The Metropolitan Museum of Art news release For release Communications Department 1000 Fifth Avenue Immediate New York, NY 10028-0198 Contact tel 212-570-3951 fax 212-472-2764 email [email protected] Elyse Topalian SCHEDULE OF EXHIBITIONS JANUARY-APRIL 2004 EDITORS PLEASE NOTE: Information provided below is subject to change. To confirm scheduling and dates, call the Communications Department at (212) 570-3951. CONTACT NUMBER FOR USE IN TEXT IS (212) 535-7710. New Exhibitions page 1 Upcoming Exhibitions page 6 Continuing Exhibitions page 12 New and Recently Opened Installations page 19 Traveling Exhibitions page 21 Visitor Information page 22 OF SPECIAL NOTE • Byzantium: Faith and Power (1261-1557), the third in a chronological series of major loan exhibitions that began in 1977 with The Age of Spirituality, focuses on the dramatic cultural and artistic achievements of the last great age of Byzantine culture (see page 4). • The Pierre and Maria-Gaetana Matisse Collection, opening May 18, celebrates the recent gift to the Metropolitan Museum of more than 100 works from the Pierre and Maria-Gaetana Matisse Foundation, including works in various media by Henri Matisse as well as by other prominent 20th-century artists (see page 6). • Opening June 10, Childe Hassam, American Impressionist, features oil paintings, watercolors, pastels, and prints by the leader of American Impressionism, whose depictions of his own time are enchanting and distinctive records of color and light (see page 9). NEW EXHIBITIONS Chuck Close Prints: Process and Collaboration January 13-April 18, 2004 As with Close's large paintings, the subjects of his prints are the faces of relatives or fellow artists as well as self-portraits. This retrospective presents more than 100 images, ranging from Close's first print, Keith, a mezzotint made in 1972, to the 113-color Japanese-style ukiyo-e woodcut Emma, completed in 2002. There are also other intaglios and woodcuts, NEW EXHIBITIONS PAGE 2 linoleum cuts, silk-screen prints, a lithograph, and editioned pulp paper works. In addition, the exhibition displays a number of progressive proofs and state proofs of certain images, so that Close's working methods are made clear to the viewer, as well as woodblocks, etching plates, and other print matrixes. The exhibition is accompanied by a book published by Princeton University Press, with an essay by Richard Schiff and interviews with Close and the master printers for most of his editions. The interviews are conducted by Terrie Sultan, director of the Blaffer Gallery at the University of Houston, where the exhibition was organized and where it was on view from September 13 to November 23, 2003. After the showing at the Metropolitan Museum, the exhibition will travel to other institutions. Chuck Close Prints: Process and Collaboration was organized by Blaffer Gallery, the Art Museum of the University of Houston. The exhibition and publication have been generously underwritten by the Neuberger Berman Foundation. Additional support was made possible by the Lannan Foundation, Jon and Mary Shirley, The Eleanor and Frank Freed Foundation and Houston Endowment Inc., Jonathan and Marita Fairbanks, Dorene and Frank Herzog, Andrew and Gretchen McFarland, Carey Shuart, The Wortham Foundation, Inc., Karen and Eric Pulaski, Suzanne Slesin and Michael Steinberg, and Texas Commission on the Arts. In New York, the exhibition is made possible in part by Jane and Robert Carroll. Press preview: Monday, January 12, 10:00 a.m.-noon Playing with Fire: European Terracotta Models, 1740-1840 January 28-April 25, 2004 From quick preliminary sketches to completely finished models, approximately 130 terracottas demonstrate the dash and erudition of modelers across Europe during the Neoclassical age. The period saw unprecedented explorations of Greco-Roman antiquity, in which sculptors eagerly took part. Certain geniuses, bearers of such well-known names as Canova, Dannecker, Roland, and Sergei, are seen in considerable depth. The works are grouped thematically, emphasizing the typologies that preoccupied sculptors, such as self- portraiture, monuments to famous men, glimpses of arcadia, and the loves of the gods. The exhibition is made possible in part by the Gail and Parker Gilbert Fund. Additional support has been provided by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. The exhibition has also been supported by Franklin Industries Inc. The exhibition catalogue is made possible by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. The exhibition was organized by The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, the Reunion des Musees Nationaux, Paris, the Musee du Louvre, Paris, and the Nationalmuseum, Stockholm. Press preview: Monday, January 26, 10:00 a.m.