"Adam and Eve" by Albrecht Dürer
In the Renaissance Palazzo Farnese, which now houses the French Embassy, exhibits from the vast collection of the Farnese family have been gathered from around the world, returning antique busts and sculptures, including Aphrodite Kallipygos, paintings, furniture, tapestries, frescoes, and coin collections to their "rightful" places. The inner courtyard of the palazzo has also been transformed, where antique statues will return for the duration of the exhibition.
Holland also makes a worthy showing: no sooner had the exhibition of the fine artist Gabriel Metsu ended in Ireland than a new one opens in Amsterdam, at the largest airport, Schiphol. The location is fortunate: besides those arriving in Holland, thousands of passengers making connecting flights become viewers. Metsu is open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., admission free. Not just an exhibition, but a real gift.
AUSTRIA
Imperial ceremonial dinner service and porcelain figurines of the 18th century, December 3 – April 26, Vienna. The Viennese Christmas markets will be slightly diversified by two exhibitions that will take place at the Liechtenstein Museum, which opened to the general public in 2004. The basis of the museum's collection is the private collection of European art of the princely family of Liechtenstein. The main December exhibition at this museum is the ceremonial silver service in the Viennese classicism style, created for Duke Albert of Saxe-Teschen by the imperial jeweler Ignaz Joseph Würth. This service is assembled completely for the first time since the beginning of the 19th century, as many of its constituent items are currently in French private collections.
The second exhibition, titled "Ceremonies, Celebrations, Costumes," features Viennese porcelain figurines in the Rococo style, created during the reign of Maria Theresa (1717-1780). //www.liechtensteinmuseum.at
BELGIUM
International fair-exhibition Lineart, December 3-7, Ghent. For the 29th time, the traditional December fair-exhibition Lineart will be held at the Ghent exhibition center Flanders Expo, attracting over 25,000 visitors annually. This year, 140 galleries from 20 countries will present their collections of paintings, sculptures, photography, glass, and ceramics from the 19th to 21st centuries. In the "20th-century contemporary art zone," a new section "Contemporary People" will appear this year, where works by Paul Delvaux, James Ensor, Léon Spilliaert, and Pierre Alechinsky can be seen. Also at the fair, one can purchase graphic works and glass items by artist and director Jan Fabre, the most popular artist of last year's Lineart. Tickets to the exhibition cost 12 euros. //www.lineart.be
"Between Heaven and Hell. Death in the Middle Ages," December 2 – April 24, Brussels. The Royal Museums of Art and History will soon open an exhibition dedicated to the theme of death in culture from the 6th to the 16th centuries. More than 200 artifacts and works of art will be arranged in four sections of the exhibition: "Causes of Death," "Funeral Rites," "Mausoleums, Tombs, Cemeteries," and "From Death to Resurrection." Tickets to the exhibition cost 10 euros. //www.kmkg-mrah.be
GERMANY
Exhibition of Lost and Returned Paintings, December 10 – March 6, Berlin. The Old National Gallery, located on Berlin's Museum Island, will soon open an exhibition of paintings lost during World War II and reacquired by the museum in the last few years. The fact is that in the last years of the war, over 800 canvases were considered lost, with 600 of them created in the 19th century. Some paintings have recently begun to "surface" on various art markets, and the National Gallery has managed to return them to the collection. Visitors to the exhibition will not only see the returned paintings by Karl Blechen, Wilhelm Ahlborn, Ferdinand Waldmüller, Johann Erdmann Hummel, and Julius Hübner but also learn about the "biographies" of these canvases. //www.museumsportal-berlin.de
Dutch Group Portrait of the 17th Century, December 3 – February 27, Munich. In early December, the Alte Pinakothek in Munich will open an exhibition of the Dutch group portrait, one of the most popular genres of monumental painting of the "Golden" 17th century. Such portraits were intended for decorating public buildings and were commissioned from the best painters of the time, because such a painting requires both a vivid portrait characterization of each individual participant in the event and simultaneously an impression of wholeness and unity of the community of people. They depicted officers of shooting companies, groups of regents of charitable institutions, guilds, scholarly societies. The Munich exhibition will feature 11 paintings from the Amsterdam Historical Museum and one painting by Ferdinand Bol from the museum's own collection. //www.pinakothek.de
SPAIN
Exhibition of Albrecht Dürer's Diptych "Adam and Eve" After Restoration, November 29 – March 20, Madrid. Almost two years of restoration of the panels and paint layer of the famous diptych by German artist Albrecht Dürer "Adam and Eve" (1507) from the collection of the Prado in Madrid took place. A special exhibition dedicated to the completion of the restoration work has recently opened at the museum. Visitors can learn about the details of the painting's creation and its fascinating biography, as well as the history of the restoration work, including the creation of a complex mechanism supporting the wooden panels, through photographs and videos. Photographs from the "before, during, and after restoration" series will allow not only an insight into the painstaking work of the restorers but also an understanding of the specifics of Dürer's skill as a painter. //www.museodelprado.es
