Displaying items by tag: illuminated manuscripts

The Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland, announced that it will renovate its Hackerman House, one of five buildings on the institution’s campus. The 19th-century mansion, which houses the Walters’ Asian art collection, will close on July 1 so that its fire safety and mechanical systems can be updated. In addition, the building’s galleries will be refurbished and the exterior will be repaired. The project is expected to take approximately 18 months to complete.

Art normally displayed in the Hackerman House’s galleries will mostly be moved to storage during the renovations while a select few pieces will go on view in other areas of the museum. In addition to some private fundraising, the $5.2 million project is being financed by the city and state.

Founded by William Thompson Walters and his son, Henry Walters, the Walters Art Museum is renowned for its Egyptian, Greek, Roman, Byzantine, Ethiopian, and Western medieval art collections as well as its holdings of Renaissance and Asian art. The Walters also has an impressive collection of illuminated manuscripts and rare books.

The Portland Art Museum in Oregon is the only U.S. venue for "Venice: The Golden Age of Art and Music." The show focuses on La Serenissima" or "the most serene," the period between the early 16th century and the fall of the Venetian Republic at the end of the 18th century that was defined by a surge in artistic innovation. During this time, music and art flourished thanks to painters such as Tintoretto, Canaletto, and Guardi, as well as composers such as Willaert, Gabrieli, Monteverdi, and Vivaldi.

Organized by the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, the exhibition is the first to explore the important interrelationships of the visual arts and music in Venice's civic ceremonies, festivals, and culture. The show will present 108 objects from 38 lenders including paintings, prints, drawings, illuminated manuscripts, sculptures, original period instruments, and early music texts. Period music will be audible in the galleries to create a more comprehensive visitor experience.

 "Venice: The Golden Age of Art and Music" will be organized by theme. Sections will include -- Basilica of San Marco, which will explore Venice's center of religious devotion; Civic Pageantry, which will look at the many festivities and processions held throughout the year in Venice; The Scuole and The Ospedali, which will explore the impact that schools and hospital orphanages had on art and music in Venice; Musicians and Concerts, which will look at the impact and importance of music in the city; Popular Music; and Mythology and Opera.  

 "Venice: The Golden Age of Art and Music" will be on view at the Portland Art Museum through May 11, 2014.

Baltimore’s Walters Art Museum, which houses a vast collection of paintings, sculptures, art objects, and artifacts from around the world and throughout the ages, has joined forces with Stanford University Libraries to digitize its medieval manuscript collection. The Walters plans to make the works available online and has reached an agreement with Stanford Libraries to give over 100,000 high-resolution images of its manuscripts to the University’s Digital Repository.

While the original manuscripts will remain at the Walters Museum, the high-resolution images will be accessible to scholars around the world so that they can analyze the works and compare them with manuscripts in other locations.

The Walters Art Museum currently has 850 medieval illuminated manuscripts and 150 single leaves, which range in date from the 9th to the 19^th century; it is one of the most significant collections of medieval manuscripts in North America.