Art and Music in Venice Book - MMFA 2013

Art and Music in Venice
From the Renaissance to the Baroque

This publication accompanies the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts' current exhibition Splendore a Venezia: Art and Music from the Renaissance to Baroque in the Serenissima, on display between October 12, 2013 and January 19, 2014. This is a relatively short time for such an important exhibition that provides the historical background to so many artistic and musical tendencies and innovations that took root in Venice and subsequently shaped the Europe's artistic taste and creativity for some time.

The book comprises of 240 pages, many of which are devoted to high quality illustrations and reproductions of paintings.  Together, the illustrations and the text reveal how the music, drawing and painting intertwined, forming one artistic expression. What we now refer to by such terms as renaissance, baroque, or classical, actually represented tor the Venetians' their everyday arts. They were their 'contemporary' music and 'contemporary' visual art expressions, their latest 'hits'. One cannot help but to realize how much more sophisticated and even refined people's artistic tastes were at those times as compared to our's.  

Here are images of several book's pages to give you some idea of what is inside. My photographs of those pages fail to capture the full scope of the content and the beauty of this publication.

Unfortunately, MMFA no longer has an online bookstore. But you can purchase the book in person at the MMFA Boutique and Store.

You can also read more about the exhibition here.

Archaeological Dig PAC Museum 2013

2013 Archaeological Dig Results

Montreal Museum of Archeology and History Pointe-à-Callière (PAC) has unveiled some major discoveries during the summer 2013 dig on the historical site of the former St. Ann’s Market and the Parliament of the United Province of Canada. That location is classified as a heritage site by Québec Department of Culture and Communications.

Close to 50,000 artefacts and biofacts, as well as charred remains of 35 books have been found at the dig at Place D’Youville in Old Montréal, beneath a former City of Montreal parking lot, where the remains of the historical sites are located.

The book fragments that were found are charred and carbonized due to the fire that took place on the night of April 25, 1849 that destroyed the Parliament buildings and all its library collections. The remains of the books have were sent to the Canadian Conservation Institute which is assessing restoration options in order to identify the books and make them accessible.

The enlarged book fragment above is one of the pieces under the glass cover (lower left corner of the glass box) in the photo below.

In addition, it has been announced that PAC Museum has launched its first ever fundraising campaign. The co-chairs of this fundraising campaign are the representatives of the National Bank of Canada. The project team has already raised over $7 million dollars.

PAC Museum's statement:

"Towards an Archaeology and History Complex

Showcasing St. Ann’s Market—home of the Parliament of the United Province of Canada—and the items found there is just one part of Pointe-à-Callière’s extensive plans to create an archaeology and history complex comprising some ten sites. Aside from displaying the remains of this site, the planned complex will also preserve and display the remains of Fort Ville-Marie and of Callière’s Residence, and will include a space to house international exhibitions, all of which will be linked underground by a 400-metre stretch of the William collector sewer. The completion of this unique heritage treasure is planned for 2017, to mark the Museum’s 25th anniversary, Montréal’s 375th birthday, and the 150th anniversary of Confederation. Pointe-à-Callière intends to preserve and showcase these sites as a commemorative gesture, giving the public access to this exceptional heritage, today and in the future. Full details on the planned expansion are available on the Museum’s website."

Visit the PAC Museum's site to find out more about the museum and its exhibitions

http://www.pacmusee.qc.ca/en/home


Click on any image to enlarge it.

Plateau Exhibition at PAC Museum, Montreal

Lives and Times of the Plateau

October 23, 2012 - September 1, 2014

Pointe-à-Callière Museum of Archaeology is presenting an exhibition about the history of Montreal's Plateau Mont-Royal neighbourhood, its distinctive character and creativity. It showcases the Plateau as a meeting place of the artistic and intellectual vitality as well as the entrepreneurial daring which symbolize Montréal’s diverse and vibrant culture. 

In less than 200 years, the Plateau was transformed from totally agrarian area, with four small villages, into a working-class neighbourhood which later became a fully diversified urban community. This rapid pace of urban evolution made Plateau Mont-Royal one of the sources of major transformations that marked the city’s history, while at the same time becoming a meeting place of people with colourful pasts and futures.

Plateau is known for its famous triplexes with balconies, spiral staircases and green back lanes. It  is even proclaimed as one of the best places to live. 

Plateau Mont-Royal is also considered to be a "creative" neighbourhood. A number of Quebec artists either lived in the Plateau, had their studios there, or painted the Plateau neighbourhoods.

