Enfilade

From the press release for the exhibition opening this fall at the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin:

Portraits! Surprising Encounters from Botticelli to Lempicka

Gemäldegalerie, Berlin, 16 October 2026 — 14 March 2027

Curated by Sven Jakstat and Stephan Kemperdick, with Marie-Luise Hugler

How do we see ourselves—and how have people in different historical periods wished to be seen? The special exhibition Portraits! Surprising Encounters from Botticelli to Lempicka at the Gemäldegalerie (Old Master Paintings) of the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, invites viewers on a fascinating journey through the history of portraiture. Unusual juxtapositions of works spanning five centuries reveal striking similarities, bringing the pieces to life and providing opportunities to reflect on the presentation of the self and others, as well as on staging, roles, and character. Masterpieces by artists such as Botticelli and Lempicka, Mino da Fiesole and Rogier van der Weyden, Dürer and Giorgione, or Rubens and Gainsborough are brought into conversation with one another, revealing striking and often surprising affinities. Works that have never ‘met’ before come together for the first time, offering a fresh perspective on themes such as identity, beauty, status and power.

Portraits reveal more than just people’s outward appearance. They also reveal details about self-awareness, character, emotion and staged representation. Clothing, posture, and accessories act as codes for social, political and gender affiliation. By comparing portraits from different regions and eras, visitors can recognise, trace, and understand artistic decisions and visual strategies: What was considered beautiful, dignified or worthy of authority? How did these ideals evolve over the centuries? The exhibition reveals the variety of these responses, while also highlighting the surprising connections between them.

The exhibition’s starting point is the outstanding international collection of portraits at the Gemäldegalerie, which is complemented by a selection of loans from other museums of the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, including the Alte Nationalgalerie (Old National Gallery) and the Neue Nationalgalerie (New National Gallery), the Ägyptisches Museum (Egyptian Museum) and the Skulpturensammlung (Sculpture Collection). It presents a multifaceted panorama of portraiture from the 15th to the 20th centuries. Around 90 masterpieces by artists such as Petrus Christus, Mino da Fiesole, Botticelli, Giorgione, Dürer, Cranach the Elder, Holbein the Younger, Titian, Sofonisba Anguissola, Rembrandt, Zurbarán, Anna Dorothea Therbusch, and Tamara de Lempicka encompass a wide variety of portraiture’s diverse aspects, ranging from glorious portraits of rulers to intimate scenes of friendship and proud self-proclamations. Each encounter tells its own story and invites wonder, comparison and discovery.

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Anton Raphael Mengs, Self-Portrait, 1779 (Berlin: Staatliche Museen).

Various forms and functions of portraits are examined in the four sections of the exhibition. The prologue highlights the astonishing constancy of mimetic portrait art, which has spanned many centuries, and also sheds light on the genre’s roots in Europe.

Portrait Types North and South of the Alps

The first section of the exhibition explorse the development of portraiture in Italy and the North during the Renaissance. Various prototypes emerged, such as the northern three-quarter profile used by Rogier van der Weyden and the strict profile preferred by Filippo Lippi. Differing tendencies towards naturalism and idealisation soon mingled and influenced the development of portrait painting in the following centuries.

Self-Representation of the Elite

Portraits were a powerful means of social representation and distinction. The clothing, poses, and size of a work all revealed the aspirations and status of the person depicted. Anthonis Mor’s prestigious, knee-length portrait of the Duchess Margaret of Parma, with her regal gaze, is on a par with Giambattista Moroni’s portrait of the nobleman Don Gabriel de la Cueva.

Family, Friendship, and Intimacy

On the one hand, the section on family, friendship and intimacy is dedicated to the private aspects of portraiture. Relatives, close friends, and loved ones are captured in images that serve as personal mementos. Sofonisba Anguissola’s mother, Bianca, engages with her daughter while she paints, in a manner that is similar to how the wife of the painter Eugen Spiro looked at her husband 380 years later. Portraits of the deceased offer a final glimpse of them.

