Enfilade

The original core collection of ancient sculpture that would become the Archaeological Museum of Venice was on public view in the Marciana Library—built by Sansovino and Scamozzi—starting in 1596. Of the several courtyards of the Procuratie Nuove, the Courtyard of Agrippa is the only one designed by Scamozzi. From the press release (via Art Daily) . . .

Courtyard of Agrippa. Photo from the website of the National Archaeological Museum of Venice.

The Museo archeologico nazionale di Venezia (National Archaeological Museum of Venice)—part of the Musei archeologici nazionali di Venezia e della Laguna (National Archaeological Museums of Venice and the Lagoon)—announces the reopening of the Courtyard of Agrippa, marking the beginning of a new chapter in the museum’s history. Starting May 6, the museum reopens its historic entrance at No. 17 Piazzetta San Marco, directly facing the Doge’s Palace. This new access complements the existing one through the Correr Museum and signifies the launch of a significant reorganization process. It also underscores the museum’s commitment to accessibility and a renewed, inclusive visitor experience.

In line with this vision, the museum route returns to the original order established between 1924 and 1926 by Carlo Anti, a distinguished classicist, professor of Archaeology, and later rector of the University of Padua. The itinerary offers a chronological narrative of Greek and Roman art through sculpture—from the 5th century BC to the late imperial era—alongside ceramics, bronze statuettes, coins, and other precious objects collected and donated by the Venetian aristocracy between the 16th and 19th centuries.

To enhance the visitor experience, a new independent ticketing system for the Archaeological Museum and the Marciana Library is introduced and added to the existing one, along with an annual subscription that provides unlimited, flexible access to the collections. A newly created multifunctional space will also showcase prestigious artifacts and provide visitors with updates on the museum’s ongoing reinstallation project.

The Courtyard of Agrippa is visible at the left edge of this screenshot from Google Maps.

These initiatives represent the first tangible step in the formation of a new institution under Italy’s Ministry of Culture: the Musei archeologici nazionali di Venezia e della Laguna (National Archaeological Museums of Venice and the Lagoon), established in May 2024 under the direction of Marianna Bressan. This institution encompasses the Museo archeologico nazionale di Venezia, the Museo di Palazzo Grimani, the Parco archeologico di Altino (Archaeological Park of Altino), and the upcoming Museo archeologico nazionale della laguna di Venezia (National Archaeological Museum of the Venice Lagoon) on the island of Lazzaretto Vecchio. Together, they promote an integrated and coherent cultural offering that enhances the archaeological heritage of Venice and its lagoon.

To celebrate this reopening, the courtyard will also host a striking site-specific installation during the preview days of the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale. Lines by Kengo Kito, curated by Masahiko Haito and supported by anonymous art project, will be installed both in the Courtyard of Agrippa and Room V of the Museum. The work establishes a dialogue with Venetian cultural heritage and Renaissance architecture, sparking a reflection on the interaction between art and public space.

Canaletto, The Piazzetta, Venice, Looking North, ca. 1740 (Pasadena: Norton Simon Museum). The Marciana Library is visible to the left, in front of the bell tower.

Also part of the exhibition, a temporary conservation intervention—also supported by anonymous art project—on the wall behind the statue of Agrippa, weathered by time and humidity. The work includes surface dust removal, consolidation, and subtle tone harmonization, aiming to create a dynamic relationship between ancient, modern, and contemporary art. This experimental restoration model may inform future developments within the museum. The artistic project will contribute to further enhance this restoration, underlining the importance of the continuous comparison between the historicity of the place and current artistic expressions.

“The reopening of the museum’s historic entrance on Piazzetta San Marco,” states Marianna Bressan, Director of the Musei archeologici nazionali di Venezia e della Laguna, “is the first tangible act in Venice by this new institution. It reflects the cultural vision we aim to develop. The intervention in fact returns to the city and to the world a jewel of Renaissance architecture, studies the distribution of ancient sculptures and the architectural space for a mutual valorisation, proposes a conceptually flexible installation, part permanent exhibition and part visitable depot. Furthermore, it intends to reconnect the relationship of the Archaeological Museum with Venice both physically, through the access directly from the Piazza level, and in the proposal of cultural fruition: in the room adjacent to the ticket office, the Museum will recount step by step the phases of its rebirth, visitors, both male and female, by subscribing, will be able to return as many times as they want to see the progress, to participate in the dedicated events, to familiarize themselves with the collections and the history of this place, so linked to the history of Venice itself.”

