Of Heaven and Earth
787 PAINTINGS Painting Overlooking a Canal, Venice Rios, Luigi da (1844 - 1892, Italian) Italy, Venice (place depicted) 1886 Oil on canvas Italian Unframed: 476 mm x 681 mm Painting entitled 'Overlooking a canal, Venice', by Luigi da Rios, 1886
The Allentown Art Museum of the Lehigh Valley will be one of the stops on a once-in-a-lifetime U.S. tour of paintings by some of the greatest names in European art.
Of Heaven and Earth: 500 Years of Italian Painting from Glasgow Museums features works by Italian Renaissance and Baroque masters such as Giovanni Bellini, Sandro Botticelli, Francesco Guardi, Salvator Rosa and Titian, many of which have never before been exhibited outside Glasgow.
The exhibition will include paintings originating from the principal artistic centers of Italy Rome, Milan, Bologna, Florence, Siena, Naples and Venice and will examine the thematic and stylistic developments in Italian art from the religious paintings of the late Middle Ages and Renaissance to the secular neoclassical and genre paintings of the nineteenth century.
These 40 major works will fill the museum's Scheller Gallery from June 8 through Sept. 7. After being exhibited at the Allentown Art Museum, the exhibition will travel to Wisconsin and California.
"Of Heaven and Earth brings to the museum some of the most important Italian paintings that have ever been on view," says David Mickenberg, the Priscilla Payne Hurd president and CEO of the museum.
"It significantly increases the quality of our summer exhibition schedule and allows us to think anew about the kinds of opportunities we present to the community and ways we can engage the visitor."
Wall labels for the exhibition will be worded in both English and Spanish, for example, to ensure that the stories behind these masterworks are accessible to all.
Family and adult programming relating to Of Heaven and Earth will be announced shortly, as will collaborations with cultural institutions and community groups throughout the Lehigh Valley.
Of Heaven and Earth: 500 Years of Italian Painting from Glasgow Museums is organized by the American Federation of Arts and Glasgow Museums. This exhibition is supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and Humanities.
The exhibition tour is generously supported by the JFM Foundation and Mrs. Donald M. Cox. In-kind support is provided by Barbara and Richard S. Lane and Christie's.
For more information, and to see images go to www.allentownartmuseum.org/exhibition/heaven-and-earth-500-years-italian-painting-glasgow-museums.
The Allentown Art Museum of the Lehigh Valley is located at 31 N. Fifth St. in Allentown.