Portraits of Art Collectors and Artists

The final section of the exhibition focuses on portraits of art collectors and artists. For centuries, self-portraits have not only served as a means of self-exploration, but also as a way of positioning oneself and one’s work within traditional contexts. Therbusch portrays herself as an intellectual, while Poussin and Anton Raphael Mengs use their self-portraits to reflect on their lives and artistic fame.

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Portraits is not just an art historical exhibition; it also reflects our current image-obsessed world. In the age of selfies and social media:how do we construct our identity? How do we read faces? And what does our view reveal about ourselves? The reflection of masterworks from the past provides the perfect opportunity to study and understand these current questions.

The exhibition is curated by Sven Jakstat and Stephan Kemperdick, with assistance from Marie-Luise Hugler. A richly illustrated catalogue provides an in-depth exploration of the works and their relationships with each other.

Porträts! Überraschende Begegnungen von Botticelli bis Lempicka (Petersberg: Michael Imhof-Verlag, 2026), 256 pages, ISBN: 978-3731915980, €49.

Covered Tureen on Stand (Pot-à-oille), 1735–38, designed by Juste-Aurèle Meissonnier and made by Pierre-François Bonnestrenne and Henry Adnet, silver (The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1977.182).

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Opening in October at The Cleveland Museum of Art:

Juste-Aurèle Meissonnier: Rococo Goldsmith in Focus

The Cleveland Museum of Art, 25 October 2026 — 14 March 2027

Curated by Ada de Wit

Juste-Aurèle Meissonnier (1695–1750) was the most revolutionary forerunner of the Rococo style in the decorative arts. Multitalented with entrepreneurial skills, he worked for the French court and European nobility. Considered a genius goldsmith by his contemporaries, he was also a prolific designer and aspiring architect, seamlessly maneuvering between media and disciplines.

Born and trained in Turin, Italy, Meissonnier moved to Paris around 1715 to advance his career, although the conservative guild of Parisian goldsmiths made it practically impossible for newcomers to register as masters and open their own workshops. Meissonnier’s ambition, creativity, and determination in pursuing his desired career path are apparent from his work and limited biographical information and continue to resonate today.

Few of Meissonnier’s works survived political upheavals; the most celebrated is a silver tureen in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art, made for the Duke of Kingston. A striking sculpture rather than a functional object, the tureen epitomizes the Rococo style with its movement, asymmetrical design, fluid unity of form and ornament, and elements inspired by nature. The tureen has recently undergone scientific analysis, which has provided new insights into its sophisticated creation process.

The catalogue is distributed by Yale UP:

Ada de Wit, ed., with additional contributions by Michèle Bimbenet-Privat, Beth Edelstein, Peter Fuhring, Alexandre Gady, and Colleen Snyder, Juste-Aurèle Meissonnier: Goldsmith, Designer, and Architect (Cleveland: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 2026), 160 pages, ISBN: 978-0300282306, $50.

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From the press release for the recent acquisition of a snuffbox (7 May 2026) . . .

Juste-Aurèle Meissonnier, Gold Box, 1728–29, gold and lapis lazuli, 3 × 8.3 × 5.2 cm (The Cleveland Museum of Art, 2026.12).

The Cleveland Museum of Art has acquired an extraordinarily rare gold snuffbox made in Paris in 1728–29 by Juste-Aurèle Meissonnier. Of exceptional art historical importance, the box is one of only five known objects in precious metals firmly associated with Meissonnier to have survived the political upheavals of subsequent centuries, during which works in gold and silver were frequently melted down. For many years, it was the only known work bearing the maker’s mark of Meissonnier, until the 2019 discovery of his mark on a gold mount for a rock crystal ewer belonging to Marie Antoinette, now in the Louvre. The snuffbox is distinguished as a work executed by Meissonnier himself, without the involvement of other master goldsmiths.

This acquisition significantly strengthens the museum’s Meissonnier collection and will play a central role in Juste-Aurèle Meissonnier: Rococo Goldsmith in Focus, an exhibition of the artist’s work, which opens at the CMA in October 2026. Notably, the object has never before been displayed in a museum.