Crossing the museum’s new threshold, visitors are welcomed into the Courtyard of Agrippa, home to the monumental statue believed to depict the Roman statesman and general Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa (63 BC – AD 12). This space acts as a bridge between the Marciana area’s architecture, Venice’s political centre, and the legacy of classical antiquity collecting. The statue introduces the deep connection between Venice and ancient Rome, a theme echoed throughout the museum’s collection. This link reveals how collecting was a strategic tool to bolster the cultural and political identity of the Serenissima.

Having become part of public collections in the 1860s, the work represents a significant historical testimony, which confirms a long tradition of private collections donated to the Republic and begun in the early decades of the sixteenth century by Domenico Grimani (1461–1523). Integrating his uncle’s donation with his own collections, in 1587 Giovanni Grimani (1506–1593) donated part of his collection to the Serenissima and committed to setting up the Statuary in the anteroom of the then ‘Libreria’ Marciana, opened to the public in 1596 among the first examples of a public museum in the world. The Grimani donations marked the beginning of a process of active involvement of the Venetian patriciate in strengthening the prestige of the State. Numerous members of the Venetian nobility, in fact, would follow their example, donating part of their collections to the city. The predominance of ancient works of art, especially Roman, becomes clear evidence of the desire to associate Venice with a historical tradition that, although not part of its foundation, could legitimise it as a cultural, political and military power. The collection of ancient art thus becomes a bridge between the Serenissima and the great Roman history, strengthening the position of Venice as heir to the dominion and power of the Roman Empire, especially in the eastern Mediterranean.

In a program that aims to offer a complete cultural experience, the new independent entrance to the museum, designed for those who wish to visit only the Archaeological Museum, integrates with the existing access from the Museo Correr.

The addition of a new passageway restores the Courtyard of Agrippa to its original visibility and accessibility: the space, in fact, is the only one among the courtyards of the Procuratie Nuove designed by Vincenzo Scamozzi, one of the greatest interpreters of the Renaissance architectural language.

To re-establish the visit according to the original route, the new entrance corresponds to a separate ticket. To this is also added an adjacent multifunctional space, where stone works belonging to the permanent collection will be set up, creating a real visitable depot. Here, an infographic designed to be flexible and updatable will tell visitors about the process of re-setting up the National Archaeological Museum of Venice, which begins with the reopening of the Courtyard of Agrippa.

Finally, to make the offer as inclusive and usable as possible, an annual subscription will be introduced, which will allow flexible entry to the collections, as well as access to the Museum’s event program. The initiative thus opens the institution to the city, building visitor loyalty and guaranteeing them a more dynamic visit.

The reopening of the Courtyard of Agrippa marks an important step in the process of reorganization and enhancement of the archaeological heritage of Venice, which finds new synergy within the National Archaeological Museums of Venice and the Lagoon. Within this institution, belonging to the Ministry of Culture, the different facets of the identity and history of the Venetian territory are integrated.

The Museum of Palazzo Grimani and the National Archaeological Museum offer a historical-artistic narrative on collecting linked to archaeology and classical art: Palazzo Grimani, in particular, celebrates, through the reorganization of the Tribuna, the collecting experience of the Grimani family—specifically the patriarch of Aquileia, Giovanni—while the National Archaeological Museum of Venice tells the story of Venetian collecting.

A belated posting for a major announcement from October:

Élisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun, Self Portrait in Studio Costume, ca. 1800 (Williamstown, Massachusetts: Clark Art Institute).

The Clark Art Institute has received one of the largest gifts in its history from the foundation of the late philanthropist Aso O. Tavitian. The gift includes 331 works of art from Mr. Tavitian’s personal collection and more than $45 million to endow a curatorial position to oversee the collection, provide necessary support for the collection’s long-term care, and fund construction of a new Aso O. Tavitian Wing at the Clark.

“It is an incredible honor to receive this transformational gift,” said Olivier Meslay, Hardymon Director of the Clark Art Institute. “During his lifetime, Aso Tavitian was a wonderful friend to the Clark and a generous supporter who provided us with exceptional leadership and dedication. We are deeply moved by his decision to place the heart of his collection in our trust and immensely grateful to the Trustees of his Foundation for their generosity in ensuring that we can fulfill his desire to share these treasures with the world through the addition of the new Aso O. Tavitian Wing that will house these remarkable works of art.”