-noon (more) NEW EXHIBITIONS PAGE 3 Poets, Lovers, and Heroes in Italian Mythological Prints February 3-May 2, 2004 On view are more than 100 woodcuts, engravings, and etchings by artists from Mantegna to Tiepolo, along with illustrated books, all narrating the mythological tales most popular with Italian artists. Among the favored themes are the ancient gods as patrons of music, poetry, and painting and as participants in music competitions, along with the festivities surrounding Bacchus and his favorite disciple, the drunken yet wise Silenus. A large section of the exhibition celebrates the triumph of love—the power of Cupid's arrows to make fools of even the most august gods. The exhibition concludes with the heroic exploits of Hercules and the legendary history of Rome, from the apple of discord that initiated the Trojan War to the rape of the Sabine women. The exhibition is made possible by The Schiff Foundation. Accompanied by an illustrated publication. Press preview: Monday, February 2, 10:00 a.m.-noon Chocolate, Coffee, Tea February 3-July 11,2004 The introduction of these three beverages into 17th-century Europe resulted from the sustained contacts of the seagoing nations and direct trade with formerly inaccessible parts of the world, such as Mexico, Arabia, and China. A great variety of new utensils were developed to serve the new drinks, first for great households and quickly thereafter for the popular market. The Department of European Sculpture and Decorative Arts is drawing on its large collection to illustrate this theme. Echoing Images: Couples in African Sculpture February 10-September 5, 2004 Idealized pairings have been an enduring concern of sculptors in many sub-Saharan African cultures. This exhibition examines the theme through approximately 50 works of sculpture in wood, bronze, terracotta, and beadwork, dating from the 12th to the 20th century. The examples are drawn from some 24 distinct African traditions, including those of the Dogon, Lobi, Baule, Senufo, Yoruba, Chamba, Jukun, Chokwe, Hemba, Songye, Luba, Mangbetu, Sakalava, and Zulu. The astonishingly rich and diverse forms of expression considered have been selected for their aesthetic attributes as well as their specific cultural significance. The earliest works displayed are an array of seated male and female couples in terracotta and bronze from the ancient urban center of Djenne-Jeno in present-day Mali. These sculptures, likely dating from the 12th century, were created to be placed on altars and carried as personal amulets. In later works from the region, created between the 16th and 20th centuries by Dogon sculptors, imagery of couples relates at once to Creation, productivity, and the fundamental interdependence and complementarity of man and woman. The elemental abstract graphic motif is a pervasive element of the iconography of Dogon artifacts, ranging from freestanding sculpture created for ancestral altars to carved granary doors and locks. Pair or Janus representations, as seen in many of the traditions that are featured, reflect the object's role (more) NEW EXHIBITIONS PAGE 4 in bridging human and ancestral realms in order to elicit divine insights into the human condition. Across central Africa, paired figures are an integral aspect of the insignia of leaders that comments upon the divinely ordained nature of kingship. Accompanied by an illustrated publication. Press preview: Monday, February 9, 10:00 a.m.-noon The Douglas Dillon Legacy: Chinese Painting for the Metropolitan Museum March 11-August 8, 2004 Douglas Dillon (1909-2003), former Chairman of the Metropolitan Museum's Board of Trustees, became involved with Asian art out of his respect for Asia's importance in world affairs and the need to represent its cultures at the Metropolitan in a comprehensive manner. This exhibition, comprising more than 60 masterworks of Chinese painting acquired through the generosity of Mr. Dillon and The Dillon Fund, as well as several noteworthy gifts presented in his honor or memory, highlights his lasting contribution to the field of Chinese art. Spanning more than 1,000 years of Chinese painting, from the 8th to the 18th century, the exhibition constitutes a compelling survey of all the major schools and trends of the last four dynasties. Marius de Zayas & the Stieglitz Circle March 19-June 27, 2004 Marius de Zayas (Mexican, 1880-1961) was an integral member of the avant-garde circle of painters and photographers that showed their work in New York at Alfred Stieglitz's gallery "291." De Zayas's lively caricatures of Stieglitz and other key members (ca. 1909-15) capture the essence not only of their physical appearances, but also of their personalities. Exhibited together with photographic portraits from the Museum's collection and published documents, this installation of some 30 works conveys the spirited dynamics of the Stieglitz Circle and de Zayas's role as advisor and chronicler. Klee: The Late Years March 19-June 27, 2004 This selection from The Berggruen Klee Collection focuses on the last 10 years of the painter's life, 1930 to 1940. During these years, Klee taught at the Diisseldorf Academy and returned to live in his native Bern. In Klee's later pictures, which became large in scale and heavy in line, his style turned boldly decorative. The works from this period are rarely shown in this country.