“This important acquisition reinforces the museum’s standing as one of the world’s leading collections of 18th-century French decorative arts,” said the CMA’s Sarah S. and Alexander M. Cutler Director William M. Griswold. “It also strengthens our position as a preeminent center for the study and appreciation of Meissonnier’s work.”

“Meissonnier’s box is one of the most sophisticated works of art in our collection, whose extraordinary qualities can be fully appreciated only through close, in-person looking,” said Ada de Wit, the Ellen S. and Bruce V. Mavec Curator of Decorative Arts at the Cleveland Museum of Art. “This remarkable acquisition further enhances the CMA as a destination for both scholars and the broader public.”

The snuffbox was acquired through a private sale facilitated by the auction house Christie’s. The deputy chairman of Christie’s Department of European Furniture and Works of Art, Will Strafford, said: “We have a long and proud history of private sales to storied institutions such as the Cleveland Museum of Art and we are thrilled that this sublime masterpiece of the decorative arts has gone to such a worthy home; I have no doubt that this work amazes and delights visitors to the museum for generations to come.”

This Meissonnier box has long been regarded as among the finest of its kind and described as “an object in a class of its own.” It stands out from others due to its superior design and execution, the strong sense of movement achieved by its dynamic contour, its extraordinary level of detail, and the dramatic contrast of its gold and lapis lazuli materials. Together, these qualities position the box at the pinnacle of Meissonnier’s artistic achievement.

Small, ornate boxes such as this were used to hold snuff tobacco and functioned as highly personal luxury objects that conveyed the owner’s wealth, refinement, and social standing. Often exchanged as prestigious gifts, they were among the most sophisticated expressions of craftsmanship and design in 18th-century Europe.

The snuffbox also carries an important royal and modern history. It was made for the dowager Queen of Spain, Maria Anna of Neuburg, and bears her coat of arms alongside that of her late husband, Charles II. During World War II, it was looted by the Nazis from the collection of Parisian collector David David-Weill. The object was restituted to him in 1946 after passing through the Munich Central Collecting Point, administered by the Allied Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives program.

Now on view:

These Truths: The Declarations of Independence

American Philosophical Society Museum, Philadelphia, 10 April 2026 — 3 January 2027

These Truths: The Declarations of Independence explores how Americans used and reproduced the document during the first fifty years of its history.

At first it served as a pronouncement of news, later a political tool, and then transformed into a national symbol. The creation of the Declaration was a process, not an event, and its story is more complex than assumed. The many copies of the Declaration in the exhibition offer a reminder that the Declaration’s ‘truths’ were never static and each era reevaluated their meaning.

These Truths draws on the APS’s extensive Library and Museum holdings. Highlights of the exhibition include a first printing of Thomas Paine’s Common Sense, the chair Thomas Jefferson sat in while writing the Declaration of Independence, John Binns’ 1819 printing of the Declaration, and William James Stone’s 1823 printing of the Declaration.

Distributed by Penn Press:

David Gary, Emily Sneff, and Patrick Spero, These Truths: The Declarations of Independence (Philadelphia: The American Philosophical Society Press, 2026), 100 pages, ISBN: 9781606181744, $30.

From the Bonaparte Museum:

Talma et Napoléon

Musée National de la Maison Bonaparte, Ajaccio, 20 March — 30 June 2026 / 1 — 30 September 2026 

Curated by Vivien Richard and Jean-Marc Olivesi

Du 20 mars au 30 juin, puis du 1er au 30 septembre 2026, le musée national de la Maison Bonaparte à Ajaccio présente, en partenariat avec la Comédie-Française, une exposition consacrée au tragédien François-Joseph Talma (1763–1826) et aux liens singuliers qui l’unissent à Napoléon Bonaparte. À travers cette figure majeure de la scène française, Talma et Napoléon éclaire la place du théâtre entre la Révolution et l’Empire et interroge son rôle dans la construction de l’image du pouvoir consulaire et impérial. Le parcours, construit à partir des collections du château de Malmaison et de la Maison Bonaparte, et enrichi de prêts exceptionnels de la Comédie-Française et d’autres prêteurs, invite le visiteur à suivre les pas de Talma « sur les planches de sa vie », théâtrales comme politiques.

