From the sacred to the profane
The challenges and possibilities of Renaissance art
Free entry
A National Gallery of Victoria Touring Exhibition
7 December 2014 – 15 March 2015
Warrnambool Art Gallery
In the fifteenth century, the art, architecture, literature and science of ancient Greece and Rome were rediscovered, and inspired the complex and extraordinary cultural phenomenon that was Renaissance art. As ancient sculptures were unearthed in Italy, artists copied them in marble, in paint and on paper. At the same time, they revolutionised figure drawing by studying the anatomy and movement of bodies, and rendering them with unprecedented accuracy. The NGV’s Old Master paintings, drawings and prints in this exhibition show the diversity of approaches to the figure in art, including works by Albrecht Dürer, Annibale Carracci and Peter Paul Rubens.
The exhibition also explores the religious and classical subjects of Renaissance and Baroque art – ancient myths and Christian martyrs, saints and heroes, angels and demons. Some of the most dramatic works are monumental paintings by Orazio Gentileschi and Nicolas Régnier. These are prime examples of Baroque art, which was designed to make an emotional impact. Artists created the illusion of motion through exaggerated gestures, swirling robes, and various ‘tricks’ that animate figures in space, conveying exuberance and a sense of drama that speaks to us with great immediacy, hundreds of years after the works were created.
A collaboration between the NGV and Warrnambool Art Gallery.
Indemnification for this exhibition is provided by the Victorian Government.