Category: Curatorial

From the Collection–Andrea Locatelli’s Landscapes

Post author By Catherine Sawinski
Post date October 14, 2014
1 Comment on From the Collection–Andrea Locatelli’s Landscapes

A number of artists featured in the special exhibition Of Heaven and Earth: 500 Years of Italian Painting from Glasgow Museums are represented in the collection of the Milwaukee Art Museum. This is the second in a series of blog posts that will highlight Milwaukee’s paintings during the run of the exhibition.

Andrea Locatelli (Italian, 1695–1741), Landscape with a River and a Group of Figures Near A Roman Altar, ca. 1730. Oil on canvas. Milwaukee Art Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. William D. Kyle, Sr. M1967.126. Photo credit: John R. Glembin.

Imagine it is the early 18th century. You are an Italian noble and need to decorate your villa. Who do you hire to make some paintings for you?

For many, the answer would have been Andrea Locatelli (Italian, 1695-1741). He’s not a household name today, but during his lifetime, Locatelli was famous. The venerable Colonna family of Rome, who were great art patrons, owned 80 of his paintings!

The Milwaukee Art Museum has a lovely pair of paintings from Locatelli’s late career: Landscape with a River and Group of Figures Near A Roman Altar and Mountainous Landscape with Shepherds and Animals.

Tags 18th Century Art, Andrea Locatelli, Collection, European art, From the Collection, Of Heaven and Earth

Art Collection Curatorial European Exhibitions

From the Collection–Antonio Balestra’s The Meeting of Telemachus and Calypso

Post author By Catherine Sawinski
Post date October 7, 2014
No Comments on From the Collection–Antonio Balestra’s The Meeting of Telemachus and Calypso

A number of artists featured in the special exhibition Of Heaven and Earth: 500 Years of Italian Painting from Glasgow Museums are represented in the collection of the Milwaukee Art Museum. This is the first in a series of blog posts that will highlight Milwaukee’s paintings during the run of the exhibition.

Antonio Balestra (Italian, 1666–1740), The Meeting of Telemachus and Calypso, ca. 1700. Oil on canvas. Milwaukee Art Museum, bequest of Eliza Eliot Fitch M1955.3. Photo credit: Larry Sanders.

Active in the very end of the 17th century and the first part of the 18th century, Antonio Balestra was an Italian painter of the “late Baroque.”

What does that mean? Well, it means that he worked during a time of transition between the theatrical narratives and dramatic light and shadow of the high Baroque (think Caravaggio) and the bright, elegant style called Rococo (think Tiepolo).

Tags 18th Century Art, Collection, European art, Exhibitions, Of Heaven and Earth

Art Collection Curatorial European Prints and Drawings

From the Collection–Dancer Holding her Right Foot in her Right Hand by Edgar Degas

Post author By Milwaukee Art Museum
Post date September 23, 2014
No Comments on From the Collection–Dancer Holding her Right Foot in her Right Hand by Edgar Degas

Edgar Degas (French, 1834–1917), Dancer Holding Her Right Foot in Her Right Hand [Danseuse tenant son pied droit dans la main droit], ca. 1904; cast 1919–20. Bronze. Purchase, Bradley Conservation Endowment Fund M1984.70. Photo credit: John R. Glembin.

Though many of his formal principles are similar, Edgar Degas (1834–1917) stands out from the other major Impressionists because of his decision to depict urban spaces and the people that inhabit them, rather than natural landscapes. Arguably Degas’ most famous subject is the Parisian Opéra and its ballet dancers.

Tags 19th Century Art, 20th century art, Collection, Edgar Degas, European art, From the Collection, Women in art

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

Dandelions and Deck Chairs: Harry Bertoia

Post author By Milwaukee Art Museum
Post date August 26, 2014
2 Comments on Dandelions and Deck Chairs: Harry Bertoia

Harry Bertoia (American, b. Italy, 1915–1978), Dandelion, 1970. Gold-plated bronze and beryllium. Milwaukee Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Harry Lynde Bradley M1975.131. Photo credit: P. Richard Eells. © 2010 Estate of Harry Bertoia / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

Now that it’s finally starting to feel like summer, let’s talk about dandelions. Sure, they’re technically weeds, and you probably don’t want them taking over your lawn. But it’s fun to make wishes on the white puffy ones, even if it does scatter seeds and just increases the dandelion population exponentially.

Tags Decorative Arts, Harry Bertoia, sculpture

Behind the Scenes Curatorial

MAM Behind the Scenes: Tanya Paul, Curator of European Art

Post author By Emma Fallone
Post date July 1, 2014
4 Comments on MAM Behind the Scenes: Tanya Paul, Curator of European Art

Tanya Paul, Isabel and Alfred Bader Curator of European Art

This is the fourth in a series of blog posts highlighting a variety of different positions within the Milwaukee Art Museum. Each day, hundreds of visitors enter the Milwaukee Art Museum to stare in awe at the incredible wealth of artworks within the museum’s collection. But what can too often go unrecognized is the equally awe-inspiring work of the many museum staff members, without whom the museum in its current state could not exist. “MAM Behind the Scenes” is a blog series written by Digital Learning intern Emma Fallone to showcase the wide range of positions that make up a museum, and to reveal just a few of the many people whose work makes the Milwaukee Art Museum a source of inspiration and education.