À l’appui d’une quarantaine d’œuvres—peintures, dessins, estampes, objets d’art, livres et manuscrits—dont certaines exceptionnelles relèvent de prêts de la Comédie Française, l’exposition explore la carrière de Talma et ses grands rôles du répertoire classique et contemporain. Le visiteur découvre ainsi à travers le parcours proposé un monde théâtral traversé par les bouleversements politiques et sociaux de la Révolution. Sur scène comme dans les salons, la notoriété de Talma s’affirme rapidement. Il incarne un renouveau de la tragédie. Les costumes s’accordent aux sujets représentés ; l’art déclamatoire évolue, le jeu recherche naturel et vérité.

Napoléon montre un goût marqué pour les spectacles, en particulier le théâtre. Son intérêt pour la tragédie, les dramaturges classiques et les modèles antiques révèle ses affinités intellectuelles et littéraires avec Talma. Depuis leur rencontre, leurs trajectoires se croisent régulièrement. Napoléon fait du théâtre un instrument du pouvoir : Talma en est l’un des héraults. Talma converse avec Napoléon sur la tragédie et reçoit gratifications et émoluments, signe d’un soutien constant. Malgré la chute de l’Empire, leurs fidélités se poursuivent. Le Mémorial de Sainte-Hélène lui consacre un hommage que l’acteur rend sur scène à Napoléon après sa mort. Leur connivence se prolonge au-delà de la vie, nourrissant une légende commune dont, parmi d’autres, Gérard de Nerval se fera l’écho.

Commissariat
Vivien Richard, conservateur du patrimoine, musée national des châteaux de Malmaison et de Bois-Préau, avec la collaboration de Jean-Marc Olivesi, conservateur général du patrimoine, musée national de la Maison Bonaparte

Elisabeth Caude, Talma et Napoléon (Blois: Éditions Le Charmoiset, 2026), 84 pages, ISBN: ‎978-2372890403, €20.

Now on view at Harvard Art Museums, the exhibition spans a wide period including the reception of Celtic art in the 18th and 19th centuries.

Celtic Art Across the Ages

Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 6 March — 2 August 2026

Curated by Susanne Ebbinghaus, with Penny Coombe, Laure Marest, and Matthew Rogan

Discover the many forms of Celtic creativity and their artistic legacies in this sweeping story that spans ancient to modern times.

When you think of the word ‘Celtic’, what do you picture? Perhaps intricate knotwork designs, legendary warriors, or mystical spirituality? Maybe even a certain NBA team? Celtic Art across the Ages will introduce visitors to the worlds of the various peoples who were historically labeled ‘Celts’—through the objects they created, the interactions they had across the European continent, and the myths that shaped their legacy, then as now. The exhibition stretches from 800 BCE through today, showcasing the craftsmanship, innovation, cultural connections, and multilayered reception that characterized Celtic art in Europe and beyond.

The first major exhibition on this topic to take place in the United States, Celtic Art across the Ages offers an unprecedented opportunity to explore masterful metalwork, including exquisitely decorated weaponry, jewelry, and horse and chariot trappings of the first millennium BCE Iron Age and early medieval times, all brought to light through archaeological discoveries of the last 200 years. See how imagery transformed under Roman rule, and trace the revival of Celtic art and identities in the modern era. From shape-shifting ancient ornaments to the more well-known Celtic iconography of medieval Ireland and Scotland, the objects in this exhibition reveal rich and complex artistic traditions that defy stereotypes of what constitutes ‘Celtic art’.

The exhibition is curated by Susanne Ebbinghaus, George M.A. Hanfmann Curator of Ancient Art and Head of the Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art, with Penny Coombe, Kelekian Curatorial Fellow in Ancient Art, Laure Marest, Damarete Associate Curator of Ancient Coins, and Matthew Rogan, Senior Curatorial Assistant for Special Exhibitions and Publications.

