Scheller Gallery - Allentown Art Museum
Sunday, June 8 - Sunday, September 7

With works by some of the greatest names in European art, Of Heaven and Earth: 500 Years of Italian Painting from Glasgow Museums examines the thematic and stylistic developments in Italian art, from the religious paintings of the late Middle Ages and Renaissance to the secular neoclassical and genre paintings of the nineteenth century. The exhibition's summer 2014 stop at the Allentown Art Museum is its only appearance on the East Coast.

Organized into five chronological sections, Of Heaven and Earth includes paintings originating from the principal artistic centers of Italy—Rome, Milan, Bologna, Florence, Siena, Naples, and Venice—and presents the works of artists such as Giovanni Bellini, Sandro Botticelli, Domenichino, Francesco Guardi, Salvator Rosa, and Titian alongside those of lesser-known masters. Many of these works were conserved specifically in anticipation of this tour. (Watch video related to the conservation of one of the works.) The exhibition highlights significant new research and discoveries relating to attribution, dates, provenance, infrared analysis, and the reconstruction of fragmented altarpieces.

The accompanying catalogue features essays on Glasgow's collections and the museum's Italian paintings by Guest Curator Peter Humfrey, an internationally renowned specialist in Italian art history who teaches at the University of St. Andrews.

After its run at the Allentown Art Museum, the exhibition will continue on to the Milwaukee Art Museum (October 1, 2014–January 4, 2015) and the Santa Barbara Museum of Art (February 6, 2015–May 3, 2015). It previously appeared at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art and the Art Gallery of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada.

Scheller Gallery, Allentown Art Museum of the Lehigh Valley
31 North Fifth Street
Allentown, PA 18101
Sun, 06/08/2014 - Sun, 09/07/2014