Princeton University Art Museum, Princeton, New Jersey
As we begin to hunker down for the holiday season, there are several online exhibitions that offer excellent ways to enrich your free time. One of such exhibitions is the Princeton University Art Museum’s Looking at 17th-Century Dutch Painting, which examines the art that consumed a newly independent Dutch Republic. Although the works were often representations of landscapes, the sea, or were still life tableaux, they were also fictions meant to project notions of prosperity. The paintings were also often made at a small scale, allowing them to fit into the homes of the nascent Dutch upper-middle class. In order to see these calculated portrayals of the hopeful future of the Dutch Republic for yourself, check here to access the online exhibition.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, New York
This past weekend, the Met opened an exhibition entitled A New Look at Old Masters: The Collection of European Paintings. Encompassing twenty-one galleries, the exhibition explores the many themes manifest in the museum’s vast collection of European painting, sculpture, and decorative arts. As a part of the museum’s European Paintings Skylights Project, the exhibition offers museumgoers a glimpse into the re-installation of the museum’s European Paintings Gallery. As you’re making arrangements to see this tremendous collection of European art re-imagined, make sure to check here in order to plan your visit in advance.
Snite Museum of Art, Notre Dame, Indiana
In a time when our cameras fit easily into our pockets, the Snite Museum of Art is taking a look back in time with their exhibition Touchstones of the Twentieth Century: A History of Photography at the University of Notre Dame. The exhibition is home to one hundred American and European photographs carefully selected to trace the rise of photography over the past century. Arranged chronologically, the exhibition walks museumgoers through developments in visual culture, historical events, and the stylistic and technical evolution of photography. As the twentieth century was marked by two world wars, men on the moon, and serious aesthetic shifts, this exhibition is a must-see. In order to plan your trip in advance, make sure to check here and here to preview the exhibition before it reopens next month.
Saint Louis Art Museum, St. Louis, Missouri
This season, the Saint Louis Art Museum is hosting an exhibition entitled Storm of Progress: German Art after 1800 from the Saint Louis Art Museum. This exhibition throws a spotlight on the museum’s extensive collection of German art from the last two centuries. From the artistic romanticism of the 19th century to the art made in reaction to the globalism of the late 20th century that followed the fall of the Berlin Wall, the exhibition showcases the inextricable connections between art, politics, and history. The motif of the storm, for example, has been a staple of German art across the centuries, serving as a metaphor for nature, destruction, and rebirth. Home to 120 works, the exhibition will walk museumgoers through German history and display some of its featured pieces for the first time. Before heading out to see the exhibition in person, make sure that you check here in order to plan your trip ahead of time.
Blanton Museum of Art, Austin, Texas
With a long and proud history of textile artists, the United States need not fear the loss of this tradition. This season, the Blanton Museum of Art is hosting an exhibition entitled Diedrick Brackens: darling divined. Brackens uses textiles to address the intricacies of Black and queer identities in the US. Using the textile traditions of many cultures, including West African weaving and European tapestry, Brackens’ pieces illustrate this lived experience allegorically. In order to see this exhibition in person, be sure to reserve your timed tickets here.