The catalogue is disributed by Yale UP:

Susanne Ebbinghaus, ed., Celtic Art Across the Ages (Cambridge: Harvard Art Museums, 2026), 272 pages, ISBN: 978-0300286380, $45. With contributions by Franck Abert, Sophia Adams, Bettina Arnold, Kathryn Brush, Kimberly Cassibry, Michael Dietler, Christian Dupont, Susanne Ebbinghaus, Astrid Fendt, Ana Franjić, Martin Goldberg, Gloria Polizzotti Greis, Karina Grömer, Vanessa Haussener, Veronika Holzer, Thomas Hoppe, Fraser Hunter, Marina Kliger, Rachel Love, Laure Marest, Catherine McKenna, Nancy Netzer, Laurent Olivier, Sean Rainbird, Matthew Rogan, Maeve Sikora, Adrian Stähli, Georg Tiefengraber, and Katharina Ulmschneider.

Now on view at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs:

A Day in the Eighteenth Century: Chronicle of a Parisian Townhouse

Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris, 18 February — 5 July 2026

Curated by Ariane James-Sarazin and Sophie Motsch

Jean-Baptiste Marie Pierre, La Mauvaise Nouvelle (The Bad News), oil on canvas, 23.5 × 18.5 cm (Paris: Musée des Arts Décoratifs).

A Day in the Eighteenth Century: Chronicle of a Parisian Townhouse invites visitors to step inside the intimate world of an eighteenth-century aristocratic residence and its inhabitants—masters, servants, and household animals. Featuring more than 550 original objects, drawn from the museum’s collections and for most of them, rarely on view, the exhibition gathers all fields of expression of the decorative arts—wood panelling and wallpapers, furniture, ceramics, silverware, clothing and fashion accessories, toys, and jewellery—to recreate the life of a Parisian hôtel particulier in the 1780s. In a cinematic, sound-filled and scented atmosphere, the visitors wander from room to room as if they were close acquaintances, friends, or privileged guests of the family.

The exhibition is curated by Ariane James-Sarazin, Chief Heritage Curator responsible for the seventeenth- and eighteenth-century collections and the Nissim de Camondo collection, together with Sophie Motsch, Assistant Curator.

Ariane James-Sarazin and Sophie Motsch, eds., Une journée au XVIIIe siècle, chronique d’un hôtel particulier (Paris: Éditions Les Arts Décoratifs, 2026), 528 pages, ISBN: 978-2383140351, €39.

William Blake, The Body of Abel Found by Adam and Eve, ca. 1826, ink, tempera, and gold on mahogany

(London: Tate, N05888).

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From the press release for the exhibition:

William Blake: The Age of Romantic Fantasy

National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin, 16 April — 19 July 2026

Curated by Alice Insley and Anne Hodge

The National Gallery of Ireland is presenting a new major exhibition William Blake: The Age of Romantic Fantasy. This loan exhibition from Tate, curated in partnership with the National Gallery of Ireland, presents a selection of Blake’s most iconic works of art, alongside paintings and drawings by his contemporaries. It offers a rare opportunity to encounter one of the most visionary figures in art and literature.

William Blake (1757–1827) is a singular force in the history of art. Poet, painter, and printmaker, he created a visionary universe of mythic beings and prophetic scenes, exploring heaven and hell through a language entirely his own. In a world shaped by revolution and social upheaval, Blake and his peers pushed art into bold new territories using the power of the creative imagination.

Wildly unconventional in terms of both technique and thought, Blake developed a distinctive visual language to explore opposing forces of creation and destruction, reason and imagination. His inventive works have resonated far beyond his own era. Blake’s influence continues to echo through contemporary culture, inspiring musicians such as U2, Bob Dylan, and Patti Smith; filmmakers including Ridley Scott and Martin Scorsese; writers from J.G. Ballard to Allen Ginsberg; and designers such as Una Burke, whose work features in a special three-piece collaboration accompanying the exhibition in the Gallery’s gift shop.

