MUSEUM
KUNST PALAST, DUESSELDORF Germany |
Düsseldorf
OCTOBER 01,
2016-JANUARY 22, 2017
Behind the
curtain. Concealment and Revelation since the Renaissance. From Titian to
Christo - Museum Kunst Palast, Duesseldorf
The
starting point of this exhibition is the tale of the contest between two
ancient painters, who sought to outdo each other’s virtuosity in the art of
trompe l’oeil. While Zeuxis, however, was merely able to fool the pigeons,
which attempted to peck at the grapes he had painted, Parrhasius succeeded in
actually deceiving the eye of his rival, who attempted to draw the curtain
painted by Parrhasius to reveal the picture assumed to be behind it.
The
fascinating interplay between concealing and showing, veiling and revealing
using a curtain, veil or drapery is introduced in this themed exhibition, which
is staged exclusively in Düsseldorf and shows important works from six
centuries. With loans from international museums and private collections –
paintings, drawings, sculptures, installations and photographs – the show
ranges from Renaissance and Baroque paintings to modern and contemporary art. Alongside
Titian’s “Portrait of Cardinal Filippo Archinto” dated 1558, which is on loan
from the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the exhibition includes works by Lucas
Cranach the Elder, El Greco, Jacopo Tintoretto, Arnold Böcklin, Robert
Delaunay, Max Beckmann, Cindy Sherman, Christo and Gerhard Richter.
The
exhibition, which is curated by General Director Beat Wismer and Claudia
Blümle, illuminates in different thematic chapters the ambivalence and
fascination surrounding the notion of concealment and revelation, as well as
the relationship between the fine arts and perception. The wealth of topics
covered start with the antique painting competition and in further chapters
turn to issues such as “mystery of the divine”, “power of representation”,
“violence of unveiling”, “thrill of the concealed”, “internal and external”, as
well as “the art of unveiling”.
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