Mr. Tavitian, who had homes in New York City and Stockbridge, Massachusetts, died in 2020. He served on the Clark’s Board of Trustees from 2006 to 2012 and remained engaged with the Clark throughout his lifetime. In 2011, Mr. Tavitian loaned thirty paintings and one sculpture from his collection to the Clark for the exhibition Eye to Eye: European Portraits, 1450–1850. Prior to his death, Mr. Tavitian made the decision to gift a significant portion of his collection to the Clark and had numerous conversations with the Institute’s leadership about his intentions.

The 331 works of art in the gift include 132 paintings, 130 sculptures, thirty-nine drawings, and thirty decorative arts objects, creating an important addition to the Clark’s holdings. The entirety of the Tavitian gift will be on view when the new Aso O. Tavitian Wing opens. Following an introductory presentation at the time of the new wing’s opening, the works on paper included in the gift will be made available for study purposes and be presented in periodic displays. The majority of paintings, sculpture, and decorative arts objects will be shown on a continual basis, both in the new Tavitian Wing and in the Clark’s permanent collection galleries.

The Tavitian gift is particularly rich in portraiture, including important works by Parmigianino, Peter Paul Rubens, Elizabeth Vigée Lebrun, Jean-Honoré Fragonard, and Jacques- Louis David, among others. Also included in the collection are landscapes by Hubert Robert, Claude-Joseph Vernet, and others, as well as religious paintings by artists including Jan van Eyck and Agnolo Bronzino. Sculpture is a great strength of the Tavitian Collection, with works in bronze, plaster, terracotta, marble, and other materials dating from the Renaissance through the late nineteenth-century by artists including Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Andrea della Robbia, Gil de Siloé, Clodion (Claude Michel), and Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux.

“Aso Tavitian’s collection of Early Modern paintings, sculpture, decorative arts, and drawings is truly one of the finest in the world,” said Esther Bell, Deputy Director and Robert and Martha Berman Lipp Chief Curator of the Clark. “In making this tremendous gift to the Clark, Aso ensured that the public will have access to these beautiful objects for future generations. We are eagerly anticipating the opportunity to share these works with our visitors.”

The Clark’s existing collection of paintings and sculpture ranges from the Renaissance to the end of the nineteenth century, with strengths in the second half of this period, and greater strength in paintings than in sculpture. The Tavitian gift covers the same period, but with strengths in the earlier periods, and with greater balance between paintings and sculpture. As such, this collection forms a perfect complement and addition to the Clark’s current holdings.

“Aso Tavitian was committed to creating a home for a significant part of his collection at the Clark, where the works that brought him such deep pleasure could be shared with the public,” said Candace Beinecke, President of the Aso O. Tavitian Foundation. “The trustees of the Tavitian Foundation are thrilled to see Aso’s wishes come to life in new galleries that will provide a glorious setting for his magnificent collection and a fitting tribute to this remarkable man’s legacy.”

In addition to the works of art and funding for a new addition, the gift creates an endowment for a new curatorial position, the Aso O. Tavitian Curator of Early Modern European Painting and Sculpture, as well as additional staffing to ensure continuous oversight of the works included in the collection. The gift also supports the publication of a catalogue documenting the collection, as well as the ongoing care and maintenance of the Tavitian Collection and the new facility.

The Aso O. Tavitian Wing

The Clark and the Trustees of the Tavitian Foundation jointly selected Selldorf Architects to design the new Aso O. Tavitian Wing that will be constructed on the Clark’s campus. The new facility will be positioned between the existing Museum Building and the Manton Research Center, creating a completely reconceived and more meaningful link between the two buildings and replacing the ‘bridge’ that was originally created during the 1973 addition designed by Pietro Belluschi and The Architects Collaborative, Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Annabelle Selldorf leads the design team on the project, marking her third major engagement with the Clark. Selldorf previously oversaw the 2014 renovation of the Museum Building and the 2016 renovation of the Manton Research Center’s public spaces and galleries. Completion of the new building is anticipated for some time between 2027 and 2028.

Highlights of the Tavitian Collection at The Clark

Beginning in 2004 and continuing until his death, Mr. Tavitian assembled one of the most important private groupings of Early Modern art amassed in this generation. Mr. Tavitian’s collection reflected his personal taste, his extraordinary eye, and his belief that seeing these works displayed together further illuminated each object.

