milwaukee Art Museum–Part 1

Post author By Catherine Sawinski
Post date August 17, 2012
6 Comments on Mythology at the Milwaukee Art Museum–Part 1

Sofonisba Anguissola (Italian, 1532–1625) The Artist's Sister Minerva Anguissola, ca. 1564 Oil on canvas 33 1/2 x 26 in. (85.09 x 66.04 cm) Layton Art Collection, Gift of the Family of Mrs. Frederick Vogel, Jr. L1952.1 Photo credit P. Richard Eells — Detail of Athena pendant. Sofonisba Anguissola, The Artist’s Sister Minerva Anguissola, ca. 1564. Layton Art Collection. Full image below.

It’s hard to study art and not learn something about classical mythology. The gods and heroes of ancient Greece and Rome are not only prevalent in ancient art (as in the Museum’s two Greek Hydria), but in later periods such as the Renaissance (which saw a “rebirth” of classical antiquity, which you can see in our Orpheus Clock) and the Neoclassical era (a perfect example is Hiram Powers’ Proserpine).

So, for the next two months, I want to take you on a tour of the Museum Collection with mythology as our theme. And what’s fun about myth is that once you learn some of the basics in iconography, or the standard in how figures and stories are depicted, you’ll be able to recognize it in other works at other museums, and even in daily walks around your city or shopping mall.

Tags athena, Atlas, Dutch art, European art, Hercules, mars, Renaissance, venus

20th and 21st Century Design American Art Collection Curatorial

New Installation of George Mann Niedecken objects

Post author By Mel Buchanan
Post date July 20, 2012
2 Comments on New Installation of George Mann Niedecken objects

Installation shot of Museum's lower level George Mann Niedecken installation. Photo by the author. — Installation shot of Museum’s lower level George Mann Niedecken installation. Photo by the author.

Milwaukee in the early 1900s was a wealthy city known for its manufacturing—including beer, leather, steam engines, and metal machinery.

Milwaukee’s industrialists brought cutting-edge technology to their businesses, and a few brought cutting-edge design into their homes.

For a new look, they could turn to interior architect George Mann Niedecken (American, 1878–1945), who revolutionized the upper-class homes in Milwaukee with a step forward from the cluttered interiors of the Victorian era.

The Museum collection has a wealth of drawings, objects, and archival information about our hometown designer that famously collaborated with Frank Lloyd Wright.

Recently, to honor the addition of several fantastic new artworks to the Museum’s Niedecken collection, a new installation was put together on the Museum’s lower level.

What’s the story?

Tags 20th century design, American Art, Arts & Crafts Movement, Frank Lloyd Wright, George Mann Niedecken, Mae E. Demmer Charitable Trust, Milwaukee, Vienna Secession