Cleveland Art, March/April 2016
- Member Magazine
In this issue of the members magazine: Art and Power in Ancient Egypt; Pyramids & Sphinxes; Chasing Away Death; Infamy and Influence; Initial Impressions; Acquisitions 2015; Gallery Game.
Art and Power in Ancient Egypt
Pharaoh: King of Ancient Egypt introduces viewers to the men (and women) who ruled Egypt over three millennia. Opening on March 13, the exhibition presents a varied selection of 145 objects—including monumental reliefs, stone sculpture, faience ornaments, splendid jewelry, and historic papyri—from t...
Seated statue of Pharaoh Seti, c. 1200–1194 BC. New Kingdom, Dynasty 19, reign of Seti II. Temple of Mut, Karnak, Thebes, Egypt. Quartzite sandstone; 164 x 49 x 85 cm. British Museum EA 26. © Trustees of the British Museum
Pyramids & Sphinxes
Imagine the shock of French writer Gustave Flaubert and photographer Maxime Du Camp when, during their explorations of Egypt in 1850, they stumbled upon an ancient, massive half-buried figure, part human and part animal, that fixed them “with a terrifying stare.” They fled in fright, although later...
Giza, Egypt, Son et Lumière, 1980. Alex Webb (American, born 1952). Chromogenic print; 51 x 76 cm. Courtesy of the artist
Chasing Away Death
This face mask is one of the undisputed masterworks of Central African art in a Western collection, and arguably the most famous example of the round striped mask tradition of southeastern Congo’s Luba people. A highlight among the nearly 2,000 African works donated by Cleveland native—and pioneerin...
Face Mask, Luba people, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Wood, raffia, bark, twine; h. 92.1 cm. Provenance: probably field-collected in the Congo by Fr. Pierre Colle before 1908; Society of the White Fathers, Antwerp, 1908–61; Henri Kamer, New York, 1961–62; Katherine Coryton White, Cleveland, 1962–80. Seattle Art Museum, Gift of Katherine White and the Boeing Company, no. 81.17.869. Photo © Seattle Art Museum
Infamy and Influence
Marcel Duchamp’s iconic masterpiece Nude Descending a Staircase (No. 2) played a crucial role in spreading European modernism across the United States. A clear view of the painting was nearly impossible during its debut at the New York Armory Show of 1913 as crowds constantly surrounded this peculia...
Nude Descending a Staircase (No. 2), 1912. Marcel Duchamp (French, 1887–1968). Oil on canvas; 147 x 89.2 cm. Philadelphia Museum of Art, The Louise and Walter Arensberg Collection, 1950-134-59. © Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / Estate of Marcel Duchamp
Initial Impressions
A variety of liturgical manuscripts were used during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance for the celebration of the Mass and offices. These included missals, gospel lectionaries, choir psalters, breviaries, graduals, and antiphonaries. Of these, large music choral manuscripts were often the most spe...
Acquisition Highlights 2015