Following Mr. Tavitian’s death, his foundation gifted two paintings from his collection to The Metropolitan Museum of Art (Francesco Salviati’s Bindo Altoviti, ca.1545) and The Frick Collection (Giovanni Battista Moroni’s Portrait of a Woman, ca.1575). These paintings featured prominently in exhibitions that were presented at these institutions in recent years. The gift to the Clark honors Mr. Tavitian’s wishes to keep a significant portion of his art collection intact so that the artworks could be displayed together.

The collection includes major works by many noted artists. Among the many important works included in the Tavitian gift are:

• Jan van Eyck (Netherlandish, ca. 1390–1441) and workshop, Madonna of the Fountain, ca. 1440, oil on panel. This rare panel is one of several period versions of one of Van Eyck’s last paintings, dated to 1439 and in the Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten in Antwerp.

• Andrea della Robbia (Italian, 1435–1525/1528), Portrait of a Youth, ca. 1470–80, glazed terracotta. This exceptional work by Ieading Italian Renaissance sculptor della Robbia is modeled in deep relief, with the head and neck set off against a simple roundel glazed in blue, resulting in a sculpture that is remarkably lifelike and modern.

• Gil de Siloé (Spanish, active 1486, died ca. 1501), Saint Cecile, ca. 1500, marble. This rare, delicately carved, sculpture was made by one of the leading Late Gothic artists of fifteenth-century northern Spain, likely as an object of private devotion.

• Jacopo da Pontormo (Italian, 1494–1557), Portrait of a Boy, ca. 1535–40 or later, oil on fired tile. This sensitive, Mannerist depiction of an unknown boy, possibly a studio assistant, is rendered on the unusual support of a thick terracotta tile.

• Peter Paul Rubens (Flemish, 1577–1640), Portrait of a Young Man, ca. 1613–15, oil on panel. While the identity of the sitter is no longer known, this portrait—made following the artist’s return from Rome in what is arguably his most fertile period—is a superb example of Rubens’s ability to capture the subtleties of character.

• Gian Lorenzo Bernini (Italian, 1598–1680), Countess Matilda of Canossa, ca. 1630–39, bronze. This small-scale bronze figure is a reduction of the over life-size marble Bernini made for the tomb of Countess Matilda in St. Peter’s Basilica, Rome. The Tavitian gift also includes a rare painting by Bernini, thought to be a portrait of his brother Luigi.

• Hubert Robert (French, 1733–1808), Colonnade and Gardens at the Villa Medici, ca. 1759, oil on canvas. The collection includes three landscapes by Hubert Robert, including this monumental plein air vista of gentlemen sketching on the grounds of the French Academy in Rome.

• Jean-Antoine Houdon (French, 1741–1828), Little Lise, 1775, marble. The delicate carving of the hair, ribbon, and face of a young woman demonstrates Houdon’s unparalleled artistic refinement.

• Elizabeth Louise Vigée-Lebrun (French, 1755–1842), Self-Portrait in Studio Costume, ca. 1800, oil on panel. Several works by women artists are included in the collection, including eighteenth-century portrait painter Vigée-Lebrun, who is represented by this confident self-portrait.

• Jacques Louis David (French, 1748–1825), Portrait of Dominique-Vincent Ramel de Nogaret, 1820, oil on canvas. The artist painted the former finance minister of France during a period when both men were in exile in Brussels following the final abdication of Napoleon in 1815. The gift also includes two other portraits by David, including the pendant portrait of Ramel de Nogaret’s wife, Ange-Pauline-Charlotte Ramel de Nogaret and the portrait of the artist’s son, Jules.

From the press release (via Art Daily) . . .

Portrait of Shawn Yuan, courtesy of the San Antonio Museum of Art.

The Norton Museum of Art, in West Palm Beach, has appointed Shawn Yuan as the Elizabeth B. McGraw Senior Curator of Asian Art. The Norton, Florida’s largest art museum, is internationally known for its Collection of Contemporary art, Early European art, Modern art, and Photography, as well as Chinese art. Yuan will oversee the Asian Collection, which primarily focuses on Chinese art. In his new role, Yuan also will focus on works created by artists of other Asian cultures. His tenure at the Museum will begin April 7.