Opening with a selection of Blake’s iconic large colour prints, William Blake: The Age of Romantic Fantasy immediately immerses visitors in the drama and visionary intensity that defines his work. These striking images introduce the exhibition’s central themes, which unfold across a series of sections that place key works by Blake alongside paintings and drawings by the artists he admired and those who were inspired by him. By placing Blake in a wider context of originality and experimentation, the exhibition offers a compelling insight into a transformative moment in European art. It provides a window into uniquely imaginative works of art that address many topics that are as urgent and relevant today as they were during the Romantic period. . . .

Speaking on the opening of the exhibition, Dr Caroline Campbell, Director of the National Gallery of Ireland, said: “It is very exciting to continue our partnership with our colleagues at Tate and present the work of William Blake alongside his contemporaries in this major exhibition. The impact that Blake and the era of Romanticism have had on Western art cannot be overstated. William Blake: The Age of Romantic Fantasy allows our visitors to explore a familiar name in much greater depth. We hope that it will inspire and delight all who visit the National Gallery of Ireland during spring-summer 2026. I also take this opportunity to thank our Partners at Tate, the supporters of our William Blake Giving Circle and the Department of Culture, Communications and Sport for their ongoing support.”

Anne Hodge, Curator of Prints and Drawings at the National Gallery of Ireland said: “William Blake is such an iconic figure in art and literature. I am delighted that our visitors will be able to enjoy a selection of his work in context, alongside that of his fellow artists. Many people are aware that he wrote the poem The Tyger, but know little else about him. This exhibition will provide a window into the richness of Blake’s imagination and his innovation as an artist.”

Alice Insley, Curator British Art, 1730–1850 at Tate, said: “William Blake is today celebrated for the great originality and vision of his art and poetry. Yet he was not alone in giving his imagination free rein. This exhibition shows Blake’s extraordinary works alongside paintings and drawings by his contemporaries—those who he admired and those who he inspired—to reveal how British art was taken in exciting new directions in this moment. We are delighted to be able to share these works from Tate’s collection with visitors to the National Gallery of Ireland and hope that they will continue to inspire across the centuries.”

Alice Insley, Anne Hodge, and Christina Morin, William Blake: The Age of Romantic Fantasy (Dublin: The National Gallery of Ireland, 2026), 144 pages, ISBN: 978-1911716129, €40.

From the press release for the exhibition:

Johann Baptist Lampi the Elder and the Younger: Overpainted and Uncovered

Lower Belvedere, Vienna, 13 May — 11 October 2026

Curated by Katharina Lovecky

What do a Neoclassical family portrait and a Biedermeier depiction of Venus have in common? Both the portrait of Caroline and Viktor von Tomatis by Johann Baptist Lampi the Elder (1751–1830) and Sleeping Venus with Cupid in front of a Mirror by his eponymous son (1775–1837) were overpainted. Based on the results of technical investigations and art-historical research, this exhibition from the IN-SIGHT series traces the consequences of these later interventions in the work of the two artists.

General Director Stella Rollig: “Based on two works in the Belvedere’s collection, this show offers fresh perspectives on the oeuvres of Johann Baptist the Elder and Johann Baptist the Younger. The eventful history of these overpainted works demonstrates how they have changed over time in terms of both their formal appearance and their content and messages. In addition, the exhibition highlights how our current views on the treatment of art—defined by the principles of conservation and the ideal of originality—have evolved through history and only started to become established in the mid-nineteenth century.”

Johann Baptist Lampi the Elder, Zoë and Adelaide von Tomatis, 1788/89 (Vienna: Belvedere; photo by Johannes Stoll).

During his time in Warsaw in 1788–89, Johann Baptist Lampi the Elder painted several portraits of the Tomatis family. Milanese dancer Catarina, née Filipazzi, had moved to Warsaw with entrepreneur Carlo Tomatis in 1765. One of the three portraits of the family by Lampi shows two of their children, Caroline and Viktor, standing either side of a bust. X-ray and infrared imaging from 2016 revealed this bust to be an overpainting: hidden beneath the layers of paint is a portrait of their mother, Catarina, embracing her children. Based on this work and further portraits in addition to archival material, this exhibition tells the story of the Tomatis family.