Can you give a brief description of your job, in thirty seconds or less?

As a curator, I do many different things. I work on everything from research and building the permanent collection, to working on exhibitions, to the display of the permanent collection–and that’s one of the big projects we’re working on now, the renovation and re-installation of the collection.

Tags curator, interview, MAM Behind the Scenes, museum staff, staff

Art Collection Curatorial European

German Tankards and Steins: Part 4—Porcelain

Post author By Catherine Sawinski
Post date June 24, 2014
4 Comments on German Tankards and Steins: Part 4—Porcelain

Meissen Porcelain Manufactory (Dresden, Germany, established 1710), Possibly Johann Gregorius Horoldt (German, 1696-1775), Tankard, ca. 1725. Glazed porcelain, polychrome overglaze decoration, gilding, and brass. Milwaukee Art Museum, Gift of the René von Schleinitz Foundation, M1995.2. Photo: John Glembin

Last month, we demystified tin-glazed earthenware while putting it into a historical context. This month, we’ll figure out the magic behind the material that tin-glazed earthenware attempted to fill in for: porcelain.

Introduced to Europe from China in the fourteenth century, porcelain was the most elegant and fascinating of materials. It was pristine, white yet translucent, and although it was thin and light-weight, it was also amazingly strong and durable. In other words, it was everything that tin-glazed earthenware and stoneware was not.

Tags German Art, meissen, porcelain

Art Collection Curatorial European

German Tankards and Steins: Part 3—Tin-Glazed Earthenware

Post author By Catherine Sawinski
Post date May 13, 2014
6 Comments on German Tankards and Steins: Part 3—Tin-Glazed Earthenware

Probably Thuringia, Germany, Tankard, before 1754. Tin-glazed earthenware with polychrome decoration and pewter. Milwaukee Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Albert Finkler M1937.26. Photo credit: John R. Glembin

My post this month is about tin-glazed earthenware. Wait! Don’t run! I know that this is one kind of ceramic that makes the study of decorative arts confusing. So many names, so much technical jargon—it’s a headache! But stick with me for a moment, because I hope to explain it in a way that this not too complicated. The reward is another glimpse into the history art, trade, and technology.

Tags art history, beer, Decorative Arts, earthenware, germany, steins, tankards, tin-glazed earthenware

Art Collection Curatorial European

German Tankards and Steins: Part 2–Stoneware Vessels

Post author By Catherine Sawinski
Post date April 29, 2014
7 Comments on German Tankards and Steins: Part 2–Stoneware Vessels

Probably Raeren, Rhineland, Germany. Jug, ca. 1583. Salt-glazed stoneware with later silver mount. Milwaukee Art Museum, Gift of Richard and Erna Flagg, M1991.86. Photo credit John Nienhuis

Many people probably thing that international trade and technical innovations is something new: it’s important now, in the digital age; it was important in the 20th century, and perhaps influential as far back as the industrial revolution of the 19th century. But those that study the history of decorative arts know that international trade and technical innovations go back much further!

Tags Ceramics, Decorative Arts, stoneware, Stoneware vessels, vessels

Art Collection Curatorial European

German Tankards and Steins: Part 1—The Erb Tankard

Post author By Catherine Sawinski
Post date March 13, 2014
1 Comment on German Tankards and Steins: Part 1—The Erb Tankard

Kornelius Erb (German, Augsburg, ca. 1560-1618). The Erb Tankard, 1580/85. Silver. Milwaukee Art Museum, Gift of Richard and Erna Flagg, M1991.85. Photo credit John Nienhuis

For the past few months, I’ve been lucky enough to be able to research the Milwaukee Art Museum’s collection of German drinking vessels. With over 200 steins, tankards, and jugs, we have examples that range in date from the mid-16th century to the early 20th century. So, over the next few months, I’ll be doing a series of blog posts to highlight this important—and interesting—area of the collection.

Tags beer, Decorative Arts, drinking, German Art, steins, tankards

Art Behind the Scenes Collection Curatorial Prints and Drawings

From the Collection–Winter in Color

Post author By Catherine Sawinski
Post date February 25, 2014
1 Comment on From the Collection–Winter in Color

View of “Winter in Color” Mezzanine Installation. Photo by Chelsea Kelly

Tired of winter yet? Wait, it’s February in Wisconsin–that’s probably a silly question. Even if you’ve had enough, the Milwaukee Art Museum’s current display of works on paper from the Collection, Winter in Color, might make you take another look at the season.

Tags Emil Nolde, Exhibitions, German Art, German Expressionism, Japanese Art, Keiji Shinohara, Milwaukee, printmaking, winter, wisconsin, works on paper