Yuan joins the Norton from the World Heritage Center in San Antonio, Texas. Prior to his role at the World Heritage Center, he held positions at the San Antonio Museum of Art, the Oklahoma State University Museum of Art, and the Crow Museum of Asian Art at the University of Texas, Dallas.

At the Norton, Yuan will be responsible for developing, growing, and interpreting the Museum’s Asian Collection, encompassing more than 700 objects, including bronzes, ceramics, decorative arts, glass, jades, porcelain, and works of various other mediums. The Norton’s Asian Art Collection was an early addition to the Museum’s holdings, which began in 1942 under the Museum’s founder, Ralph Hubbard Norton, just one year after the Museum opened. The Museum’s earliest acquisitions for this area of the Collection consisted of Chinese jade and bronzes, and expanded over the years to include ceramics, lacquer, export and import porcelain, and most recently, paintings. Yuan’s hiring marks the Norton’s broadening scope of collecting to more robustly include other Asian cultures such as Japan, Korea, and India.

“We are impressed by Shawn’s enthusiasm for our collections, and his passion for making these venerable works of art relatable to modern audiences,” said Ghislain d’Humières, Kenneth C. Griffin Director and CEO. “I look forward to working with him and collaborating on the development of innovative, original exhibition programming that expands the Norton’s storied Chinese holdings and welcomes new audiences through the focused inclusion of work from diverse Asian cultures.”

Yuan has curated several original exhibitions, including Samurai Spirit: Swords, Accessories, and Paintings; Creative Splendor: Japanese Bamboo Baskets from the Thomas Collection; Elegant Pursuits: The Arts of China’s Educated Elite, 1400–1900; Korean Ceramics from the San Antonio Museum of Art Collection; Radiant Wisdom: Tibetan and Indian Buddhist and Hindu Art from the John Hendry Collection; Texas Collects Asia; and Tending the Afterlife: Chinese Tomb Art from the Neolithic Period to the Ming Dynasty.

“I have long admired the Norton’s exceptional collection of Asian art, particularly its remarkable holdings of Chinese art,” Yuan said. “Thanks to visionary acquisitions throughout the Museum’s history, the Collection features outstanding examples across all major categories, spanning more than 3,000 years of Chinese history.”

Yuan fills a position that will soon be vacated by Laurie Barnes, who is retiring after 19 years as the Elizabeth B. McGraw Senior Curator of Chinese Art. During her tenure, Barnes expanded the Collection, leading the Norton to acquire several rare and noteworthy works, such as a 10th-century ‘Secret Color’ Yue stoneware box and a set of paintings depicting a late Ming dynasty (1368–1644) Lantern Festival celebration in the city of Nanjing. She also was a contributing author to Chinese Ceramics: From the Paleolithic Period through the Qing Dynasty, a bilingual encyclopedic survey published by Yale University in collaboration with the Beijing Foreign Languages Press and curated the critically acclaimed 2015 exhibition High Tea: Glorious Manifestations East and West, a wide-ranging exploration of the art and culture of tea. Barnes leaves a lasting impact on the Norton’s community and is thrilled to observe the direction that Yuan takes the Museum’s expanded Asian Art department.

“It will truly be an honor to work with this esteemed Collection and contribute to its continued growth,” Yuan said. “I also look forward to collaborating with the Norton team to create exhibitions that serve as a gateway to Asian cultures while enriching the vibrant and diverse cultural landscape of South Florida.”

From the press release (4 March 2025) . . .

Dr. Bernd Ebert (Photo by Oliver Killig).

The Saxon state government agreed today that Dr Bernd Ebert will become the General Director of the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden (SKD or Dresden State Art Collections) from 1 May 2025 onwards. His contract will run until 30 June 2033. He will follow in the footsteps of Prof. Dr Marion Ackermann, who is becoming President of the Stiftung Preussischer Kulturbesitz (Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation).

Dr Bernd Ebert is returning to Dresden after the previous stages in his career ideally prepared him for his new job at Saxony’s Art Collections. He impressed an international selection committee consisting of many prominent personalities, who unanimously recommended him to take up this internationally important museum position following a multi-stage selection procedure. Dr Bernd Ebert will move from his current leadership role at the Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen (Bavarian State Painting Collections) to become the General Director of the SKD.