In 2022 Johann Baptist Lampi the Younger’s painting Venus Sleeping on a Day Bed—as it was then known—was also analyzed using X-ray and infrared imaging. In this case, the figure of Cupid emerged, concealed beneath a black surface. The erasure of the god of love made the mythological content less apparent. This explains why the painting was later interpreted as a portrait of Emilie Victoria Kraus, one of Napoleon’s lovers, in two twentieth-century novels set in Salzburg. It was precisely this misinterpretation that paved the way to the painting’s popularity, which even reached as far as Paraguay. Now, for the first time since the revealing of Cupid in 2024, the painting will be shown to the public under its original title.

The history of these two paintings shows how fascinating art-historical research can be. The original content was forgotten due to overpainting, which resulted in misinterpretations. For the first time in the German-speaking world, the history of the Tomatis family has been examined in the context of their portraits while enduring myths surrounding this depiction of Venus have been challenged and debunked. At the same time, the comparison of the two works—encompassing the context in which they were created and commissioned—reveals the profound changes of this era that was characterized by the transition from a feudal to a bourgeois society, said curator Katharina Lovecky.

This exhibition uncovers the layers of meaning contained within two works, which had been hidden by overpainting. It shows that the meaning of artworks can be significantly altered once they leave the artist’s studio: A family portrait expressing a mother’s love for her children was transformed into a memorial while an idealized Venus morphed into the portrait of a local Salzburg celebrity.

Katharina Lovecky, Roberto Pancheri, Stella Rollig, and Ana Stefaner, Johann Baptist Lampi der Ältere und der Jüngere: Übermalt und freigelegt (Wien: Belvedere, 2026), 112 pages, ISBN: 978-3903327757, €19.

Bernardo Bellotto, Vienna Viewed from the Belvedere Palace, 1759/60, oil on canvas, 135 × 213 cm
(Vienna: Kunsthistorisches Museum)

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From the press release for the exhibition:

Canaletto & Bellotto

Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, 24 March 2026 – 6 September 2026

Curated by Mateusz Mayer

In the 18th century, painted cityscapes (in Italian, vedute: ‘views’) became much sought-after souvenirs. Particularly so among young British aristocrats who bought these paintings on their so-called ‘Grand Tour’, an educational journey across Europe, as a sign of their newly acquired worldly finesse and as a keepsake of their travel experiences. Two of the most eminent exponents of veduta painting are in the center of the new exhibition at the Kunsthistorisches Museum. The Venetian painters Giovanni Antonio Canal, called Canaletto (1697–1768), and his nephew and pupil Bernardo Bellotto (1721–1780) have continued to inform our imagination of several European cities to this day. With their delicate feel for light, atmosphere, and architectural precision, Canaletto and Bellotto transformed these places into stages on which everyday life played out—and in the views of them, into places of longing.

“Canaletto’s and Bellotto’s works show Europe as a space of cultural encounter, long before the concept of a European public ever gained currency. Their vedute connect cities such as Venice, Dresden, London, and Vienna through the perspective of 18th- century travelers and collectors. The exhibition illustrates how art became the visual language of a shared European experiential environment—an empowering culture of exchange, inspiration, and curiosity about other cities and societies,” says Jonathan Fine, Director General of the Kunsthistorisches Museum.

In the 1730s, Canaletto’s vedute fetched record prices in Venice. With the outbreak of the War of the Austrian Succession (1740–1748), however, the market slumped: international travel came to a halt, and deep-pocketed patrons stayed away. Uncle and nephew first responded by turning to new subject matter in their work, but soon realized that prospects for their careers were better outside Italy. The exhibition starts out in Venice and then moves on to Canaletto’s time in England as well as to Bellotto’s places of work in Vienna and Dresden, with the main focus on exploring the veduta as a painterly genre.

“City views from the 18th century, which are often perceived as immediate, almost photographic depictions of reality, are in fact carefully constructed pictorial creations that afford telltale insights into the social and political contexts of the time they were created,” adds Mateusz Mayer, curator of the exhibition.

