MMFA 2016: Recovery of Antiquity

THE RECOVERY OF ANTIQUITY:

FROM THE RENAISSANCE TO NEOCLASSICISM IN FRANCE AND ITALY

January 12 - June 26, 2016

The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts’ upcoming exhibition Pompeii: A Roman City provided the MMFA with an opportunity to present The Recovery of Antiquity exhibition as an opening act-preview of antiquity for the Pompeii exhibition. The MMFA is putting on view for the public a number of Neoclassical drawings from their permanent collection. This exhibition reveals the keen interest of artists from the sixteenth to the early nineteenth century for antiquities.

Although the Ancient Greece and Rome had long served as an inspiration for artists, the works on paper at this exhibition reveal that the discoveries and excavations at the Herculaneum and Pompeii in the eighteenth century renewed that interest. 

The selection of graphic works from the Museum’s collection features over fifty prints and drawings, including several new acquisitions. The visitor will see works works by French masters like François Boucher, Jean-Baptiste Greuze and Anne-Louis Girodet, as well as several Italian artists. Some of these works are being exhibited for the first time.

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For more information, visit the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts website.