Scholars of Northern European art Larry Silver and Aneta Georgievska-Shine present two complementary lectures on the mythological paintings of Peter Paul Rubens. In "Hers and His: Rubens's Royal Mythologies," Larry Silver discusses Rubens's different treatment of the gods in two of his most significant royal commissions, the Medici cycle for the Queen of France and Torre de la Parada for King Philip IV. He explores the epic and poetic qualities of the former, versus the rather demystifying approach in the latter. In "Abducting Europa," Aneta Georgievska-Shine explores Rubens's faithful copy of Titian's Europa as a testimony of the special place of this mythological story in Ovid, as well as of the artist's own status at the Spanish court--with regard to both the Venetian painter and to Velázquez as the third great master in this triad.
Splendor, Myth, and Vision is co-organized by the Clark Art Institute and the Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid. Major underwriting is provided by Denise Littlefield Sobel and Diane and Andreas Halvorsen. Generous contributors include the National Endowment for the Arts and the Malcolm Hewitt Wiener Foundation, with additional support from Jeannene Booher, the Robert Lehman Foundation, Katherine and Frank Martucci, and Richard and Carol Seltzer. This exhibition is supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities.
Image: Peter Paul Rubens (Flemish, 1577-1640), After Titian (Tiziano Vecelli; Italian [Venetian], c. 1488-1576), Rape of Europa (detail), 1628-29, oil on canvas, 71 7/8 x 79 3/8 in. (182.5 x 201.5 cm). Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid. P01693 (© Photographic Archive. Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid)
Time:
3:00 pm-4:30 pm Sun, Sep 25, 2016
Venue:
225 South Street, Williamstown, MA 01267