The Saxon State Culture Minister, Barbara Klepsch, issued the following strong statement. ”l’m delighted that we’ve once again been able to attract an outstanding person to Saxony: a high-profile and sought-after art historian and museum expert is taking over as the new General Director of our Dresden State Art Collections. He convinced us with his clear ideas about how he plans to lead the internationally renowned network of museums into a highly promising future. With his enthusiasm for the collections and thanks to his national and international experience and networks, he’s the ideal person to take over the position of General Director. We’re more than happy to hand over the responsibility for the successful Dresden State Art Collections to him from May 2025 onwards.”

Neil McGregor emphasized, “The search committee was fortunate in having a strong field of candidates, with a wide range of different experience: and we were unanimous in choosing Dr Bernd Ebert as the outstanding candidate to lead the SKD. He is of course a distinguished art historian with an international reputation as a scholar. But he is much more than that. He brings to the role a rare mix of legal, financial, and administrative skills; he has direct experience of tackling the intellectual, practical, and political complexities of a great encyclopaedic collection like the SKD; and he has an impressive track record of exhibitions, designed to win new audiences and to break down the traditional boundaries between art history and other disciplines. What most convinced us was his ambitious vision for the future of the collections as a whole, for what they can mean for Dresden, for Saxony, and for the world — and a clear understanding of how that vision can be made a reality.“

Dr Bernd Ebert comments, “In Saxony, lt’s wonderful to see how amazingly popular the collections and the multi-faceted programme formats at the SKD are with the general public and experience the depth of the bond between the population and their art treasures. Working with the team at SKD, it’s my goal to not only intensify the research work into the many and varied items in the collections, but also promote the way that their message is communicated in our modern world. One of the issues closest to my heart also involves extending the range of services for different groups of visitors and increasing the quality of the time that the general public spends in the SKD centres in order to make their overall experience even more attractive. l’m looking forward to publicising the cultural heritage, which is unique around the world in its quality and variety, to an even greater degree, both nationally and internationally, and l’m more than happy to commit myself to the passion for art that is part and parcel of life here in Saxony.”

Bernd Ebert (who was born in Berlin in 1972) started his career in Dresden with a training course to become a qualified banking clerk at Deutsche Bank AG. He then studied art history, jurisprudence, and business management in Bonn and simultaneously gained practical professional experience at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Newtown Galleries in Johannesburg, the National Gallery of South Africa, and the lrma Stern Museum in Cape Town, as well as at renowned private collections and in the art trade.

He gained his doctorate (with the highest possible honours) in 2005 with a thesis focusing on the Dutch baroque painters, Simon and lsaack Luttichuys, having spent several years conducting research in the Netherlands as part of his doctorate.

Dr Ebert worked at the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin (State Museums in Berlin) from 2005 until 2013, initially as an academic museum assistant to the General Directorate and the painting gallery and then as an academic expert for the General Director. In this role, he coordinated the departments of research and scholarship as well as international cooperation arrangements across the collections, such as the EU twinning project with the Georgian National Museum in Tbilisi and the exhibition entitled ”The Art of the Enlightenment” at the Chinese National Museum in Beijing. He was a visiting fellow at the Getty Research Institute in Los Angeles in 2011.

Since 2013, Dr Ebert has been the Head of the Collection of Dutch and German Baroque Paintings at the Bavarian State Painting Collections and has been responsible for the state galleries in Bayreuth and Bamberg. His outstanding special exhibitions include Circle, Sphere, Cosmos (Berlin, Schwäbisch Hall, 2006/07); Utrecht, Caravaggio and Europe (Utrecht, Munich 2018/19); and Rachel Ruysch: Nature into Art (Munich, Toledo, and Boston, 2024/25).

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Installation view of French Neoclassical Paintings from The Horvitz Collection at the Art Institute of Chicago, 2024.

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From the AIC press release (11 February 2025) . . .

The Art Institute of Chicago is honored to announce a transformative gift of 16th- to 19th-century French art from Jeffrey and Carol Horvitz. The Horvitz Collection is the preeminent collection of French Old Master paintings, drawings, and sculptures in the United States, and while the Art Institute is already renowned for one of the most comprehensive collections of 19th-century French art worldwide, this unparalleled gift will allow the museum to provide its visitors with a 300-year panorama of French art that is wholly unique outside of France.