Exhibition of vintage cars, December 4-8, Barcelona. The Barcelona Auto retro exhibition is the best show of retro cars and motorcycles in Spain. This year the exhibition will be held for the 27th time. In addition to vintage cars and motorcycles, which numbered more than 500 last year, the exhibition will feature a huge assortment of spare parts and accessories that allow you to completely restore vintage models, giving them a second life. The program of the 27th Auto retro exhibition, which will be held at Fira Barcelona, includes themed photo exhibitions, presentations, concerts, rallies, as well as shows of vintage boats and aircraft. Ticket price – 15 euros. //www.autoretro.es
ITALY
Palazzo Farnese: Five Centuries of Art Collections, December 17 – April 27, Rome. Undoubtedly, the most important event in Rome's cultural life this winter and spring will be a new exhibition at the famous Renaissance palace Farnese, which now belongs to the French Embassy in Italy. The construction of the palace for the Farnese family, lasting from 1514 to 1589, involved Antonio da Sangallo the Younger, Michelangelo, Vignola, and Giacomo della Porta. The idea of the exhibition is to restore the former appearance of the palace, returning exhibits from the Farnese family collection that have been preserved in various museums. Visitors will be able to see in their original place a unique collection of antique busts and sculptures, including the Aphrodite Kallipygos (17 exhibits from museums in Naples and Florence), paintings, furniture, tapestries, frescoes, and coin collections. Even the inner courtyard of the palace will be transformed – the Farnese family sculpture collection will temporarily return there. //www.mostrapalazzofarnese.it
Rodin: Birth of a Genius, November 20 – March 20, Legnano. In the Italian city of Legnano, 30 kilometers from Milan, a large exhibition recently opened dedicated to the early period of the French sculptor Auguste Rodin (1840-1917). At Palazzo Leone da Perego, more than 120 exhibits from the Paris Rodin Museum, created between 1864 and 1888, are presented. Among the exhibits are 65 sculptures, 26 drawings, 19 paintings, and photographs. Visitors will learn about the main stages of Rodin's 'birth of a genius' – from 'The Man with the Broken Nose' to the work on 'The Gates of Hell'. //www.mostrarodin.it
NETHERLANDS
Gabriel Metsu, December 16 – March 21, Amsterdam. A new exhibition of one of the most famous Dutch artists of the 'Golden Age', master of the genre scene Gabriel Metsu (1629-1667) will soon open at the Rijksmuseum branch at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (between terminals E and F). The exhibition will present 35 paintings by the artist from various museums and private collections in the Netherlands, Ireland, and the USA, including 'Breakfast', 'The Sick Child', 'A Young Man Writing a Letter', 'A Girl with a Letter'. //www.rijksmuseum.nl
FRANCE
Piet Mondrian and the 'De Stijl' Group, December 1 – March 21, Paris. Dutch artist Piet Mondrian (1872-1944) is considered one of the founders of Western European abstractionism, influencing the development of modern art through both his paintings and theoretical works. A new exhibition at the Centre Pompidou in Paris examines in detail only one period of the artist's work – his collaboration with the art group 'De Stijl' (The Style), which existed from 1917 to the early 1930s. Artists of this group worked in the style of 'neoplasticism' (a term coined by Mondrian). Characteristic features of the new abstract style are harmoniously composed rectangular planes, painted in the primary colors of the spectrum. The exhibition explores the specifics of this style and its influence on architecture, painting, interior and furniture design. //www.centrepompidou.fr
'Antiquity and the 18th Century', December 2 – February 14, Paris. A new thematic exhibition dedicated to the influence of ancient art on European art of the 18th century opens in December at the Louvre in Paris. Discussions about ancient art in academic communities are fueled by archaeological excavations in Italy in the mid-18th century; ancient images, themes, and subjects become extraordinarily popular, the plasticity of painting and sculpture becomes exemplary. The Paris exhibition presents more than 120 exhibits – paintings, sculptures, drawings, engravings, decorative art by authors such as Greuze, Mengs and Batoni, Falconet, Bouchardon, and Pajou. /www.louvre.fr
SWITZERLAND
'A Collector's Choice: From Renoir to the Present Day', December 10 – June 13, Martigny. A new exhibition of modern art will open in December at the famous Pierre Gianadda Foundation Museum in Martigny. All paintings selected for the exhibition belong to a large private collector who wishes to remain anonymous. The selection of paintings took into account two aspects: the development of modern painting from Impressionism to the present day and the personal pictorial preferences of the anonymous collector himself. The exhibition will feature more than 120 rarely exhibited paintings by artists such as Renoir, Corot, Monet, Degas, Morisot, Signac, Pissarro, Sisley, Van Dongen, Nolde, Redon, Modigliani, Chagall, Masson, Picasso, Feininger. //www.gianadda.ch
Nyuta KUKUSHKINA.
