Portland Oregon Exhibit: Titian's La Bella

Titian's La Bella
Masterworks | Portland Oregon
NOV 25, 2011 – JAN 29, 2012

"This fall, the Museum’s popular Masterworks|Portland series continues with an exceptional painting of Renaissance Venice, Titian’s La Bella (Woman in a Blue Dress). The luminous La Bella is a classic portrait of a beautiful woman that illustrates the continually evolving and infinitely elusive ideal of beauty. La Bella has never been exhibited in the United States and Portland is her only West Coast appearance. The painting was recently cleaned and conserved in Florence, returning La Bella to her original glory.

A color catalogue accompanies this single-painting exhibition and not only describes the historical significance of the work but also details the recent conservation project.

This exhibition is organized by the Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth, in collaboration with the Foundation for Italian Art and Culture, New York, and is supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Art and Humanities".

~From Wiki~
"Tiziano Vecelli or Tiziano Vecellio (c. 1488/1490– 27 August 1576 better known as Titian) was an Italian painter, the most important member of the 16th-century Venetian school. He was born in Pieve di Cadore, near Belluno (inVeneto), in the Republic of Venice. During his lifetime he was often called da Cadore, taken from the place of his birth.


Recognized by his contemporaries as "The Sun Amidst Small Stars" (recalling the famous final line of Dante's Paradiso), Titian was one of the most versatile of Italian painters, equally adept with portraits, landscape backgrounds, and mythological and religious subjects. His painting methods, particularly in the application and use of color, would exercise a profound influence not only on painters of the Italian Renaissance, but on future generations of Western art.


During the course of his long life, Titian's artistic manner changed drastically but he retained a lifelong interest in color. Although his mature works may not contain the vivid, luminous tints of his early pieces, their loose brushwork and subtlety of polychromatic modulations are without precedent in the history of Western art"

For more information on this exhibit check out the Portland Art Museum's website.
~Lizzie~

Portland Oregon Cavalia Show

Now showing in Portland Oregon for a very limited time: Cavalia. At their site you can see videos and much much more including show times and ticket pricing.

Portland, Oregon, USA

from November 16, 2011 to December 04, 2011

Seattle, Washington, USA

from January 24, 2012 to February 05, 2012

"Cavalia is a fresh mix of equestrian and performing arts, multimedia and special effects. Conceived by Normand Latourelle and often labelled an equestrian ballet, Cavalia is a spectacular and moving tribute to the relationship between men and horses throughout history, a dream of freedom, cooperation and harmony. In a fairy tale setting filled with poetry and emotion, the show innovatively integrates acrobatics, dance, aerial stunts, live music and equestrian arts. Under the largest Big Top on earth, a 50-metre stage permits the horses to express themselves in all their splendour, nobility and strength, often completely free".

"ARABIAN
Admired for his distinctive thoroughbred profile, large eyes, and high intelligence, the Arabian horse lived among the desert tribes of the Arabian peninsula for thousands of years. Bred by the Bedouins as war mounts, in extreme climatic conditions, the Arabian horse evolved with a level of stamina, energy and unequaled endurance. The breed’s age-old affinity to man is legendary. Arabian horses often shared the tents of their nomadic owners, along with their food and water. Historical figures like Genghis Khan, Napoleon, Alexander The Great and George Washington rode Arabian horses. Beautiful and athletic, the Arabian horse contributed to the evolution of virtually all modern breeds of horses".
~Lizzie~

Mary Queen of Scots Last Letter Goes on Display

Reported From Live Science:

"The last letter of Mary Queen of Scots, written on the eve of her execution, is going on display at the National Library of Scotland, Reuters reports.
Mary, once queen of France, wrote the letter to her brother-in-law, the king of France after she was told that she would be executed for treason against her cousin, Queen Elizabeth I of England.
Mary was overthrown from the Scottish crown and fled to England in 1568, at the mercy of the English queen. As a Catholic, she was considered a threat to the Protestant Elizabeth, as Catholics in England thought she had a stronger claim to the English throne. Mary was beheaded in 1587. Her remains lie in Westminster Abbey."

The letter will only be on display until the 21st of September, a very short time. If you would like to read the very interesting full article go here to Yahoo! News

Tutankhamun Exhibit in San Francisco

The Tutankhamun and The Golden Age of The Pharaohs Exhibit is on display now in at the Fine Arts De Young Museum in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park. It will be available from June 27Th 2009 through to March 28Th 2010. You can purchase tickets here be sure to click on San Francisco. Also if you are a Borders Book rewards member you can use the Promo Code TUTBB to get 20% off of Tickets. Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs exhibition:
Monday through Sunday, 9 a.m.–9 p.m. daily; last ticket at 7:30 p.m. (through September 30)
You can visit their website here.

"More than 3,000 years after his reign, and 30 years after the original exhibition opened in San Francisco, Tutankhamun, ancient Egypt’s celebrated “boy king,” returns to the de Young Museum. In the summer of 2009 the de Young presents Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs, a glorious exhibition of over 130 outstanding works from the tomb of Tutankhamun, as well as those of his royal predecessors, his family, and court officials.

Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs includes many new and exciting elements not seen in previous versions of the exhibition, including a revised version of the catalogue, a new audio tour, and additional artifacts from Tutankhamun’s tomb."

I was lucky enough to be able to see this exhibit when it came to Portland Oregon many, many moons ago. I have always been obsessed with Egypt to the point that now I even have Egyptian tattoo's . Which I find that other people are very curious about. I still vividly can picture that day in the museum because it had such a profound effect on me. It is one thing to read books and look at pictures of Egyptology. To see it in person is moving and I would highly recommend anyone who can go to do so. You would not believe how moving it is to stand before Tutankhamun.

Sundays Art: Signora Da Vinci, The Woman in The Veil by Raphael

I am quivering with excitement! Today in my local Oregonian paper I found an article stating that the Portland Art Museum will have Raphael's: The Woman with a Veil on loan from Italy and it will be on display from October 24, 2009 - January 3, 2010. This is a once in a life time opportunity that I will not miss!

"This October, the Portland Art Museum will present a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to view Raphael's renowned painting The Woman with a Veil. This single-painting exhibition will bring one of the most important paintings of the Renaissance to Oregon for the first time.

The Woman with a Veil (la velata or la donna velata) was painted in 1516 and depicts a serene woman looking intently at the viewer. It is believed that the model for the painting is the same woman depicted in other Raphael works including La Fornarina. Scholars have suggested that the woman was Raphael’s lover, Margherita Luti."

The painting also brings to light quite possibly my most favorite book: "Signora Da Vinci" by Robin Maxwell. The woman in the veil just so happens to be the cover for Maxwell's novel. If you love historical fiction and have not read it you are completely missing out. Two days is all it took once I got a hold of it, it was like I inhaled the book rather than read it.

"I was fifteen years old in 1452 when I bore a bastard child in the tiny village of Vinci. His name was Leonardo, and he was destined to change the world forever.

I suffered much cruelty as an unmarried mother, and had no recourse when they took my boy away from me. I had no rights, no prospects, no future. Everyone believed I was ruined. But no one knew the secrets of my own childhood, nor could they ever have imagined the dangerous and heretical scheme I would devise to protect and watch over my remarkable son as he grew into manhood. Some might call me a liar, since all I describe would be impossible for a woman of my station. But that is where my design unfolds, and I am finally ready to reveal it.

They call me Caterina. And this is my story."