Spectacular treasures from one of Europe’s longest-reigning dynasties are on view at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.
Over 90 works of art including arms and armor, sculpture, Greek and Roman antiquities, court costumes, and paintings by Michelangelo Caravaggio, Antonio da Correggio, Giorgione, Peter Paul Rubens, Titian, and Jacopo Tintoretto all feature in the major exhibition “Habsburg Splendor: Masterpieces from Vienna’s Imperial Collections.” The show explores the dramatic rise and fall of the Habsburg dynasty, who ascended to power in the late Middle Ages, reaching their apex during the 16th and 17th centuries. Many of the works have never traveled outside Austria, and audiences are sure to be impressed by the variety and quality of art on view.
Titian and workshop, “Danaë,” 1564, oil on canvas, Kunsthistorisches Museum of Vienna, Austria.
Giuseppe Arcimboldo, “The Fire,” 1566, oil on canvas, 20 x 26 in. Kunsthistorisches Museum of Vienna, Austria.
“We’re thrilled to be collaborating with our partner institutions in Minneapolis and Atlanta to bring to our audiences so many extraordinary masterpieces of European art,” said Gary Tinterow, director of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. “The selection of paintings — by Giorgione, Titian, Correggio, Arcimboldo, Rubens, and Velázquez, among others — is simply staggering. And I know our visitors will be captivated by the carriages, armor, liveried horses, and pomp of the court costumes.”
Giorgione, “The Three Philosophers,” ca. 1505-1509, oil on canvas, 48 x 57 in.
Kunsthistorisches Museum of Vienna, Austria.
All’antica, Morion of Archduke Ferdinand II of Tyrol, Kunsthistorisches Museum of Vienna, Austria.
“We’re delighted to share our museum’s unique wonders with our American friends,” added Dr. Sabine Haag, general director of Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien. “The exhibition will show the extraordinarily wide range of the Habsburgs’ collections, including masterpieces of Roman antiquity, medieval armor, early modern painting, and craftwork, as well as gorgeous carriages and clothing. We hope this will inspire visitors to make the trip to Vienna to see the collection in person and to discover even more of our treasures.”
“Habsburg Splendor: Masterpieces from Vienna’s Imperial Collections” opened on June 14 and will be on view through September 13. The exhibition closes its U.S. tour at the High Museum of Art, Atlanta.
To learn more, visit Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.
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