Venice

The Portland Art Museum continues its commitment to and history of presenting great works of Italian art with this stunning exhibition exploring the golden age of art and music in the Republic of Venice, also referred to as “La Serenissima” or “the most serene.” Between the early 16th century and the fall of the Venetian Republic at the close of the 18th century, the great flourishing of the arts included innovative painters such as Titian, Tintoretto, Tiepolo, Canaletto, and Guardi, as well as composers Willaert, Gabrieli, Monteverdi, and Vivaldi who created the new musical forms of opera and the quartet. This spectacular exhibition explores the important interrelationships of the visual arts and music in the city’s civic ceremonies, festivals, and culture.

The great artists working in Venice not only reveled in depicting processions, concerts, and dance, but many were accomplished musicians themselves. Composers depended on artists for set designs and costumes, and the dramatic stories of operas were embraced by painters and sculptors.

This multidisciplinary exhibition is the first to explore the interaction between the visual arts, music, and political culture in Venice and will include paintings, prints, drawings, illuminated manuscripts, and sculptures along with original period instruments and early music texts.

You won’t want to miss this celebration of Venetian art, music, and culture. The Portland Art Museum is the only U.S. venue for this incredible international loan exhibition.

Organized by the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts and curated by Hilliard Goldfarb, Associate Chief Curator at the Montreal Museum; host curated by Dawson Carr, Ph.D., The Janet and Richard Geary Curator of European Art.