Michelangelo show is coming to Williamsburg

The first major show of Michelangelo drawings in the United States in more than a decade is  headed to the Muscarelle Museum of Art, part of the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg,Virginia. With only a dozen drawings by Michelangelo in the United States in total, any comprehensive exhibition that offers insight into his working techniques is a special occasion.

Cleopatra by Michelangelo The exhibit is scheduled for Feb. 9 through April 14, 2013 and then travels to the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.

The landmark exhibition is being organized in honor of the 30th anniversary of the foundation of the Muscarelle Museum of Art in 1983. Ragionieri, the director of the Casa Buonarroti museum in Florence who owns the drawings, will also attend the opening ceremonies and will be honored for her contributions to the studies of the great master.

Many of Michelangelo’s most renowned drawings will be showcased in this rich and varied selection of 26 drawings.

One of the last American showings of Michelangelo’s drawings was at Atlanta’s High Museum of Art in 2000.

Half of the drawings in the upcoming show are of figures, including one of Madonna and Child. Many of these were sketches for Michelangelo’s paintings and sculptures.

The other half are plans for churches and fortifications, some of which were built.

The show will commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Muscarelle, which opened in 1983.

Alongside this exhibition, the Muscarelle has organized its first-ever show featuring major Italian Baroque paintings. Mattia Preti was a master painter very close to Caravaggio and is the artist showcased in "Mattia Preti (1613-1699) Paintings from North American Collections in Honor of the Fourth Centennial of his Birth." Lenders to this exhibition include the National Gallery of Art, the Getty Museum, Los Angeles County Museum, Toledo Museum of Art, Museum of Fine Arts Houston and other institutions.

General Information

The Muscarelle Museum of Art is located on Jamestown Road on the campus of The College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. For more information about this exhibit or the Museum in general, please call (757)-221-2700 or visit www.wm.edu/muscarelle .

Hours

The Museum is open from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and noon until 4 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. The Museum is closed on Mondays. Docent tours are available at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, Sundays, and other times as announced.

Admission

During this exhibition, there is an admission fee of $15. Admission is free for Museum members, William & Mary faculty, staff, and students, as well as children under twelve.

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