“Kings, Queens, and Courtiers: Royalty on Paper” features examples of the various ways in which European rulers and their aristocratic followers have been represented on paper from the sixteenth century to 1900. In several instances (as with Emperor Maximilian I of Austria, Henri II...
The international poster mania of the 1890s made fine art accessible to the masses, bringing it out of the salon into the streets and shop windows. Great posters proliferated, however, long after this “golden age,” as revealed by the standout images in “Art in the Street”...
Nineteenth-century Japanese color printing’s highest level of accomplishment is seen in the small, exquisite works known as surimono, which were produced on commission for private, individual customers. Because they were not sold to the general public, these prints were not limited either by...
“Michelangelo: Sacred and Profane, Master Drawings from the Casa Buonarroti” features a rich and varied selection of 26 works from the master’s collection, preserved in the artist's family home, the Casa Buonarroti, in Florence. The exhibition includes many of...
Mannerist artists went to extremes in their treatment of the human body. In the years after Raphael’s death in 1520, complex poses, intricate gestures, and esoteric symbolism replaced the harmony and balance of the High Renaissance. A self-consciously “stylish” style, Mannerism...
As author and illustrator of The Birds of America, John James Audubon (1785–1851) traveled thousands of miles throughout the United States and Canada to seek out and draw North American birds in their natural habitats. In the book’s enormous pages—each more than three feet high...
In the era of Art Nouveau, from the 1890s through the turn of the century, there was a flourishing of new, imaginative art and craft throughout Europe. Holland also saw an explosion of inventive art and design in this period, including many expressive works on paper—posters, decorative...
Etching as a printmaking medium emerged in the early 16th century in Germany and Italy, but its full creative potential only was realized with Rembrandt Harmensz. Van Rijn’s activity as an etcher from 1630 to 1661. This exhibition of 45 works, drawn primarily from the MFA’s collection,...