This gift is made up of nearly 2,000 drawings, 200 paintings, and 50 sculptures, and includes works by well-known artists Charles Le Brun, François Boucher, Jean-Honoré Fragonard, Jacques-Louis David, and Théodore Géricault; numerous works by women artists, including Anne Vallayer Coster, Élisabeth Vigée Lebrun, Marie-Gabrielle Capet, and Adélaïde Labille-Guiard; and rare works of art where few or none otherwise exist in America, such as artworks by Jacques Bellange, Reynaud Levieux, and Nicolas Prevost.

Jean-Charles-Niçaise Perrin, Death of Seneca, ca. 1788 (Chicago: AIC, Horvitz Collection).

The collection has been built over four decades and continues to grow and evolve. For the last three decades, it has been widely featured in thematic exhibitions in museums across the United States and Europe. More recently, two spectacular exhibitions in late 2024 at the Art Institute—French Neoclassical Paintings from The Horvitz Collection and Revolution to Restoration: French Drawings from The Horvitz Collection—featured just a small portion of the paintings and drawings in this vast collection.

To ensure the care, stewardship, accessibility, and long-term sustainability of the collection and programming for French art, phased financial gifts will accompany the collection and are expected to become one of the largest financial gifts in the history of the Art Institute. These funds will be dedicated to supporting French art across the permanent collection—conserving and caring for works, creating special exhibitions, supporting museum staff, and conducting groundbreaking research.

Jeffrey Horvitz explains, “We have always envisioned this collection remaining as a whole in order to be more than the sum of its parts, and for it to go to a major American museum where the most visitors can experience these artistic treasures, where scholars and curators can avail of the resources and advance this important research, and where our enthusiasm will resonate long after we are gone. We spent years thinking about where the collection should ultimately go—there was no more perfect choice than the Art Institute.”

This ongoing collaboration is the result of significant partnership between Jeffrey and Carol Horvitz; Alvin Clark, the Horvitzes’ curator of French drawings, paintings, and sculpture; and the Art Institute. Carol is an active member of the museum’s Board of Trustees and works closely with the museum regarding other aspects of the Horvitz’s collection, including superb Chinese cinnabar lacquer and the most significant collection of contemporary Japanese ceramics outside of Japan. Many of these works were loaned to the recent acclaimed Art Institute exhibition Radical Clay: Contemporary Women Artists from Japan, which was seen by more than 100,000 visitors.

“We are so grateful to Jeffrey and Carol for this impactful gift,” James Rondeau, President and Eloise W. Martin Director of the Art Institute of Chicago said. “Their continued support and passion for the museum is truly special, not only because it will allow millions of visitors to experience a fuller story of French art, but also because their generous financial support of the ongoing care and research of this collection will allow us to continue advancing our broader mission.”

From the press release, via Art Daily:

The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA), the first museum and school of fine arts in the United States, today announced Lea Stephenson as the next Kenneth R. Woodcock Curator of Historical American Art, effective 10 February 2025. In this role, Stephenson will work to strengthen the development, research, presentation, and growth of PAFA’s renowned collection of historical American art, reporting directly to Interim Museum Director Harry Philbrick. “We are thrilled to welcome Lea to PAFA,” said Philbrick. “Her extensive background as a curator and educator and her deep knowledge of American art and art history make her an excellent addition to our team.”

Currently, Stephenson is a PhD candidate in art history at the University of Delaware, completing her dissertation on “‘Wonderful Things’: Egyptomania, Empire, and the Senses, 1870–1992,” which looks at American and British artists and collectors in Egypt during the Gilded Age. Stephenson is also the Luce Foundation Curatorial Fellow in American Paintings and Works on Paper for Historic Deerfield in Massachusetts, expanding the collection, curating exhibitions and programming, writing for publication, and fundraising.

“It is an honor to be chosen as the next Kenneth R. Woodcock Curator of Historical American Art,” said Stephenson. “It is an especially exciting time to be joining PAFA, particularly with the work in progress to curate the museum’s first, new permanent exhibition in some 20 years and prepare for its installation in 2026. PAFA is an American treasure and central to the story of America’s art history, and I could not be more excited to join.”