Canaletto’s and Bellotto’s paintings unfold a multifaceted panorama of the Europe of their time. By showing a selection of particularly significant works and placing them within the scientific currents of the period, the exhibition demonstrates that the veduta is not an objective documentation. Rather, it is a deliberately designed image of a city—informed by artistic choices, socio-political conditions, and the expectations of the patrons commissioning them— manifesting a concept that is particularly relevant in light of present-day debates about visual media, urban development, and the cultural memory.

Canaletto—One Name, Two Artists

The name ‘Canaletto’ has come to be almost synonymous with the ‘veduta’ genre, and not infrequently has caused some confusion, as Bernardo Bellotto also added ‘called Canaletto’ to his signature in some works. He did this not only to underscore his artistic connection with his famous relative and teacher, but also to bolster up his own market value. In this exhibition, though, only the uncle is referred to as ‘Canaletto’. While the latter, throughout his lifetime, led the precarious existence of a freelance veduta painter, dependent on a changing clientele of patrons, Bellotto was eventually granted the honor of a permanent position at the court of the Elector of Saxony and King of Poland.

High-Caliber Loans

The exhibition features 32 outstanding paintings—comprising works from the Kunsthistorisches Museum as well as high-caliber loans. One of the highlights is Canaletto’s spectacular view Venice: The Bacino di San Marco from San Giorgio Maggiore (1735/44) from the holdings of the Wallace Collection. The son of a stage painter, Canaletto was familiar with perspective construction and geometry as they were employed in the theater. That theatrical quality becomes particularly evident in this painting in his subtle handling of spatial illusion.

Also of unique quality are Canaletto’s London paintings, such as London: The Thames on Lord Mayor’s Day (c. 1748) from the Lobkowicz Collection and Westminster Abbey with a Procession of the Knights of the Order of the Bath (1749) from the collection of the Dean and Chapter of Westminster. On view for the general public in Austria for the first time here, they afford rare insights into Canaletto’s artistic engagement with the English capital city.

Another main emphasis is on Bellotto’s two-year stay in Vienna, an extremely productive creative period. His large-size views of Vienna’s inner city, such as View of Vienna from the Belvedere (1759/60), and of palaces around the city from the holdings of the Kunsthistorisches Museum have been cleaned especially for the exhibition. Complemented by prominent loans from the collection of the Princes of Liechtenstein, such as The Liechtenstein Garden Palace in Vienna, Seen from the Belvedere (1759/60), these vedute can now be presented together, almost in their entirety, for the first time in more than 20 years.

In order to further elucidate the intellectual and artistic context of the epoch, the show is supplemented with additional paintings, art prints, and scientific instruments on loan from numerous European museums. Lenders include: Academy of Fine Arts Vienna; Albertina, Vienna; Andrew Lloyd Webber Foundation supported by Tate; Compton Verney; Fondazione Musei Civici di Venezia, Museo Correr, Venice; Gallerie dell’Accademia, Venice; Royal Castle in Warsaw – Museum; Leica Microsystems GmbH; Liechtenstein. The Princely Collections, Vaduz–Vienna; Musée des Beaux-Arts et d’Archéologie, Troyes; Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid; Museu National d’Art de Catalunya, Barcelona; National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin; Nationalmuseum, Stockholm; Austrian National Library, Vienna; Saxon State Archives, Central State Archives Dresden; Schottenstift, Vienna; Vienna Museum of Science and Technology; The British Museum, London; The Dean and Chapter of Westminster, London; The Lobkowicz Collections, Lobkowicz Palace, Prague Castle, Czech Republic; The Wallace Collection, London; Wien Museum, Vienna.

The exhibition was curated by Mateusz Mayer, curator of the Picture Gallery of the Kunsthistorisches Museum. Serenella Zoppolat (architettura21) and Tilo Perkmann (Artvis) did the exhibition design.

The catalogue is distributed by The University of Chicago Press:

Mateusz Mayer, Canaletto & Bellotto: Observation and Invention in Venice, London, and Vienna (Munich: Hirmer, 2026), 176 pages, ISBN: 978-3777447551, $50 / Canaletto & Bellotto: Beobachtung und Erfindung in Venedig, London und Wien, ISBN: 978-3777447544, €40.