Cities of Splendor: A Journey Through Renaissance Italy invites visitors to explore more than 50 paintings, textiles and decorative arts that defined the style that became known as the Italian Renaissance. The artworks and sumptuously designed settings create a “passport to travel” to Italy during the late 15th and early 16th centuries. Visitors have the chance to experience the distinctive creative contribution of each featured city to the birth of the Renaissance style.
Coming from the museum’s own collection and select loans, the exhibition is on view at the DAM April 10 through July 31, 2011. Cities of Splendor is included in general museum admission.
“We want to transport our visitors to Renaissance Italy, where cities such as Florence, Venice, and Milan played a major role in the development of this innovative, artistic style,” says curator Angelica Daneo. “During the 1400s and 1500s, Italy was not a unified country, but rather a group of independent states with different characters and artistic traditions. The exhibition will show how local styles merged with the innovative ideas coming from Tuscany, and resulted in distinctive styles and lasting examples of Renaissance art.”
Travel through Florence, Siena, Mantua, Venice, Milan, and across the Italian Alps to discover the richness of the Italian Renaissance—including the Florentine love for rational perspective and drawing, the Mantuan passion for classical antiquity, and the Venetian taste for color and tonalities.
Cities of Splendor: A Journey through Renaissance Italy is organized by the Denver Art Museum. Significant support is provided by the Samuel H. Kress Foundation. Additional funding is provided by Mary Ellen D. Anderson, The Rainwater Charitable Foundation, the citizens who support the Scientific and Cultural Facilities District, and the generous donors to the Annual Fund Leadership Campaign. Promotional support is provided by 5280 Magazine and The Denver Post.
Image: Domenico Ghirlandaio and Workshop, The Coronation of the Virgin with St. John the Baptist and St. John the Evangelist, about 1478–79. Gift of the Samuel H. Kress Foundation.
The Denver Art Museum is located on 13th Avenue between Broadway and Bannock Streets in downtown Denver. Open Tuesday-Thursday and Saturday 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Friday 10 a.m.-10 p.m., Sunday noon-5 p.m.; closed Mondays, Thanksgiving and Christmas. General admission is free on the first Saturday of each month. Additional ticket may be required for special exhibitions, including King Tut. Free First Saturdays are sponsored by Target, and made possible by the citizens who support the Scientific and Cultural Facilities District. The Cultural Complex Garage is open; enter from 12th Avenue between Broadway and Bannock or check the DAM websites for up-to-date parking information. For information in Spanish, call 720-913-0169.
www.denverartmuseum.org