Stephenson’s experience in the museum world includes her recent work as exhibition curator for Historic Deerfield as well as contributions to exhibitions at the University of Delaware, The Preservation Society of Newport County (Rhode Island), Dallas Museum of Art, The Clark Art Institute (Williamstown, Massachusetts), and Marie Selby Botanical Gardens (Sarasota, Florida). A published author, Stephenson has written multiple essays including “Racial Capital: Peter Marié’s Miniatures and Gilded Age Whiteness” and “The Potter Overmantel: Black Presence and the Sense of ‘Touch’.” She has two forthcoming essays: “Early Transformations in American Art: From the Colonies to an Emerging Republic,” which examines Deerfield Academy’s American art collection and major themes in American art history, specifically 18th-century to Federal period paintings and works on paper, and the other on James Wells Champney’s illustrations and collaborations with Elizabeth Williams Champney.

Stephenson holds a BA in art history from Temple University and a MA in the history of art from Williams College.

As noted by Adam Busiakiewicz at Art History News, the Nationalmusée Luxembourg (MNAHA) recently acquired three portraits by Monique Daniche, who worked in Strasbourg at the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries—one from Tajan (12 June, lot 90) and two from Gros & Delettrez (18 November, lot 283). From the MNAHA:

Michelle Kleyr and Ruud Priem, “New Acquisition: A Female Painter from Strasbourg Steps into the Limelight,” MuseoMag #1 (2025).

Monique Daniche, Portrait of Catherine Hubscher (1753–1835), known as ‘Madame Sans-Gêne’, ca. 1800 (Luxembourg: MNAHA).

• Monique Daniche, Portrait of Jean Nicolas Michel Tinchant (1770–1835), ca. 1793, oil on canvas, 76 × 62 cm (Luxembourg: MNAHA).
• Monique Daniche, Portrait of Jeanne Louise Thérèse Hebenstreit (1770–1849), ca. 1793, oil on canvas, 76 × 62 cm (Luxembourg: MNAHA).
• Monique Daniche, Portrait of Catherine Hubscher (1753–1835), known as ‘Madame Sans-Gêne’, ca. 1800, oil on canvas, 64 × 55 cm (Luxembourg: MNAHA).

Many museums around the world are actively trying to redress the balance in their collections of European paintings before 1850 where, in general, female portraits and especially works painted by women artists are far outnumbered by their male counterparts. With a limited budget and stiff international competition, the museum’s department of fine arts is always looking for rare opportunities to acquire work in that field on the art market. This year [2024], we were fortunate enough to acquire no less than three works by the French painter Monique Daniche (1737–1824), who was working as a much sought-after portraitist for the Strasbourg elite in the late 18th and early 19th century. Preliminary research on these portraits has revealed some remarkable stories so far.

Little is certain about Daniche’s biography and oeuvre. We know that her father Jean Tanisch (c.1700–1775) was born near Trier and recorded living between 1736 and 1742 in the Valsesia alpine valley, where he married Monique’s Tuscan mother, Rose Rossi (c.1714–1778). Our painter was born in 1737 as Marie Monique Rose Tanisch in Varallo (Piedmont), before her family relocated to Strasbourg around 1743. Although they changed their surname to ‘Daniche’ to make it sound more French, Monique kept signing her work as ‘Tanisch’. Her family was made up of painters, with her father teaching Monique and her younger siblings Ursule (1742–1822), Antoine Clément (b.1744), and Pierre (b.1752).

Almost none of their paintings are signed, and it is difficult to determine which work should be attributed to which specific family member, especially since they worked together on some paintings during their careers, Monique and Ursule in particular. As no signed works by Ursule are known to date, we assume that she collaborated exclusively with her older sister, perhaps as her assistant. Both women lived and worked together in Strasbourg all their lives, did not marry, and never seem to have left Alsace. The early years of their careers focused primarily on religious paintings for the altars of churches in Strasbourg and the surrounding area. With the dispossession and dispersal of church property during the political upheavals of the French Revolution, the sisters’ painting practice shifted to an entirely different genre, with Monique Daniche concentrating almost exclusively on portraiture from 1790 onwards.

Much of the information we have about the life and work of Monique Daniche was unearthed by the Strasbourg historian Alain Luttringer in a publication of Cahiers alsaciens d’archeologie, d’art et d’histoire 43 (2000). The addresses of her residences and workshops, the fact that the sisters employed a servant and lent considerable amounts of money, and an idea of the extent of Monique’s original oeuvre are entirely based on his research. Luttringer identified at least 35 works painted by Monique Daniche, with another 12 works attributed to her. Overall, it is a small artistic oeuvre, of which just over a dozen works have survived. . . .

The full essay is available here»