For more information about the Lives and Times of the Plateau exhibition, visit the PAC Museum's website

http://www.pacmusee.qc.ca/en/home

Splendore a Venezia Exhibition at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts

Splendore a Venezia: 
Art and Music from the Renaissance to Baroque in the Serenissima

October 12, 2013 to January 19, 2014


 The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA) is hosting a new temporary exhibition on Venice art and music, ranging from the early sixteenth century to the fall of the Serenissima at the close of the eighteenth century. La Serenissima was the name for the Republic of Venice, from the title Serenissimo, literally meaning 'the most/very serene'.

This is an interdisciplinary and also an innovative exhibition. It aims to explore the  important interrelationships that existed between the visual arts and music in the Venetian Republic, and how they served the political ambitions of the state and its civic institutions, becoming increasingly central to the economy of the Republic.

The exhibition brings together approximately 120 paintings, prints, and drawings, as well as historical instruments, musical manuscripts, and texts. On display are masterworks by many renowned artists associated with the musical life of Venice, such as Titian, Tintoretto, Bassano, Giovanni Battista, Domenico Tiepolo, and Francesco Guardi, many of whom were also amateur musicians. There are also works by Bernardo Strozzi, Pietro Longhi and Canaletto whose paintings show the role of music in the the Venetian everyday life. 

This  exhibition  also  includes  manuscripts  and  publications  by  Venetian composers like the Gabrieli, Monteverdi, Albinoni, Lotti and Vivaldi and a number of Venecian musical instruments. The exhibition's halls are organized around various time periods, and also thematically. Each hall portrays a specific musical style which can be heard by the visitors as a background theme. In addition, the exhibition's free audio guide consists only of musical excerpts that connect by numbers to some works on display.

The works on loan for this exhibition, including precious historical instruments, have been contributed by 61 international collections in Canada and abroad: 

• From the United States – the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Morgan Library & Museum, the New York Public Library, the Wadsworth Atheneum, the Cleveland Museum of Art, the National Gallery of Art (Washington).
• From Italy – the Palatine Gallery, Uffizi, Capitoline, Cini Foundation, Accademia (Venice), Museo Correr.
• Rrom the rest of Europe – Vienna’s Kunsthistorisches Museum, Madrid’s Thyssen‐Bornemisza, London’s Dulwich Picture Gallery and National Gallery, and the Louvre. From the beginning, the Cité de la musique in Paris has contributed to this exhibition with its scientific expertise and by loaning major instruments.

After Montreal, the exhibition will travel to the Portland Art Museum in Oregon, where it will be open to public from March 7 to June 8, 2014.

Visit Montreal Museum's of Fine Arts' website, where you will find more information on this exhibition and related activities:

http://www.mbam.qc.ca/en

Splendore a Venezia: Christophe Koch Archlute Unveiling

 Christophe Koch Archlute Unveiled

This musical instrument unveiling took place in the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts' preparation for their upcoming exhibiton Splendore a Venezia: Art and Music from the Renaissance to Baroque in the Serenissima.

The exhibition will be held from October 12, 2013 to January 19, 2014. 

This archlute is one of the most important musical instruments among the 120 different that will be displayed works in the upcoming exhibition.  The Archlute of Christophe Koch is a lute to which an extended pegbox has been added to hold unfretted bass courses. This exceptional piece has arrived from the Cite de la Musique in Paris. It's body is made of kingwood decorated with ivory. It represents an excellent example of the Venetian mid-seventeenth century taste.

In conjunction with the exhibition, the Art Musica Foundation will present a full-scale concert series: 20 concerts, 7 lectures, and two films.

Visit the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts' website for more information on the exhibition and all the upcoming events.

http://www.mbam.qc.ca/en

Splendore a Venezia: Canaletto Painting Unveiling

Canaletto's painting unveiled:
"The Return of the State Galley to the Pier on Ascention Day"

The unveiling took place at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts today, in a preparation for their new exhibition Splendore a Venezia: Art and Music from the Renaissance to Baroque in the Serenissima.

The exhibition will be held from October 12, 2013 to January 19, 2014. 

Canalleto's real name was Giovanni Antonio Canal. This painting is on loan from the Dulwich Picture Gallery, London, United Kingdom. It is one of the most important paintings among the 120 works that will be on display at the exhibition.

Another item that will be on display is "Donatella", the traditional Venetian gondola crafted in the late 20th century by Pietro Amadi. It is composed of various woods, stainless steal and brass. and has already been delivered to the museum, see picture below.

The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts has also launched a new catalogue entitled Art and Music in Venice, published by the museum for the Splendore a Venezia exhibition:

For more information on the exhibition as well as the fees and opening hours, visit the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts' website

http://www.mbam.qc.ca/en